Kindergarten was the beginning of my artistic path.
Art was a means of expression for me, it enabled me to withdraw from the world, I was never a big talker or at times knew how to express myself verbally while growing up, so I drew out my feelings on the canvas, and I can attest that this form of therapy aided me in surviving many difficult days.
During my early teen years, I knew I wanted to do something related to art, but I wasn't sure what. I considered design in terms of fashion, graphic design, and even architectural design. I finally figured it out during my junior year of high school. I wanted a career as an art educator.
I chose to pursue this endeavor because I was inspired by my former history teacher. I could approach him with anything and he would always offer inspirational feedback. He was also very instrumental in assisting me in applying for colleges. His dedication and encouragement to students is what motivated me to follow in his footsteps in becoming a teacher. Although my school did not offer art courses during the time, it was my goal to take the challenge of inspiring the next generation to gain a love and appreciation for art in the classroom.
After a few years of being an art instructor, I can say that it has been an incredible experience that continues to get better with time, and I can truly say that art is critical in a child's life, even more so if they are anything like me when I was younger.
Art education has been shown to increase students' creativity, confidence, critical thinking skills, and academic achievement. I enjoying witnessing many of my students transform their dislike for art into love for it, with many expressing that creating art helps them to feel relaxed and also helps as a stress relief.
As you can imagine, many students may have a lot going on in their lives, and the last thing I want to do is add to their stress. I aim to relieve some of their stress, and I do this by offering a classroom setting that is encouraging and therapeutic. Sometimes students will become frustrated when their work doesn’t come out as planned. When it comes to creating art pieces, some will immediately say "I can’t do that!” but I will motivate them until they say "I can." Once they adopt that approach, the outcome of their work is usually amazing, which is a source of happiness for me. I love hearing "Ms. Smith, I can’t believe I did that.” Some students even tell me I’m the reason they come to school, this lets me know that I am possibly speaking to a future art teacher, and I can’t express in words how that makes me feel. I can truly say that I love inspiring others with art, and I wouldn’t change my profession for anything in the world. It’s only up from here.
Shalia Smith was born and raised in Lambert, Mississippi, and is currently employed as a high school teacher of Visual Arts/AP Art History in Jackson, Mississippi. To view Shalia's art collection, click the button below.
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