Creativity, Connection, and Social Media with Joel Scholten (Ep. 501)

In today’s episode, Tim sits down with Joel Scholten, K–12 art educator, social media creator, and Art of Education FLEX Standards Manager, to talk about teaching elementary art, finding connection through social media, and rediscovering the joy in our creative practice.

Joel shares how Instagram and TikTok have helped him connect with other art teachers, refine his instructional scaffolding, and discover contemporary artists that boost student engagement. He also previews his Art Ed NOW Conference presentation, walks through a powerful negative space watercolor lesson, and drops a budget-saving classroom hack you won’t want to miss. He also closes the show with some words of wisdom on how the joy of teaching and creating for yourself can make you a better, more energized educator.

Full episode transcript below.

Resources and Links

• • Join the Art of Ed Community
  • Follow Joel on Instagram
  • Register for the Art Ed NOW Conference!
  • Check out AOE’s FLEX Curriculum

Transcript

Tim:

Welcome to Art Ed Radio, the podcast for art teachers. This show is produced by the Art of Education, and I’m your host, Tim Bogatz.

We are getting really close to the Art Ed Now Conference coming up next week at the end of next week. We’re really, really excited about that. And when we get so close to the event, I start to think about the connections that we make and the connections that we need as art teachers, because teaching art can be an incredibly joyful experience, but it can also be isolating and it can be overwhelming and be really difficult when you’re the only art teacher in the building. Thinking about that makes me realize why connection matters so much. And we like to have all of those opportunities to connect. We like to bring people together wherever we can, whether it’s through the Art of Ed community, the conference, through social media, through other professional learning, or just having those shared creative experiences.

You know, finding ways to connect with other art teachers can be a really powerful reminder that we’re not doing this by ourselves. And so today’s conversation is all about that connection. And so I’m going to be joined here by Joel Skolton. He is an elementary art teacher many, many times been at the Art Ed Nowon Conference, been on the podcast a few times and obviously very recognizable from social media. He’s @scholtenart on Instagram, TikTok, very, very popular, and he does a great job of sharing his lessons, reflections, you know, ideas that work with kids. And he’s also a Flex Standards Manager at the Art of Ed. And he does a lot with curriculum, thinks a lot about curriculum and has a lot to share with teachers when it comes to the lessons that they teach. And

He loves to present some of those lessons at the conference. So. In the conversation today, we’ll talk about his upcoming presentation. We’ll talk about the conference, but also talk about those connections. We’ll talk about creativity. We’ll talk about how he does social media and all sorts of other things. So really excited to talk to him. I’m really excited to hear what he has to say. So let me bring on Joel now.

Alright, Joel Scholten is joining me now. Joel, welcome back to the show. How are you?

Joel:

I am doing great, Tim. Thank you so much for having me. It’s always a pleasure.

Tim:

Well, I appreciate you saying that. Always great to talk to you, but not everybody listening knows you, so I was hoping we could start with an introduction. Can you tell us about yourself, about your teaching, all of your adventures on social media, anything along those lines, and I guess what you usually do for us at the NOW Conference?

Joel:

Yeah, absolutely. My name is Joel Scholten. I’m a K through 12 art educator. I’ve taught all those grades at some point in my career, but right now I teach elementary school K through five. It’s my favorite and I’ve been teaching elementary school for about years, although I guess I don’t completely want to admit that.

Tim:

It’s sad when you start feeling old as a teacher. talk about that way too often on this podcast, but I understand what you’re going through.

Joel:

Yeah, I used to make fun of the veteran teachers and now I am the veteran teacher being made fun of. So that’s a new experience for me that I’m certainly enjoying and obviously deserve. So that’s great. Now I love teaching elementary art because they still love art. You know, they get excited to be in the classroom. They get excited to experiment and try new things. So it’s really fun to set things up for them. For the most part, they

really enjoy the kind of messes that we make in the classroom. I also have a platform on social media. I’m on Instagram and on TikTok. My handle’s @scholtenart and I share different art lessons that are viable that I’ve done in my classroom. And a lot of these projects are projects I’ve done over the years. So I’ve gotten a lot of feedback from other people on social media and I know that they’re viable in other classrooms as well. People have shared their work with me and given me feedback on those lessons. So it’s really fun to share ideas with others. And it’s really also kind of fun to learn new ideas and new techniques from others who are on social media. So I find it really fun, especially as somebody who’s the only art teacher in the building. Having social media makes me feel a little bit more connected to other art teachers.

Tim:

I think that’s a good outlet for a lot of teachers who are by themselves. We talk all the time about being on the island, being the only teacher in the building, wherever you can find those connections, they’re going to be worthwhile. And I think social media is a great connection for a lot of people. So I really like hearing that.

Joel:

Yeah, and it’s also just such a positive space for the most part. I enjoy just even positive banter back and forth. And it’s great also to hear, know, sometimes recently this year, I feel like I’ve been finding myself having to take extra time to complete projects and like noticeably more time. just feels like students are, I don’t know if they’re less motivated or

I haven’t really found the exact reasoning for why things are taking so much longer. I know that I’m sharing a lot more intentionally discussing expectations and procedures around different tools and materials more consistently than I’ve had to in the past, just so kids are aware and reminded of how they are supposed to be responding to the materials and the tools at their table. But I haven’t found specifically why projects becomes so time consuming in the classroom. But I think social media is great for situations like this because I know that I’m not the only one who’s seeing the struggle in the classroom.

So when I post something that, you know, says, hey, this is a two week project, but this year it’s going to take four weeks, you know, and people are responding back saying,What is it this year? haven’t figured out what is happening. Why is it taking so much longer? It’s at least comforting to know that I’m not the only one who has seen such a discrepancy in pacing throughout the school years. That it’s also comforting to have people who are experiencing the same things as you.

Tim:

Yeah, absolutely. It’s validating to know that, no, I’m not going crazy. These things actually they are happening and other people are facing those same situations. So yeah, that can be incredibly helpful. Now I wanted to ask you, I wanted to have you on to, talk about the now conference, cause you’re always one of our most popular presenters. Uh, what can you tell us about the presentation that you have coming on in just a couple of weeks here? Like what can people expect to see from you this time?

Joel:

Well, I work for the Art of Ed, for FLEX. So I work as a FLEX standards manager. So I take content that is being created for the flex curriculum and I align it to different state standards just to make sure that one, it’s a really great lesson plan. I can provide some feedback to the writers, but also to make sure that if you are researching a lesson that needs to go with a specific standard, you have a list of lessons or resources available to you so that you can teach that standard in your classroom. When I present at the NOW Conference, I present different flex lessons that kind of come across my desk and that I’ve made special note of. So this lesson is really fun, called negative space watercolor painting. What I love most about it is that it not only incorporates lots of different watercolor techniques, but the theme that is around it is really fun as well. So at the beginning of the lesson, it calls the artist to choose an animal that describes their personality or consider an idiom that includes an animal that would describe you. So you pick that animal and you sketch that animal out. And then in the negative space, the artist is called to try a variety of different techniques, watercolor techniques to fill in the negative space. And the lesson comes with some really great resources. It has several different techniques already created on resources that have visuals that go along with it. And so it doesn’t have to take a lot of extra time for students to research different techniques and applications.

It’s all kind of right there for you. so for me, I chose a bull I’ve often been referred to as the bull in the China shop. And it’s so funny because when I was a kid, I like broke everything, right? And now as an adult, like underestimate everything. So I try so little because I don’t want to break it. Then everybody is like, are you weak? Why can’t you, you know,

But I’m just trying really hard to be ginger with everything because I don’t want to be the bull in the china shop.

Tim:

In this lesson you do.

Joel:

Right, so I chose bull in a china shop. drew a bull and you’re just going to walk along with me as we try out some different techniques and in the negative space and then at the end we paint the animal by doing some watercolor layering and we complete it by outlining and adding some details with permanent marker.

Tim:

No, it’s perfect. And that’s a really good description. And I think it’s a really, really fun lesson. I feel like we need to have the caveat, though, that you get to finish this lesson in 20 minutes because you have time lapse. And I feel like every time we go to the conference, we’re like, how do you finish this so quickly? Mine’s not done yet. Like, no, it’s not supposed to be done yet. You have all day to work on this. So, yeah, we’ll just need to remind people of that.

Joel:

I actually think I mentioned that a couple different times in the presentation myself because I am trying to get all those steps in for everybody in that allotted time for my presentation, but it is something that is meant to be kind of completed over time.

Tim:

I think that’s really cool. And I think, you know, just giving people a good lesson, giving them the opportunity to work can be something that we don’t get a lot as teachers. And that’s one of the things I love about the conference. And that’ll bring me to my segue.

The other thing that I love about the conference is just the connection that we’re able to make with with other teachers spending all day with people who doing the same thing as us and talking to them. And I know that’s that’s kind of a shared experience you have on Instagram, on TikTok, and you talked a little bit about this about finding that connection and just, you know, making connections with other art teachers. And I want to know like, has that affected your teaching at all? Like as your, your social media following has grown, as you’re having these conversations, sharing these ideas, has that kind of shaped or affected your teaching at all?

Joel:

I definitely think that, you I think it’s all kind of reciprocal, right? And even working for the art of ed, it just, you walk in with a different kind of intentionality into the classroom because you’re thinking about, even when I’m helping with curriculum for flex, I’m thinking about things just in a slightly different way because I’m helping to teach teachers how to teach things to students. And so I actually have to be able to understand how I’m teaching the things that I’m teaching to students. And so you’re thinking about the way you think and you’re thinking about the way you create and the way you model things for kids and like the unintentional scaffolding of things, know, sometimes for example, be teaching cutting is one of those things that people are usually pretty comment heavy on on Instagram, they’ll say like, well, how do you get kids to cut like that? Like, yeah, my kids could never cut like that.

And so I think about all this unintentional scaffolding like we do so much cutting practice in kindergarten, I just actually posted a lesson on Instagram this week about a project where we do some bubble cutting where we cut outside of the original shape to create a border. And they’re kind of repeating this practice over and over again to create this Kandinsky stuff, Kandinsky style hearts, and they have to do 12 hearts.

It’s a lot of cutting and it takes time, but our focus is on growth. So every time kids create a new heart, I find a way for them to reflect on how they’ve improved or I comment on how they’ve improved or when they glue it down. It’s fun to see the progression to see how they’ve improved. So we’re not really looking for perfection in this project. What we’re looking for is progress and growth. And honestly, by the time they’re done with this project, heart one to heart 12 is a completely different situation. And so even thinking about that project just as scaffolding so that first graders can cut like that, so that second graders can cut like that, you know, it all kind of builds upon each other. And it’s not, you know, these projects aren’t necessarily in a vacuum, they’re, they’re scaffolded.

And so it really does force you to think intentionally because in the art of ed, you’re having to break those things down and think about, how would I teach that next step? But on social media, sometimes you’re having to defend why this works because there’s a lot of naysayers out there. And so you’re going to put something out there. You, you’re going to have to be able to explain why and how, or what you do to make that work with that grade level or or how you’re able to get kids to buy into. Trying something over and over and over again just so that they can improve and so it does force you to look at it, look at lesson writing and teaching from a different perspective, and that does help you grow as a teacher, right?

And then it’s fun because as you grow as a teacher then you’re also able to bring what you’ve learned back into you know the Art of Ed or into social media to share new things. I think social media has also helped in that I am being exposed to more contemporary artists through Instagram and TikTok than I’ve ever had before. Like people that might be niche to a certain city or you know area demographic and now their work is being placed in front of me and I’m able to experience a lot of up and coming artists. And I love featuring contemporary artists in my lessons because I think it creates buy-in too. Cause I think, you know, when every artist you teach is, is dead, you know, kids make the inference that nobody creates art anymore, you know? And it’s still, if you can teach a same concept with an artist who’s living and breathing and making it, then they think, wait, art is not dead. Like people are still doing the thing.

You know and so there’s a little bit more buy-in when they see people who are currently living and breathing doing those things and it’s been so much easier and so much more fun pulling in contemporary artists having social media because I’ve just been exposed to so many new artists.

Tim:

Yeah, and I love learning about new artists myself, and I think that excitement transfers to your kids. And when you’re able to share new things and you say, I just found this new artist. I’m really excited about them. Like you said, that gets by in that really ups their excitement level as well. So I think that’s really cool. And it keeps things fresh for you, too. It keeps you from teaching the same artists over and over again.

Joel:

I think the last thing is that one thing that I really do love about social media too is that moment when somebody does something so logical and you’ve been doing it the hard way for 18 years and you’re like, wait, what? Like I had to do like a whole MythBusters thing. My fifth graders are super invested because I saw on Instagram that you can revive washable markers.

by filling the cap with water and letting it sit for 24 hours. This is an absolute game changer for our teachers, right? And I’m like, this cannot be real. I did it. And I actually did it while my fifth graders were working independently. Of course, they had questions. So I sharing with them what I was doing. And I was experimenting. like, OK, we’re to do a MythBusters on this. I actually waited until they were back in the classroom the next week to open them up. they all worked.

Tim:

Okay. That’s amazing.

Joel:

It was it was incredible. Like this is a game changer. How did I not know about this? Why have I been wasting my budget?

Tim:

I did not know about this. Can I ask you a follow up question about that? Like are they back to full strength or is it a short reprieve and then they run out again? Because I feel like you could go through all this work and it last for like two days and then it’s gone again. Or is it back at full strength?

Joel:

Yes! I would honestly say, okay, no shade to any art material production companies, but I would say I receive washable markers in a condition that is less than desirable when I purchase them. When I tell you that they are peak condition, they are literally at peak condition. It is so fluid and all of them that I’ve put through the test are still currently working and in with all the other students materials. So I think this is a, I think this is a legit solution to a problem.

Tim:

I love hearing this. I’m so excited. I’m ready to go try as soon as this interview is over. So this is exciting.

Joel:

Yes. And then you think you’re like, why did I waste all of this budget money every year on washable markers?

Decades of ordering new markers.

When this art teacher over here has been doing this for 20 years, you know, it’s like amazing. I love that people can share these tips.

Tim:

Yeah, I feel like this is also gonna be the only takeaway anybody has from this interview. Did you hear that marker thing that Joel was talking about? No, I did want to ask you though, because I know you have a lot of good advice beyond markers, but I want to ask you one more question about social media. It’s obviously been hugely beneficial for you, but I wanted to ask what advice you had for teachers who maybe want to share their work online, maybe want to, you know, make that connection or show more of what they’re doing. But what advice would you have them? For them, the people who want to do that, but maybe feel hesitant about putting themselves out there.

Joel:

Yeah, I think it’s super important that people go into it with a certain authenticity. When I started on Instagram, it was because somebody said, hey, this is a really great place to connect. You’ve got a lot of great ideas. know, other art teachers have a lot of great ideas you could share and swap. Instagram’s where it’s at if you’re wanting to learn and share. And so I went on there for that purpose. Never did I think in a million years that I would have the sort of following that I have now.

Which is really awesome and really great. And there’s a lot of benefits to that. It’s not all sunshine and rainbows either, but I didn’t go into it with the idea that I was thirsty for followers. And I think people can sniff that out. I just kind of went in and said, hey, here are the things that I’m doing in my classroom and the kids are loving it. And I’m going to share this with you. I’m going to tell you a little bit about how I got to there. And I think people just responded well to that. think people…

responded to the authenticity of it. I wasn’t reposting Pinterest ideas. This was kind of like, hey, these are the fun, weird things that my kids are doing. Here’s how we got there. And I think there’s a space for every art teacher because every art teacher has that fun, quirky, different lesson plan that they run to because they are the ones that the kids love and beg for every year. And so

Tim:

I say just own your own ideas and share like truly personal experiences and just be real with people online. I think that’s going to draw people in a whole lot more than having to be polished, having to have the right answer all the time. You know, even me, I recently posted a project where it was called like Arctic penguins and somebody is like, well, you know,

the penguins are in the Antarctic. you know, I’m like, okay, you know, like somewhere in the back of my mind, I actually already knew that and you’re like, yeah, I probably shouldn’t be calling it Arctic to my students. And so I could have responded and you know, been real sassy back but honestly, I have to own it. Like, I messed it up. I said the wrong thing. It’s okay. And so I responded like, hey, thank you for the reminder. I’ll make sure to use the right words with the kids in the classroom this week.

And it was simple and honest and none of us are perfect and polished. And so you can just really own who you are, your creative brain, your weird brain. People want to see it. They want to know what you’re doing in the classroom. And what you have is different than what other art teachers have. So embrace that.

Tim:

No, I love it. I love it. And then just one last question for you, Joel. If you could leave everybody listening with just one big idea about sharing your work or creativity or teaching or just what to take from the Art Ed Now conference, what would that big idea be?

Joel:

I think to tie this all together, teaching can be a real killjoy. I mean, I hope I don’t get in trouble for saying this, but it really can.

Tim:

No, real talk. Like teaching is hard. Absolutely right. Everybody listening right now is nodding their head. Yes. So we, know.

Joel:

You get really caught up in all of those fine details, it’s so overwhelming. It’s so important to embrace things that are fun. It is fun for me to create videos and to voice them over with silly voices and you know, make dad jokes and that kind of stuff. That’s fun for me. And so it is a way for me to step in back into the classroom and to to create teacher examples of projects that we’re doing not because I have to get it done, but now it’s becoming something that

is enjoyable, right? I am creating for the kids, but I’m also creating for myself. And so that’s one great way to incorporate social media. But it’s also one great reason to be part of the NOW Conference because we’re going to be creating. And I’m sure I’m not the only presenter who’s going to ask you to get your sketchbook out. I know that they encourage sketch notes as you’re listening to presenters. And there’s going to be different techniques and things that people are going to show you. And it’s just going to be fun to

to sit in your favorite chair with your favorite coffee and sit and sketch and draw and just create for the sake of creating. And that energy that you create in creating something for yourself will show through in your teaching. You know, just like people online know when you’re being authentic, the kids in the classroom know when you’re authentic. You know, when you’re stressed out and you’re bogged down and you’re trying to teach something that you want them to be excited about, but you can’t be excited because you’re so tired and worn out. Kids are going to feel that. They’re not going to find any excitement in the things that you’re teaching because they feel your energy. But if you can find small ways to just remember the joy of creating, even sitting down every once in a while and just creating alongside students is a really fun way to one for them to see really what your skills are like.

You know, when kids look at my teacher samples are not necessarily meant to be my finest work of art, but something that is attainable to a fourth grader. And so they don’t always see my skill level, but it’s fun for them to see me doing something for myself alongside of them while they’re working. I can talk to them. I can build relationship. I can give them ideas and problem solve with them. And then I moved to a different table and work with another table, but I’m still kind of creating for myself. And it’s cool for the kids to see too that I’m a real artist, like I actually know what I’m talking about. And I can do the things that I’m telling them that they can someday do if they practice these skills. And even that is just such a great way to keep yourself motivated throughout the day so that your negative energy doesn’t make its way into your teaching.

Tim:

Yeah, absolutely. I agree with everything that you said there and we all know how difficult teaching is in January and February and I think keeping those things in mind as we get through there can be incredibly helpful. So Joel, thank you so much for joining me and thanks again for being part of the Art Ed Now Conference. We love having you there and it’s been great to talk to you here.

Joel:

Thank you so much for having me, I appreciate it. It’s always a pleasure, Tim.

Tim:

I think one of the biggest takeaways from this conversation, and thank you to Joel, as always, for coming on, but one of the biggest takeaways is just the reminder that teaching doesn’t have to drain all the joy out of creativity. It certainly can if we let that happen. But what Joel had to say about continuing to create, continuing to connect, are really important reminders.

Just the ideas about authenticity and teaching with intentionality and creating for yourself alongside your students or wherever you can find time to create. All of those ideas kind of speak to something that I think a lot of us are feeling right now. And when we find those small ways to reconnect with people doing the same thing, or we reconnect ourselves with the joy of creating, the joy of making art,

It changes how we approach our teaching with our energy, our mindset, the relationships we build with students. And you know, that’s why I really encourage everybody to make those connections. And if you can come to the Art Ed Now conference next week, that is a wonderful place, a wonderful experience because it’s not just about, you know, learning new lessons or teaching strategies. Like you’ll definitely get those.

But it’s more about sitting down with your sketchbook and experimenting with materials and just taking the time to create without any pressure. so Joel’s presentation gives you that experience, but also gives you a lesson that you can take straight back to your classroom. Alongside that, you get the conversation, the connection with all the other teachers that are there at the conference with you.

And so if you’re feeling worn out, if you’re feeling disconnected or just kind of in survival mode, which I think a lot of us are in late January, early February, consider this an invitation for you. Come to the Art Ed Now Conference, spend a day creating with teachers who get it, and let the energy, let the takeaways, let the lessons from the conference take you back into your teaching, back into your classroom with a little bit different mindset. I think all of the things that we can take away from the conference can really shift how you look at your teaching, how you look at your classroom, and that can be hugely beneficial for you. So we would love to see you there. You can find all the information you need at artofeducation.edu/now.

Thank you again to Joel for sharing his time and his ideas and his perspectives and once again, being ready to lead off the Art Ed Now Conference with an amazing presentation. So we will see him next week and we’ll hopefully see you next week as well.