How do I stay motivated after teaching art for 36 years?
TV Crew visits my classroom after I win an innovative teaching award.
To be perfectly honest… I'm tired of teaching.
36 years and I am looking so forward to retirement. It's hard getting out of bed at 5:15 am and going to work. To listen to the radio on the way in, why we still don't have a pay increase, or how the department of education is going away, or how vilified teachers are becoming...
That said, I do like my school, I LOVE that I have 8 sinks, and supplies-a-plenty. When I am teaching, for the most part, I still enjoy it. I also know if I "phone it in" with lessons I have done for the last 35 years, I would rather stick a fork in my eyes.
36 years and I am looking so forward to retirement. It's hard getting out of bed at 5:15 am and going to work. To listen to the radio on the way in, why we still don't have a pay increase, or how the department of education is going away, or how vilified teachers are becoming...
That said, I do like my school, I LOVE that I have 8 sinks, and supplies-a-plenty. When I am teaching, for the most part, I still enjoy it. I also know if I "phone it in" with lessons I have done for the last 35 years, I would rather stick a fork in my eyes.
My teaching sample of a 3D tessellation project I am experimenting with.
This is why I push myself to do NEW lessons that intrigue me, like 3D tessellations (pictured above), exploring cubism in new ways, using a sodium lamp so we can’t see colors anymore, painting on skateboards or exploring the off-beat cartoons of Gary Larson’s Far Side. I didn’t choose or design these lessons to meet State or curriculum requirements, I did them because I thought they would be fun. These NEW lessons keep me on my toes. They also provide material for this blog and my books at www.firehousepublications.com as I transition to retirement in 2028 or 2029.
I wrote a whole book on art education pedagogy, a synopsis of my 30+ years of teaching art, and in it I stress that teaching art is not about having fun, it’s hard work… but here’s my unwritten caveat for senior teachers like myself… If you have been teaching for a long time, and it’s difficult to come in every day, it is time to find the fun again.
Ditch the curriculum, and lean into “what would I want to creatively try?” Is it sewing, knitting, stained glass, encaustics, tie dye, puppetry, book-making, pinhole photography? What is some niche you’ve always wanted to play with but have not yet done. When you lean into that, then you have the motivation to come to your “school studio” and experiment, play, explore, create, and discover. When you come in with THAT energy, it is infectious. Your students will be excited as well.
Be candid with your students. “I want to try something I’ve never done before, but I think it will be fun. If you show me you can handle it, we can give it a try together!” As a seasoned educator you know that every project you do will essentially cover the major portions of your curriculum anyway. If lesson plans are required, enter the perfunctory information, but remember, you’re near retirement. Don’t sweat it. You know what you’re doing. Reward yourself with something fun, new, and motivates YOU.
That’s how I am making these last few years bearable, if not exciting!
I wrote a whole book on art education pedagogy, a synopsis of my 30+ years of teaching art, and in it I stress that teaching art is not about having fun, it’s hard work… but here’s my unwritten caveat for senior teachers like myself… If you have been teaching for a long time, and it’s difficult to come in every day, it is time to find the fun again.
Ditch the curriculum, and lean into “what would I want to creatively try?” Is it sewing, knitting, stained glass, encaustics, tie dye, puppetry, book-making, pinhole photography? What is some niche you’ve always wanted to play with but have not yet done. When you lean into that, then you have the motivation to come to your “school studio” and experiment, play, explore, create, and discover. When you come in with THAT energy, it is infectious. Your students will be excited as well.
Be candid with your students. “I want to try something I’ve never done before, but I think it will be fun. If you show me you can handle it, we can give it a try together!” As a seasoned educator you know that every project you do will essentially cover the major portions of your curriculum anyway. If lesson plans are required, enter the perfunctory information, but remember, you’re near retirement. Don’t sweat it. You know what you’re doing. Reward yourself with something fun, new, and motivates YOU.
That’s how I am making these last few years bearable, if not exciting!
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