Amy Kent

I come from a very strong background in marketing; graphic design to be exact. Before
teaching, I spent many years focused on promoting businesses to the public
through advertising and using art to influence buyers. Once I began teaching,
advocating for the art program in my school felt natural. As a matter of fact, I
welcomed the opportunity because it allowed me to use those skills that had been
such a large part of my previous career. Of course, I realize that not everyone
shares in my excitement of advocacy. In a perfect world, it would be understood
that the art programs in our schools offer many opportunities for life skills,
cognitive growth, 21st century skills, and the list goes on and on. Sadly,
for some art teachers this is not the case, and can
leave us uncomfortably trying to justify our programs.
We are teaching professionals with an ever-growing list of “to dos.” However,
advocating for your art program doesn’t need to be time consuming. Use this
summer to make a month-by-month advocacy plan for the next school year. There
are many online articles and ideas that can get you started. Your plans don’t
need to be grandiose every month. Just make some
noise!  Here are some online advocacy resources to help get you
moving!

 www.kennedy-center.org/education/kcaaen/resources/ArtsEducationAdvocacyToolkit.pdf


www.arteducators.org/advocacy/advocacy-made-simple


www.theartofed.com/2013/07/01/free-download-arts-advocacy-images-for-your-classroom


www.americansforthearts.org/advocate


www.youtube.com/watch?v=utRtJbRkyjE


www.arteducators.org/advocacy


www.theartofed.com/2014/03/27/10-awesome-advocacy-resources-for-art-education


www.performingartsconvention.org/advocacy/id=28


www.theteachingpalette.com/2010/09/12/arts-in-education-week-program-communication


 

Just the other day, I debated with a “friend” on
Facebook who is a professor at a medical college. She was reading applications
for students who were applying for the masters program. She mentioned that one
applicant had taken a ceramics course during his undergrad studies, and among
other things, she remarked, to get an “easy A.” Thus began my turn at educating
her on all of the things her applicant learned in his “easy” ceramics class. 

We have all had similar conversations and it is
difficult not to be sensitive toward these types of opinions. With the ongoing
threat of shrinking budgets, art teachers are especially sensitive. All too
often we hear of art programs getting cut permanently from schools. Add in the
uncertainty of how the Common Core movement will change arts education, and it’s
an intimidating time to be an art
teacher.

The undervaluing of art education seems to be
growing at an alarming rate. We as teachers of the arts are sitting ducks,
waiting to see if things will change and how. We are victims of circumstance… or
are we? There must be something we can do. No, I’m not suggesting marches and
picket signs. I’m talking about using the skills we already have as innovators
and educators. Just think about the effect we could have if every art teacher in
Wisconsin used his voice and creative ingenuity that we gained from our art
educations.

Here are a few examples of how we can start to
educate the public on the benefits of
arts:

Monthly Newsletter:

The old fashioned kind… on paper. Email is great, but it is easy to skim an
email and hit the delete button never to think about it again. A paper
newsletter can sit on the counter or even get clipped to the fridge if you’re
lucky! You could discuss what each grade level is creating in art class, what
skills they are learning, and how they are preparing children for the future.
This is a great way to educate parents on the developmental benefits of art.
You can offer tips to parents of elementary kids as to how they can assist
their child in further developing their motor and communication skills. A
newsletter would also be a great place to ask for supplies and especially
volunteers when needed.

Summer Mural Painting:

Contact some local businesses to see if they would allow you to paint a mural
on their building. In Augusta, high school art teacher, Karen Clark, holds a
summer class where high school kids can sign up to help paint a mural. Ms.
Clark tries to create one per summer and most are located in the downtown area.
Many murals are based on the history of the town. At last count, there were
seven murals in the small town of Augusta.

Community Art Projects:

Offer an opportunity for parents to come in on a Saturday or a few evenings
after school to create a large group project with their child. It could be
anything from a bottle cap mural, junk art sculpture, or anti-bullying art. You
may even want to plan this project and display it during a busy time in the
school, such as parent-teacher conferences or a Christmas
concert.

Giving Bowls Event:
In Fall Creek, art teacher, Tasha Newton, holds a spring giving bowls event.
Throughout the school year, each of her elementary kids creates and glazes a
ceramic bowl. In the spring Ms. Newton holds an evening event where the
community is invited to buy a bowl of soup and a ceramic bowl. Children give
tours of the school including the art room where volunteers are throwing pots
on the pottery wheel. The entire school is decked out in art from each grade
level. Ms. Newton also invites the news station in to cover the event. All of
the proceeds go to the local food pantry.

All of these examples will require more work on your part.
We all work hard and our time is limited, but we are creative people.
Enlist some help and find your voice. It’s worth it for the sake of our kids and
their future.


 

My journey to educator began with a promise I made to myself in 1998, the year I graduated college double majoring in Graphic
Design and Sculpture. I had always wanted to be a graphic designer; teaching was never in the cards for me. I was more interested in having a career where I could create art, not teach art. It’s funny how we think we are in control of
our destiny, isn’t it?

While in college, my summers were spent working for the city parks and recreation department where I was the Art Director for
the neighborhood park program. I supervised 36 playground leaders, most of whom were education majors. The playground leaders were stationed around the city where they played games and made arts and crafts with the neighborhood kids. I
created the arts and craft projects and would teach the playground leaders how to make them each week. As soon as one summer ended, I looked forward to returning the following summer. How could I not? I spent my summer creating arts
and crafts, playing with kids, and supervising some very fun loving people. This would be the first time I considered teaching as a career. I brushed it aside, however, because I wanted to create art, not teach art.

My last year of college was a transitional time for me. I had just gotten back from a month long backpacking trip through Europe
where I visited as many museums as humanly possible. The friend I had gone to Europe with was a co-worker from parks and recreation and loved art. She was an education major and eagerly listened to me go on and on about Brunelleschi
and the dome for the Basilica di Santa Maria del Fiore, the architecture of Gaudi, and many other facts that I had
learned in my grueling art history classes. She was a patient student and I want an enthusiastic teacher.
Again, I brushed aside the idea of teaching.

After returning from Europe and starting my final year of college, I was hired by a non-profit art school who worked mostly with economically disadvantaged kids. I thought this sounded “fun.” I taught after-school art classes to groups of 10-15 kids at a time. At one point, the local Catholicschool brought me in to teach a semester of morning elementary art classes. I loved how I felt after I left work. I had made a difference that day. It was time to admit that the idea ofs teaching wasn’t going to
pass.

I looked into changing my major with one semester left before
graduation and quickly dismissed the idea once I realized just how much extra
school I would need. I decided at this point that I would enter the workforce as
a Graphic Designer and one day retire as an Art Teacher.

Every few years I looked at going back to school but it was never the right time. I
got married and had a family but never lost sight of the promise I had made
myself in 1998. I enjoyed 14 years as a Graphic Designer and worked in many
roles including owning my own publishing
business.

Finally, when my youngest child was 3, I decided it was now or never. I had been staying at home with her while publishing my own magazine and felt ready. It was time to make this life altering change…it was scary. I had been comfortable in my career and was about to start completely over.

I won’t say that going back to school was easy. Trying to find the time to read,
write papers, and do homework was difficult with two kids tugging on me. Not to
mention the PPST was a killer! It had been a long time since I had used some of
those math skills. One of my most special memories was of my son giving me
advice after I found out that I didn’t pass the math part of the PPST and
cheering for me when I did pass.

Today, I am enjoying the challenge my first year as an Art Teacher. I am teaching middle school and high school art and have days that I am so busy I can’t  see the end of my “to do” list. But I wouldn’t have it any other way.

If I had to do the last 15 years over, I don’t think I would change a thing. Well, except for passing that math PPST on the
first try. I feel very fortunate to have had the experiences I’ve had with my
first career, I believe it makes me a stronger teacher. Although, I do look
forward to the day when I feel like I have it all together… will that day ever
come?

I am always on the lookout for new ways to
inspire my students, especially with local examples of art. One amazing new
addition, now in its third year, in my community is Sculpture Tour Eau Claire.
The non-profit organization has created a free outdoor sculpture exhibit that is
on display year-round in the city. 

This year the exhibit features 31 sculptures, all
of which are owned by the artists and on a year-long loan to Sculpture Tour Eau
Claire. Each May, a new set of sculptures will arrive to be displayed. The
artists reside as far away as Florence, Italy, but the tour has also included
local Eau Claire artists as well. There are three Eau Claire locations where you
can see these sculptures, all of them located near the downtown vicinity. This year’s tour includes the Water
Street area, which is near the UW-Eau Claire campus and frequented by many
college students. One of the Water Street sculptures reaches 13 feet into the
air. For more information on the sculptures featured in Sculpture Tour Eau
Claire you can visit the website:
www.sculpturetour.org/index.html.

In addition to the fact that Sculpture Tour Eau
Claire offers the residents a chance to see amazing sculptures within the city,
the community also gets to vote on their favorite sculpture. After the voting
closes, the sculpture with the most votes is purchased and put on permanent
display somewhere in the city. Art collectors and community members have also
helped to purchase more than 12 sculptures over the past two years. Some of the
sculptures have even been donated to local nonprofit groups such as the YMCA and
L.E. Phillips Memorial Public Library.

During my time as a student teacher, I was
fortunate enough to be placed in an elementary school that was within walking
distance to one of the three sculpture tour locations. I couldn’t pass up the
opportunity to take my students to see art that was practically in their
backyard. I developed a lesson on digital photography and the sculptures were
our subject matter.

 On a beautiful fall day, with my cooperating
teacher and aids, I walked 45 fourth grade students downtown to take pictures of
the sculptures. Divided into smaller groups, we had the opportunity to see,
touch, and vote on the art. We spent time discussing the materials used in each
sculpture, how they were created, and photographing the sculptures. 
 
The majority of my students had never been to an
art museum; they were very curious and interactive with the art. More than
anything, I simply enjoyed watching them run their fingers over the smooth cold
marbled torso, sit next to the bronze girl on a bench, and high five the
larger-than-life sized dog. Oh, and their photographs turned out amazing, too. 

The WAEA is inviting you to purchase Logo Links/Vendor advertisements that will be located on the WAEA website: www.wiarted.org. We publish four quarterly issues of the e-ArtTimes along with members and non-members visiting our website throughout the year.

Option One: The advertisements will be placed within the e-ArtTimes pages navigated to the page via the link located on the WAEA homepage.  

Cost: 150.00 per year
Requirements: All advertisements will be posted on June 1, 2012 to align with our budgetary cycle and will be renewed or removed on May 31, 2013.  For example if you are interested in posting an advertisement in August, WAEA will post your advertisement at that time but you will be billed for the full year.  
Format of Logo Link/Advertisement:  A quality JPG of your logo with the website address that you wish to link to, such as, a particular sales special, event or your website.

Option Two:  The Logo Link/Advertisement will be place on the right sidebar of the homepage.

Cost: 250.00 per year
Requirements: All advertisements will be posted on June 1, 2013 to align with our budgetary cycle and will be renewed or removed on May 31, 2014.  For example if you are interested in posting an advertisement in August, WAEA will post your advertisement at that time but you will be billed for the full year and your advertisement will post through May 31, 2014.  
Format of Logo Link/Advertisement:  A quality JPG of your logo with the website address that you wish to link to, such as, a particular sales special, event or your website.

Option Three: The Logo Link/Advertisement will be place on the right sidebar of the homepage and on our WAEA Facebook page.

Cost: 350.00 per year
Requirements: All advertisements will be posted on June 1, 2013 to align with our budgetary cycle and will be renewed or removed on May 31, 2013.  For example if you are interested in posting an advertisement in August, WAEA will post your advertisement at that time but you will be billed for the full year and your advertisement will post through May 31, 2013.  
Format of Logo Link/Advertisement:  A quality JPG of your logo with the website address that you wish to link to, such as, a particular sales special, event or your website.

Option Four:  A Vendor printed advertisement will be published for our two paper communications in Fall 2012 and Spring 2013.  The WAEA paper communications will be sent to 500+ members.  Only a full-page advertisement will be available.

Cost:  250.00 per year without an option for ½ year purchase
Requirements:  Vendors may submit two different advertisements to promote specific products/events.
Format of Advertisement: Full-page PDF version of advertisement required in black and white.
Deadline for WAEA Printed Advertisement: May 31, 2013