What would you do if someone placed a blank canvas in front
of you and said, “Paint a masterpiece!”
I know what I would do – panic! There is something about a blank piece of
paper or canvas awaiting your creative touch to be delicately presented that is
overwhelming to most of us. We
question: Will my work be good
enough? Who is going to see my
work? What or whose work will my work be
compared to when complete?
Why am I talking about canvases and works of art? Well, two reasons:
1. First, I
visited Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art last weekend with my family. Currently the work of Norman Rockwell called,
American Chronicles: The Art of Norman Rockwell, is on
exhibit. Having always been an admirer
of Mr. Rockwell’s work I found this event quite a treat. Years ago a dear friend, Cecil Boothe, gave
me a framed print of Rockwell’s “Shiner” or “Outside the Principal’s
Office”. I have it hanging outside of my
office today! I consider it a true treasure, because of the
giver as well as the artist.
2.
Secondly, and most importantly, I believe the
work of a teacher, educating a child, is like
creating a work of art, a
masterpiece.
At this point, you are either nodding your head in agreement because you see the connection, too. Or, you have a quizzical look on your face and you are wondering where I am going with this concept. Well, let me be clear . . .
Mr. Rockwell spent significant time and energy planning his
next work; he took the time to gather tools and make sure he had what he needed
to complete the next work of art.
Teachers, too, gather their tools of the trade because each new
day/week/year to make sure they are creating works of art - masterpieces - in the children we
serve.
Mr. Rockwell approached each project with a new focus. Similarly, teachers begin each new day with a
focus on making a difference in the life of a child or a group of
children. For some children, they get
many experiences provided by their parents outside of school. Yet, many children see the world through the resources
the teachers bring to their classroom.
Technology has opened up numerous windows of opportunity where children
can take their learning outside of the classroom walls connecting with other
children and adults across the world (under the watchful eye or a teacher, of
course).
Mr. Rockwell worked incessantly. According to a recording of his son, he only
took off Thanksgiving and Christmas.
Even on those dates, his wife would have to beg him to not work in the
afternoons of those holidays. Similarly,
a teachers’ work is never done. There is
always a child needing to learn to read; there is always a child needing their
shoe tied; and there is always a child needing someone to listen. That is when the kids are here. When they are not at school there are papers to grade, plans to be made, research to completed, and parents to call. That description does not even scratch the surface! Basically, a teacher's work is never done.
In his work, Mr. Rockwell also made it personal . He did not paint from a picture or from memory. He brought in actual subjects (people) who would dress and stand in the style and pose he wanted. Everything detail in the painting, no matter how mundane to us, served a purpose in the picture that Mr Rockwell was creating. He knew his subjects personally, and made them feel a part of what he was trying to accomplish. Well, that is what teachers do. It is all about relationships, and we know it! "People don't care how much you know until they know how much you care." (John Maxwell)
Norman Rockwell’s art is precious; hence the security surrounding the exhibit, the fact that the exhibit travels across the country with crowds seeking out his work. There is even a Norman Rockwell Foundation! A teachers’ work is kids: kids are our countries most precious resources – today and forevermore.
Where the connections differ . . .
Well, you don’t have to go very far outside of your house –
if you even need to go outside your house – to see the work of a teacher. Educators’ works of art are all around us all
the time – each other! Do we take the time
to really get to know those around us?
Do we really take the time to value our differences? Do we really take the time to determine each
other’s strengths? The answer for many
of us would be “no”. I had to go to an art exhibit to see the work of Norman Rockwell.
The most significant difference . . . Mr. Rockwell began
with a blank canvas – not teachers! When
a child enters a school building or a classroom they have encounters and
perceptions already developed. Teachers
add to the work of their peers. The
preschool teacher lays the foundation of phonics and phonemic awareness, which
builds to the kindergarten teacher teaching the child to read a book
successfully for the first time, etc.
Each teacher builds upon the skills taught by the previous teacher. In the end, the goal is a well-learned
student ready to be successful in the world as a positive contributor to our
society.
At Sonora, our teachers are creating a masterpiece every day! We are blessed to serve every child and family we serve!
