I got the chance to interview Heavener High School’s new art teacher, Mrs. Brown. Mrs. Brown graduated college from Northeastern State University and has a bachelor’s degree in Mass Communications and Advertising, with a minor in Graphic Arts. This is her eighth year teaching and she previously taught at Spiro. Here are a few questions from the interview:
M: What inspired you to be a teacher?
Mrs. Brown: I don’t know if it was inspiration or just necessity. I have a child with disabilities, so working around his schedule is important, and I love to teach and I love art so when the opportunity arose, I took it. Before I became a teacher I was a newspaper and newsletter editor. I also did print shop work, like magazines and I really enjoyed that.
M: Have you always had a passion for art?
Mrs. Brown: Yes. When I was younger I would draw for as long as possible and my mom and my grandma were also artists, so I’ve always liked it.
M: What do you hope to achieve by being an art teacher?
I want to expose people to more than just the term “art.” A lot of people think that art is just drawing and painting, but it’s not. My goal in life is to let people know that art is just as important as math and science.
M: What classes are you teaching this year?
Mrs. Brown: This year I am teaching Art I and Art II, but not Art III. Next year I will be able to teach Art III. We have Art Club this year, too.
M: Are you happy so far, with what you achieved with being an art teacher, like, how you said that art is more than just drawing and painting?
Mrs. Brown: This is my first week here at Heavener, so not yet! But at Spiro, yes I think I did. When I had to leave, a lot of my students backed me and supported me and tried to do things to keep me there, they knew how important it was.
When asked what she thinks of this school so far, she replied with, “I haven’t gotten out of my space much so far. It’s good, but it’s a little quiet for me being out here by myself because I’m kind of a social person and it gets a little lonely. On the other hand it could be a good thing, too. I have my own space. Sometimes I don’t feel like I’m part of the main building, but then again that can be a good thing, too,” she laughs. “I don’t have to worry about some of the things that they have to worry about over there. I like it though.”
By Mackenzie Slusser of The Wolf Howls