THE ARTS
News in fine arts education
Connecting to students through the arts by Victoria Villareal
“They may forget what you said, but they will not forget how you made them feel.” — Carl J. Buechner ▲ Bronce Arana, an R.L. Turner High School student, works on a collage.
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s the new art teacher on the block at R. L. Turner High School in Carrollton, many changes kept life interesting. For the past three years, every year has seemed like a fresh start or new beginning. Before this year, my duties included Art I, Advanced Placement Art History, art club, and even assistant crosscountry and track coach. But adaptation came on the wings of my move to Carrollton, where change included moving cities, teaching during a pandemic and learning a new curriculum. Always, the goal remained the same — to make meaningful connections to students. I can remember what it was like to be in the shoes of a high school student. People knew me as “that girl who can draw.” Once my peers realized my mother was one of the art teachers, they understood where I got my talent. Throughout my high school years, art class was my sanctuary, my second home. Now that I am an educator in the visual arts, I understand this isn’t the case for all my students.
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Texas School Business JULY / AUGUST 2021
For some, art is just one required course standing in the way of graduation. Connecting with these students and building a relationship with them is crucial to both their success as students but also my success as an educator. Connect on a personal level One way to connect with students is to make yourself more relatable by sharing life accomplishments and goals. Take, for example, my love for running. I like to share with my students my target mileage for the week or some funny experience I had while out on the trail. One time, I asked, “Did you know birds have alarm calls to alert other animals in the forest to look out for a predator?” My students were curious about how I knew such a peculiar fact about birds. I told them I experienced a bird’s alarming song firsthand while running right into a bobcat on my trail the previous day. You can
