Wheels

Teaching on a cart will without a doubt never be perceived of as the “fun” job, but for me, I am trying to tell myself otherwise. Since my last placement, as well as this placement, I have proven to myself that I am in fact capable of teaching no matter where I am. Just like I tell my kiddos every day that they are capable, I too am the same. Would I crave my own classroom with windows covered in student artwork, with personalized cubbies and references to artists in past history to display around my room? Of course my reply is yes. But, when life hands you a cart, you need to push it full of paints (and of course a water bucket).

My students not only have a little more respect for me because they know what I do is a little tedious, but they know I am that passionate that I’d go distances to spread the knowledge for and with them.

Art-on- a-cart has taught me important organization, how to stay on your toes when something goes awry (it almost always does), and how to make the most out of the little you have. My lessons have taken a turn; once teaching from the bold and the beautiful, using gallons of paint, and varieties of papers and techniques, and now to the limited supply of what’s left after two years from an art storage closet. As a practicing art teacher, I have grown both frustrated at times, however more so eager to learn more in lieu of my kids.

 I always tell my students that art isn’t just about paint and cutting. It’s about problem solving and how to fix something if it’s broken. Well, my classroom is broken. How will I fix it? How will I spread the wealth that the creative right brain in each and every one of us has to offer? How can I communicate through color what words won’t ever express on a page? I never thought I’d have to face obstacles such as these, but thank you God for pulling me not only around the hurdles, but also completely through them. I learn something new every day, and I have a squeaky cart to thank for that one.