Mr. Bryant Robert – Elk Creek & Marshdale Elementary Schools
Our featured Art Educator is Mr. Bryant Robert. Mr. Robert runs an Original Works fundraiser at both of the schools where he is the Visual Art Teacher. Here is what he had to say regarding his passion for art and art education.
How long have you been teaching art?
8 years.
What grades do you teach?
K-5
So what was it that sparked your interest in becoming an art educator?
When I was in college at the University of Nebraska getting my Bachelor of Fine Arts, I got the chance to work with a group of Elementary students in the photography lab. Just to watch them light up with enthusiasm, joy, and thirst for knowledge about art, made me want to pursue teaching the visual arts.
Do you have a particular art medium you like to use in your classroom?
Paint and pastels seem to be my favorite.
Tell us one of the more memorable things that a student has done in one of your classes?
One student had a difficult time with art and it’s concepts with perspective drawings. Each day he would get more and more frustrated with his misunderstandings of the project. He convinced himself that he had no acuity for this project. After breaking things down slowly with him each time in class, he made a great breakthrough and everything seem to fall into place. Later he would bring me drawings from home and show me how he was practicing his knowledge of perspective.
Is there anything you would like to share with your peers?
Never give up and always strive to encourage Art as a passion for every student. If a child just learns one thing, hopefully that will spark the ambition to connect with all other disciplines, especially the Arts.