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Teachers Are Artists

(Article by Jennifer Sertl, originally published in TeacherCast. To see the article on TeacherCast, please click on Teachers Are Artists)

Jennifer Sertl

Jennifer Sertl

I was doing a leadership exercise recently and asked the team I was working with to share a someone who made the most impact on them and why. Almost without exception a teacher was named. I can remember my 9th grade teacher Ms. Neal from Cedar Shoals High School in Athens, Georgia. She told me I was a humanitarian. I didn’t know what that meant at the time. Now I am trying to be that person she saw so long ago. I think people over-estimate leadership and under-estimate the power of modeling. When we are forming our beliefs and habits we spend more time with our teachers than we actually do our family and parents. We need to value and appreciate our teachers more for how they shape and mold us. It might be nice to send a letter of acknowledgment to a teacher who challenged, inspired, or mentored you.

Picture taken from TeacherCast

Picture taken from TeacherCast

Teachers Are Artists

The art they practice is awareness. The canvas they use is the curriculum upon which they bring forth an effervescent picture for the world. The students arrive at the canvas, each bringing a unique and vibrant color.
The mixture of the student population gives beauty to the canvas. The more diverse the population, the more colorful the painting.

The artist’s strokes are the skillful, gentle questions that she asks her students. Some strokes are broad, confirming understanding. Some strokes are playful, discovering student’s current knowledge to find a benchmark to begin the lesson. Other strokes are so delicate that they barely touch the canvas. These strokes are the questions that stretch the student’s imagination and foster sensitivity.

Bloom’s taxonomy provides hue to the masterpiece. The artist adds perspective to the painting by facilitating meaningful discussions and sharing observations. Once all the color has made its mark on the canvas and the painter has cultivated a glorious picture of a “spot in time,” with bittersweet emotion the artist gently places the work of art on the wall of life.

It is now time to stretch and prepare yet another canvas.

Jennifer Sertl

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