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My day begins with a country drive to my school. I listen to music, drink my coffee, think of ideas and reflect on my students’ projects, but most important, I decide that today is going to be a fun day. I’m a high school art teacher and I love my job. The crazy thing, though, is that I spend lots of time not teaching art.
My day begins an hour before my kids arrive. Yes, they are “my kids” as much as they are my students. I prepare the art room, which means organizing the chaos. No amount of storage will accommodate 140 student art projects ranging from charcoal drawings to clay sculptures to silkscreens to paintings. I tidy the classroom and set out the art supplies so my students will have everything they need for their projects. I usually leave myself a few minutes to grab a coffee in the staff room and then head back to the art room before my kids arrive.
The first class of the day usually sets the tone for the rest of the day. The first class is when I feel most enthusiastic because I’m excited to see my kids. I get a real kick seeing them in the morning before class, especially on Mondays. Everyone looks tired and happy all at the same time. With coffee in hand, I greet my kids. The extra-tired ones need to be poked a bit more if they’re grumpy. I find that if they can have a laugh, they wake up faster. Sometimes a student brings me a coffee, which means the world to me.
The art room has seven tables arranged in a circle, which provides a nice flow. Usually there are five or six students at each table. My classes have 35 students, plus those on spares.
Supplies are placed in the centre of the room. Students help themselves to what they need. In my classroom, students don’t ask if they can do it; they just do it. This means I have to be more aware of what’s going on, but it builds trust and creates a student-centred environment.
Art is an experience. I teach technique and leave the rest to the students’ imagination. This allows them to explore personal interests within the confines of curriculum. Everything we do with our hands is a personal investment in self-discovery and time. Art is a collective investment between friends and classmates. It’s also representative of our memories. For when we discuss past art projects, we often talk about what was happening at the time the art was created.
Art is an experiential process. That means it requires time to help students. It takes at least five minutes to help each student with a project if a student is having difficulty. In a class of 35 students, I can only spend a few minutes with each student.
The most challenging and most important part of my day is to ensure the well-being of my students. Not a day goes by when a student is not experiencing a personal or emotional crisis—a problem with friends, family, a relationship or life in general. It is important that I empathize with my students about the things that are important to them; otherwise, they won’t be able to focus and work. A fine balance must be struck between counselling students and motivating them.
My lunch break varies depending on the day. One day I’ll supervise the social area. Another day is committed to the art club, where we paint and plan murals for our school. My other two short breaks are usually spent in the art room talking to students while ordering art supplies, responding to parents’ and colleagues’ e-mails, updating my teacher website and planning field trips. After school on Wednesdays, I volunteer for musical theatre. I’m in charge of set design. Right now we’re working on a 16-by-30-foot painting for the backdrop.
At the end of the day, once the kids have left, I clean up and mark projects. When I’m done, it’s time to go home to my family and enjoy my time before the fun begins again tomorrow.
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Paul Beseau teaches at Chestermere High School, Rocky View School District.
