Ever heard of that saying  ‘He who can, does. He who cannot, teaches.’ ?

Thanks a lot, George Bernard Shaw. Decades later, teachers everywhere are dealing with the offshoots from that seed of discrimination you helped to plant. What would your english literature teacher have had to say about that, hmmm?
Let’s change that little quote to “She who understands learning, teaches well, and she who teaches well, can change the world.” Okay not quite as snappy, and a bit more sappy. But come on, a good learning experience really can change your life (we all have that one teacher who got through to us), and by extension, the world.

Back to that first quote:

Well, I Do…. and I Teach

What I mean is, I spend roughly three quarters of the year working as a designer and screen printer. Then in the summer, I put on my invisible mortar board and gown, and I teach, and both jobs inform each other beautifully.

But the summer job is really what it’s all about. It just feels right, as if I am doing something really worth doing.
I like teaching. This is why I continue to run my summer camps, despite the fact that I could just be a full time designer. I choose to teach. No matter what, I refuse to give up the teaching. And at the end of each summer, I feel as if I have been part of something really meaningful (I also feel as if I need a month long nap and an ibuprofen infusion).

In those few, short weeks, I feel that I am helping a group of kids have a really enjoyable summer experience, where they are learning even when it feels as though they are just playing and exploring. I want to expose them to big ideas and open them up to new ways of looking at things. I want them to go back to school feeling refreshed, stimulated, full of new ideas and skills, but relaxed. This all sounds really lofty, but I really do think the summer camp does that.

Teaching is a tough job, especially for full time teachers. I’m only (very much) part time and I’m my own boss.  I cannot compare myself to a teacher at a school, but I have been there before, and it is exhausting, exhilarating, frustrating and rewarding all at the same time. It’s not easy, but many choose to do it. So let’s take a moment and be thankful for all the good teachers out there.

Dedicated to the teacher who told me to stop being a coward, and apply to art college.