Monday, April 14, 2014

Artists



I have come to believe that a great teacher is a great artist and that there are as few as there are any other great artists. Teaching might even be the greatest of the arts since the medium is the human mind and spirit.
John Steinbeck



6 comments:

Anonymous said...

It's true. We only remember 2 types of teachers - the great ones who inspired us and the ones who shouldn't have been in teaching.

Blogger Blobby referred to his dog Petey as HRH, as in His Royal Highness. I always thought that HRH was just an unusual name for a pet (yes I was born blonde). Does HRH stand for something else or do you use it to keep your anonymity?

Joe said...

HRH stand for Her Royal Highness. I use it to keep my anonymity. Since she's named after a Queen of England, a friend of mine gave her that nickname as shorthand for her real name.

JiEL said...

I'm an artist, an art teacher too.
(Retired since Jan. 2011)

Your post, today, is full of truth. I always thought that teaching is an «art» by itself and those who aren't imaginative aren't in the good place.

Teaching is, for me, like being an actor doing a performance in front of a public. The same way a stand-up comic is performing to please his audience.
You have to always invent ways to captivate your students and make them learn with joy and curiosity.
More as an art teacher, I was often changing my «class projects» from years to years so that the new students could be surprised and not thinking they'regoiong to do the same works than the others of the year before...

Now that I'm retired and have had many feedbacks from former students. I can say that I did my best and did have some positive influence on many of them...

I even have one of my most talented student that is working for Walt Disney Studios in Cal.
Another one is a graphic designer in London UK... etc...

Thank for this nice and short post of today that brought me so many nice memories...

xxx

Anonymous said...
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Anonymous said...

Absolutely agree. I've had some very good teachers but only a handful are truly memorable, who inspired my passion for learning and influenced the direction of my career choice. And a few actually took the time and interest to get to know me. They were genuinely interested in my well being and provided support during some difficult times. I can guarantee that you, my Closet Professor friend, would have been one of those teachers I counted among my friends and key influencers in my life. Who knows, I might have actually enjoyed history

silvereagle said...

Know something, Professor....I bet you have never had a paint brush in your hand, but you are most likely one of, if not the, best artist as a teacher that any of your students will ever encounter!!!