The Life-Changer of the Year Award happens once a year, every year they receive hundreds of nominations from all 50 states, but only 17 people will be given the honor of a grand prize. This year Conroe High School art teacher Melanie Stinson has been nominated for the LifeChanger of the Year Award which makes her eligible to receive one of the 17 cash prizes of up to $10,000. Since 2011, the LifeChanger of the Year has recognized and awarded over $8,500 to K-12 teachers, administrators, and school employees in 2,300+ school districts.
Receiving a LifeChanger of the Year is one of the most important awards you can receive in this day and age as a teacher. It shows that you are going to the utmost lengths as a teacher to give your students the best education they can receive.
“I am deeply honored that I was considered for this and it gives me pride knowing that I have helped and improved my students' development,” Art teacher Melanie Stinson said.
Different things inspire different people. For instance, one person could be inspired by their drive to be better, while another could be inspired by the desire to create something or even to inspire others.
"I have always been interested in art so when I went to college, I chose to do a BFA in drawing and painting. After I graduated, I worked towards my teaching degree because I felt it was of the utmost importance to be both a working artist and be able to motivate my students to do the same or to enjoy what they create," Stinson said.
Being able to change and adapt is one of the best and most important skills you can have as a teacher, especially as an art teacher when everything in art is constantly changing and shifting all around us.
"Because I have all levels of students and they are all in different stages of their artistic development. My goal is to meet them where they are. I may have one student who struggles to draw a straight line and another student who will be ready for AP in the next year. So I have to adapt and adjust each project to fit their needs. And my goal is for each student to show growth in what they're doing," Stinson sai
One thing that you can do to be the best teacher you possibly can is being able to leave a mark on a student, even if it's just one person that lasting impression will mean the world to them.
"Art is unique in a way that it helps an individual grow as a person and it can motivate them and help them improve outside of just creating art. So even for my students who won't go on to try to pursue an art career, I would like them to be able to find joy and motivation in their creativity," Stinson said.
Lessons can be of importance to some people but be useless to others, but what matters is what you can learn and grow from it. Most teachers have opinions about what is the best lesson you can learn.
"I know mistakes will be made but they can always be fixed. And that goes towards all levels of life. We make mistakes, we're human. It's how we go about fixing them that defines us," Stinson said.
by Rojo Lopez