Celebrating the Arts!

Can you believe the end of the school year is in sight? As we wind down the year and try to look for small ways to slow the pace of the day, suddenly awards and end-of-the-year ceremonies only seem to intensify and prolong the marathon spring of April and May! As teachers, we are busy preparing speeches, wrapping senior gifts, writing congratulation cards, finalizing last lessons, and attending banquets and more! At my school, I am fortunate enough to have the opportunity to give a senior award for the “Art Student of the Year.” The award is given annually to one senior that exemplifies both hard work and dedication to the visual arts process and program. In general, I look for students that go above and beyond to explore process, investigate, think, play, and imagine! As an example, this year my senior student earned it by spending countless hours writing computer programs that created the vector formulas he needed to then map out and draw optical illusions. Once drawn, he cut the intricate drawings out with an X-acto knife, made stencils, and used spray paint (he purposefully wanted an uncontrollable medium) to layer and build up visual imagery. His entire AP investigation as an artist was focused on creating order out of chaos and he handled the investigation process beautifully! I take the time to write this and explain his process because this student taught me much this year. And, we all have students like this! One of my favorite aspects about being an educator is that I am challenged daily by students that do more, that teach me new information, and force me to learn and grow as a professional and as an artist.

Yesterday, we had our awards ceremony, and I gave the award in front of administrators, faculty, and the upper school student body. I realized over the weekend that I had an awesome opportunity to use the platform to both celebrate the work of the student AND advocate for the arts. Using the NAEA publication, “Learning in a Visual Age: The Critical Importance of Visual Arts Education,” I was able to paraphrase part of the document to illustrate the important thinking that occurs in the visual arts classes. While on stage, I held up the cover of the document, asked the audience to bear with me while I read the third paragraph and then tied it back into the work of the student. What a wonderful platform that was for me to both advocate and celebrate the visual arts all at once!

As you wind down your year, what celebrations do you have at the end of the year? How do you highlight student achievements in the visual arts? And, what do you do that advocates, educates, and celebrates the work of your students?

-Rebecca Stone-Danahy