All news
In My Classroom: Lessons in creating, giving
Posted: 9/2/2010 9:31:17 AM
Students in Manitowoc art teacher Jenny Fisher’s class participate in an “add-on” drawing lesson. Students draw a particular part of a person’s body and pass it to the next student to draw another part. “The drawings are pretty funny,” Fisher said.
For Manitowoc art teacher Jenny Fisher, lessons are all about giving. From recycling materials donated to the school district into art projects to organizing a lesson aiding Haiti earthquake victims, art lessons for Fisher’s students are more than just paint and construction paper.
 |
| Jenny Fisher Art teacher Manitowoc |
During the last school year, fifth-graders in Fisher’s classes made house-shaped refrigerator magnets that they sold for $5 each to the community. The effort raised $2,000 for Haiti earthquake relief. Fisher used the lesson (which she adapted from one she saw online) to expand students’ thinking of the world. “How would you feel if you were in those children’s places?” she asked the students.
Fisher said she hopes to do more civic-minded projects this year.
“I’d love to try a different project each year,” she said. “I think it’s good for the kids to learn to give. Hopefully, they will take lessons learned from this to heart for the rest of their lives.”
The idea of giving also extends to what creations Fisher’s students embark on. With local art budgets being reduced over the years, Fisher makes a point to re-use donated materials that come into the district. Companies and residents periodically drop off odds and ends, leading to Fisher’s project of having students use the various pieces to make sculptures of people – with each limb using a different material. Old paintbrushes and dried-out markers were used for legs, forks and toothbrushes for arms.
“They were awesome,” Fisher said. “Kids’ imaginations are far better than adults.”
 |
| Fifth-graders made refrigerator magnets to sell to the community, raising money for Haiti earthquake relief. |
The recycled art projects have a side benefit – they show students that not everyone needs the best paints or the best clays to be a great artist.
“Sometimes kids think if they can’t draw, they aren’t an artist,” Fisher said. “Drawing is only one way or technique to visually create an image. I tell them that anyone who makes art or creatively expresses themselves is an artist, but they don’t need expensive supplies to do it. It’s important for them to know you can be an artist even if you don’t have oil paints and expensive items.”
Fisher, who’s entering her fourth year of full-time teaching, draws on her parents for inspiration. Her mother is an elementary school teacher, her father an architect. After studying interior design and also working as a fitness instructor, Fisher said she found her creative fit. “I love kids and I love art – so this is perfect,” she said.
Do you know of a classroom or project you'd like to see featured? Let us know.