Small Grant

I hope to have my art classroom be a place of safety and encouragement. When I am able to engage students in a way that is meaningful to them, reach students of all learning styles, and continue to provide new and updated curriculum, I am one step closer to advancing my workplace goals. Teaching is an extremely challenging, yet fulfilling, career. In the face of Covid-19, teaching has changed considerably. Teachers have had to adapt, change, adjust, readjust, rewrite, and take on immense challenges never faced before. Teachers are constantly asked to do more with less. Being able to participate in this National Arts Conference is a rare and special opportunity. My goals are always to bring back new and exciting art lessons, strategies, curricula, and ways of creating back to my students immediately following any new found knowledge. The arts engage students in a way like no other! When my students enter my art classroom and reach for their artwork and supplies before the starting bell has even had a chance to ring, that tells me my students are excited and engaged. Students will only be engaged if the teacher is excited about the content being taught. My passion for the arts goes back to my childhood. We were always a creative family, seeking artistic ways of expression, creating out of recycled objects, building sculptures out of metal, painting Georgia O'Keeffe images on the bedroom wall, etc. Just last year, a student showed me how she had been inspired by an art lesson, and her parents allowed her to paint colorful geometric shapes on her bedroom wall. I thought, "I can relate!" This is how the spark starts. Adults and children need to have those art experiences and share their passions with others.