Rick Jenkins directed the Boise Community art program for 36 years. Semi-retired, he still teaches pottery classes.

Two Essential Ingredients for Teachers of Anything:

1) A passion to see others unlocked in their potential.

2) Curiosity to learn new things yourself.

If you oversee someone who is not doing a good job teaching, DO speak with them. Help them find the following:

• A clear objective. Ask them about their curriculum; ask what principles they want to get across.

• Ways to make it fun. Insist that they figure out ways to jazz it up, especially if the material can be dry or academic.

There is a fine balance between giving a student the space to figure things out for themselves, and helping them.

The relationship between being an artist and being a teacher: Rick continually explores and grows in both vocations.

Setting Up a Class, Course, or Program

Set your course objectives, yet give creative freedom (do a demo for students to watch, but don’t make them copy it).

Build a good program using good instructors. Be flexible even if you have no facility: use other rooms; “art cart”; playground programs. (Vision > culture > structure) You can do a lot with very few resources!

Remember: A good artist and nice person is not necessarily a good teacher!

• Jessie’s story of asking a nice artist to teach for VineArts: When she realized her mistake, Jessie took the blame for not conveying their unique ministry needs to the teacher; “So here are your choices: We’ll either make it an [artist’s name] class outside of the umbrella of this ministry, or we can train you in how to minister.”

• Collect student feedback: What can we do better? Take the last 10 minutes of every course to give a standard feedback form. It’s valuable for all your classes! Having a documented paper trail is also helpful in talking to teachers who are not thriving: “I see this other thing in you, let’s try placing you in a different position.”

The benefits of team-teaching: A fast track to becoming a better teacher! Attend workshops, watch tutorials, learn.

Lesson 24The Art of Teaching

Some Ways to Connect with Students

• Make it fun!

• Find something good in every work of art! Don’t be dishonest, but do look for something to admire. (Hint: I sug-gest memorizing the 6 Elements and 7 Principles of Design from our past lesson; it’s hugely handy in being able to talk about anyone’s art in an honest, thoughtful, and very affirming way!)

• Connect with outside current or cultural events (Rick’s “Art Olympics” while the Olympic games were going on).

• Introduce a student to a relevant artist from art history.

• Comment on what is unique about a particular student’s approach, and/or offer a direction to explore next.

The Reason for Teaching

Remember, people go to class for a reason. If you’re not actively shaping an activity or introducing a new thing, they could have stayed home. Do the stuff first yourself until you know it. The best way to learn anything is to teach.

Jessie’s advice about having confidence:

• Act confident and cheerful, as if you know the activity we’re going to do next. Be in control of your time together.

• Don’t act like you know everything about art; be humble, teachable. Ask your students to share what they know.

Rick, on having courage:

“ We were all beginners at one time! Tell stories about when you first started. Sometimes, one of my better demos is when it fails! I’m on the potter’s wheel, and it fails, and everybody claps, like ‘Yay! You know, he screws up too!’ And hey, that’s part of the deal. “ Don’t take yourself too seriously!

Say to a student: “You know, I really want to explore this type of glaze. Do you want to explore it with me? How about we explore it together, as a class?” Explore, research and test it together as a class. Everyone can share what we learned together at the end.

Courage is the ability to do something that frightens you.

En • courage • ment is bestowing that courage to someone else.

KEEP LEARNING! KEEP TEACHING!

Next page: A sample VineArts Workshop Evaluation Form (give to students to fill out); feel free to copy!

Lesson 24 The Art of Teaching

Art Workshop FeedbackPlease tell us a little about your experience in this educational setting.

Class/Workshop title: __________________________________________________ Date: _______________________

Names of instructor(s) for this workshop: ______________________________________________________________

How did you hear about this workshop?

Have you ever participated in one of our workshops before this one? yes no (please circle)

Your rating of this instructor: (preparation, teaching style, clarity, kindness, etc.) Poor Fair Average Good Excellent

• Comments (optional):

Value and pace: Were you challenged to learn something new? How was the pace? Poor Fair Average Good Excellent • Comments (optional):

Did our team provide a welcoming and affirming environment for this workshop? Poor Fair Average Good Excellent • Comments (optional):

What did you enjoy most about this experience?

What did you enjoy least about this experience? Do you have suggestions for improvement?

Your overall impression of this workshop?

Please write your name below, or keep this questionnaire anonymous if you prefer. If you wish to be contacted, check the box below.

Name: (optional) Phone: (optional) ____

Want to receive updates from our workshop newsletter? If so, write your email here: _________________________________

Thanks! We value honest feedback to ensure the continued quality of our art classes and workshops! :)

Check this box to request one of us to call you regard-ing your experience.