Masterpiece!

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!