Advocacy

Help Renew Our Passion for Teaching After a Crisis

In light of the recent tragedies in Connecticut, I can’t help feeling a little lost and damaged.  Our nation is suffering as we search to try to understand why such young and innocent victims were lost.  This crisis has especially damaged the field of teaching.  Stories of teachers hiding their students and sacrificing their own lives are beginning to come forward.  It is human to feel empathy for the loss of those students and teachers and to question schools, gun laws and even our profession.  But instead, I am hoping we can focus on all the positives, the little tiny moments, funny stories and heart-warming experiences that inspired us to become teachers and help us to keep our passion for teaching alive.  Lets help each other renew our love of teaching and share some stories and images that heal.

This is my son, Nolan.  He is 20 months old and he is painting with watercolors for the very first time.  The look on his face in this picture is why I get up in the morning and continue to do what I do.  Pure. Awe.  This is why I am an art teacher.  I love that expression, on my own son or any other person’s face.  I love the simple joy creating brings, the new experiences, the exploration, the endless boundaries.

What is your inspiration for teaching? 

How do you keep your passion for teaching and art alive? 

Please share a favorite story or image.

Let’s come together to help our community heal.

Magazine articles and podcasts are opinions of professional education contributors and do not necessarily represent the position of the Art of Education University (AOEU) or its academic offerings. Contributors use terms in the way they are most often talked about in the scope of their educational experiences.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Heather Crockett

Heather Crockett is AOEU’s Chief Academic Officer and a former AOEU Writer and art educator. She is an expert in differentiation, curriculum development, and assessment.

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