41 is a big number for a teacher. University teaching is probably easier than elementary and high school. Some days are so long and it feels like you have not made a difference in their abilities to see, understand and grow; then others, you see the lightbulb go on and then you know soon they will not need you for guidance, only for challenging and brainstorming. The best thing that can happen as a university art professor is that your students don't need you any more. The big word is NEED. They continue to want to show you what they are doing and get your feed back but they do not NEED you to figure out where to go next. They have begun the long process of developing their own vision, their own work ethic and their own voice.
I know I helped a bunch of students do this along the way based on the number who are still working in some manner. It may not be what they started out to do, but their own travel down the path led them to other ways to say what they need to say. This is gratifying to see.
So, here I sit in my office with an embarrassing slide show of my life ready to show the students today to give them an idea who I am and what I have been up to all these years. I am anxious to see what they will do and to see if any lightbulbs are going on any time soon.
August 18 11:30 AM
No comments:
Post a Comment