Be Great!

"Be Open-Minded" Alex, Grade 10

I stopped what I was doing and looked across my classroom, an art room crowded with teenagers. Students gathered supplies, dragged stools into place and opened books. Across the room someone knocked a bucket of markers onto the floor. There were pockets of conversation, chatter about the weekend, and laughter at some joke told just beyond my earshot. Then, almost imperceptibly, the room became calm and uncharacteristically quiet as students began to focus on the task at hand.

For the past seventeen years, I have been a high school art teacher in Kamloops, British Columbia, a job I am passionate about! My days are busy, noisy and messy. I am surrounded by teenagers and inundated with tasks, activities, and questions. While some people may find this surprising, a room full of teenagers can be quiet—if they are focused and creatively engaged.

As an Art teacher, I teach students to draw, paint and sculpt. I offer strategies for creating aesthetically pleasing artworks and encourage students to recognize the beauty in the world around them. As well, I think it is increasingly important to empower students with the knowledge that their ideas matter, that their art can communicate powerful messages.

Working closely with teens, I am acutely aware of the pressures students are under. They are navigating family problems, health issues, financial stresses, school grades— the list goes on. By the time students reach high school, experience has already taught them that life is competitive, times stressful, and circumstances not always fair. So it is understandable that teens may become frustrated and react impulsively with negative attitudes and behaviours.

I came up with the “Be Great” project to challenge students to consider “strength of character” as a theme for their artwork. I encouraged them to think about ways in which positive behaviours impact their daily interactions with people around them. In groups and as a class, we brainstormed a long list of possible ideas. Individually, students were tasked with choosing one positive characteristic to represent in a visually compelling painting. Imagery, composition, colour theory and painting techniques were all necessary considerations.

It was only a short time into this process when I discovered that “moment of silence”, the moment when I knew everyone was fully engaged in the process, and creative problem solving had begun. All I had to do was wait for their visual solutions.
   
As this class celebrated positive human attributes, they began to see how people can choose to behave differently. Rather than being competitive, frustrated, disconnected, greedy, or bitter, individuals can be generous, resilient, engaged, innovative, and thankful.The students also recognized that by focusing on positive characteristics and behaviours, they can change not only their own experiences but enhance the experiences of others around them.
    
The students seemed to get it. By creating and sharing these artworks, they demonstrated that we can be optimistic about our future. Being positive and engaged in what we do is fundamental to success and happiness.

Wouldn’t it be great if more and more young people (and adults) were talking about this? And then doing something about it. As if it was the most important thing in the world.