The 2500 or so visual arts teachers at the National Art Education Association conference in Minneapolis last weekend were a colorful bunch.

Literally.

They sported colorful, hand-decorated nametags (enhanced at the nametag decorating station) and bold paper mache hats that often matched the day’s outfit (made at a vendor booth). All the while they balanced bags of educational materials, posters, Van Gogh statues, and uniquely decorated ceramic tiles.

Many of us have an art teacher from the elementary or high school years that we remember as a bit quirky, but with a simple fondness or appreciation that they taught us how to look at life a little bit differently.

The bright colors and personalities aside, art teachers truly have a gift for digging deeply into a variety of issues, understanding the behind the scenes perspective, and then translating that into a way that an eight-year-old or a fifteen-year-old can understand.

Without them, would we have ever known that a tree was more than just a brown log with hollow green fluff on top of it? Would we have grasped an appreciation for color, texture, museums, and the moving picture? Would we have understood that creativity and the works produced by the creative mind are valuable parts of our society?

Art teachers, everyday, are collecting information to figure out how to better and more accurately teach us and our children these things.

They lamented to us (at the Copyright Alliance booth) that their students did not understand the importance of creating original works, and that issues related to tracing, copying, cutting, and pasting are constantly being tackled by both teachers and principals.

They are happy for the work that the Copyright Alliance has done to create a free curriculum for teachers. Materials that are concise and easy-to-use so they can better understand copyright and introduce it to their students are exactly what teachers need.

I am glad that we can begin to make things just a little bit easier for teachers. Afterall, they have the tough job of helping kids find and harness their creativity, all the while teaching them about artistic principles and laws.

Thanks, teachers, for doing what you do. Our society wouldn’t be nearly as colorful if it weren’t for you!

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This entry was posted on Wednesday, April 22nd, 2009 at 1:30 pm by Lucinda M. Dugger and is filed under creators, education, events. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.