MS. GARAT

WHAT DO YOU THINK IS THE BIGGEST DIFFERENCE BETWEEN HIGH SCHOOL AND MIDDLE SCHOOL  ART?

MS. GARAT:  All middle school students take art. Many of them literally run to art and tell me it’s their favorite class. In high school, art is an elective. In all of our fine arts classes, students learn skills and concepts and are introduced to the work of important or inspiring artists throughout history before designing their personal projects. People may not realize that students work on their projects over multiple classes. Making art takes time. There is learning occurring on multiple levels. The difference in teaching high school vs. middle school art- is that the older students have a capacity to understand more complex themes and ideas. Their age allows them to make deeper connections between things they learn in art class and things they learn in history or other academic classes.

DO YOU SEE A DIFFERENCE BETWEEN TEACHING HIGH SCHOOL PHOTOGRAPHY AND MIDDLE SCHOOL ART?

MS. GARAT: The first big difference is the amount of instruction time. High School photography met four times a week for a semester.  That’s double or triple the amount of class time I have with my middle school art classes. The second difference is that in a high school photography class, students work outside of class. Learning to use a camera, they need and want to practice off campus.  I rarely ask middle school students to work on art projects at home. Middle schoolers are getting used to managing their academic homework and we want them to develop good study habits. No matter what age student I‘m teaching, I want to inspire them, help them grow their skills [and] learn to analyze and find meaning in works they encounter, explore their own responses and practice expressing their ideas.

HOW HAS THE CHANGING OF MIDDLE SCHOOL SCHEDULES AFFECTED YOUR CURRICULUM AND THE WAY YOU TEACH?

MS. GARAT: I always wish I had more rather than less time with my middle school classes. There is always more I want to do with the students!  I love having 6th graders all year. They love that too. One of the things middle schoolers tell me they like is seasonal projects. Having them all year I’m able to highlight the seasons. I feel like the 8th-grade Ensemble program is nearly perfect.  We have enough time and are able to provide a rich curriculum for students.  The most challenging situation for me now is with my 7th-grade art classes. When 7th grade art shrank from a semester to a quarter it made it difficult to complete the ceramic food projects let alone do anything else. Everyone loves the clay food project. The students love making them and our community looks forward to seeing them.  When art gets scheduled on Mondays and Fridays you lose classes due to holidays.  

WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE PART OF TEACHING ART TO MIDDLE SCHOOL OR HIGH SCHOOL?

MS. GARAT: People advise you to teach what you know and love. I can’t help but do that when I plan lessons and projects. Over the course of my career at SMS I have included: watercolor painting, projects with animals as the theme, photography, and introducing students to opera and costume design through the story of The Magic Flute. These are all subjects I have experience with or a passion for. Sharing what I know and love with younger people keeps me excited! My favorite part of teaching middle school is that we are not grade-focused and I am able to mainly focus on encouraging creativity.  Mentoring individual high school students or teaching US Photography, I enjoy seeing older students dig a little deeper.