I graduated back in 2016 with a BA in English and a Minor in Fine Arts. Teaching has always been one of the careers I’ve thought about pursuing  After spending the last 17 years of my life in school I had no interest in just rolling into the next program and finishing off my education right away. So, I put off teaching for another 4 years. In this time, I moved out of m parents house, joined the workforce (having found it hard to find any work related to my studies) and worked full time. I moved from the mainland to the island, to be with my partner. Here I continued to work full time, while we settled into our lives together. With the support of my partner, I have finally decided to finish up my education and start on the journey to my career in education.

with permission, my high school arts teacher

Teaching has always been something I have been interested in. I had a good high school experience and made some close connections with many of my teachers, who inspired me to pursue teaching myself. My high school art teacher was one of these close connections. My high school art teacher was a main source of inspirations for me. She had a way about her. A culture she created in her studio that inspired students to engage fully in their creative process. I took every single one of her classes; studio arts, drawing and painting, ceramics, photography, anything I could get my hands on. After graduation, I returned to volunteer in her classroom, while I was started my first year at the University of the Fraser Valley.

So, why teaching? And why the arts? I’ve been inspired by extraordinary teachers of my past to take up the mantle of mentor and teacher and provide a similar experience to my own students. What I’ve learned from them, and what I’m learning from this program blend together to help create my own teaching philosophy and worldview (which of course is still in development and every changing as I continue to learn).

Lewis Lavoie, artist

The arts have always held an important place in my heart. Sure, I did well in all my art classes in both high school and university, but my passions for the arts also came from my family. Having a professional artist in my personal life, has always been an inspiration to myself and my own art making. I remember going to visit my uncle, Lewis Lavoie, and spending hours in his studio watching him work. He always made time for me, my pestering and all my constant questions. He made art accessible to me, and the idea of becoming an artist myself seemed more feasible. All the artists in my life acted as teachers to me, so It only seemed right to pay it forward and teach as well.

picture Engin Akyurt. Unsplash

I finally found the right time to go back to school. 2020 was going to be my year! Unfortunately, 2020 has brought with it a lot of unexpected challenges. Becoming a student again, especially during a global pandemic, has been a struggle. These challenges that we’re facing this year can seem very discouraging and I can’t help but think about all the experiences that I am missing out on simply by taking my courses online rather then in the classroom and studio. My expectations were shattered, and now we are rolling with the punches. But let’s be honest, the digital aspect of teaching is ever changing, and us as teachers need to change with it. The struggles I am going through now reflects those of the high school students who are also learning through this pandemic. My experiences here will help me in my own classroom because I have been there and waded through the mud of 2020 as well.

Old painting by me. “reimagine the Mona Lisa” assignment back in 2014ish

So, what does it mean to become a visual arts teacher in 2020? It means learning new ways to approach a subject that has often been confined to a studio. And it means finding out new ways to engage students and provide an outlet for their creativity during a stressful and scary time. We don’t yet know the extent of damage and change this pandemic is going to have on our education system, but I do believe this year’s teacher candidates are going to come away with a new way of approaching teaching/learning.