Teachers Mutual Bank Teacher Recognition Award Winner

Teachers Mutual Bank is proud to sponsor the inaugural Teacher Recognition Award, as part of ARTEXPRESS Virtual 2020. This cash award is designed to assist a teacher in a regional or remote region with a Low Index of Community Socio-Educational Advantage (ICSEA), helping to offset the financial investment teachers make in their students and their work.

This year’s (2020) Teacher Recognition Award winner is Michelle Young from Bowral High School, who had artwork from two of her students featured in this year’s exhibition. Explore her students’ artwork:

Rebecca Risteska - Sticks and Stones

Monika Haselhuhn - Forget Me Not

We interviewed Michelle to ask about her thoughts on ARTEXPRESS Virtual and about her teaching experience in what has been a tumultuous year for all.

Sticks and Stones by Rebecca Risteska 

2020 Recipient: Michelle Young from Bowral High School

Teachers Mutual Bank: Tell us about the school where you teach.

Michelle Young: Bowral High School is a rural high school in Bowral, NSW. It’s a fantastic school, and I love it. The area is beautiful. We have just under 900 students. The kids are amazing, very excited about the visual arts.

TMB: What drove you to become an art teacher?

MY: I’m extremely passionate about visual arts and love producing art myself, so I just fell into the teaching side of things. As an 18 year old, I thought I’d be an artist and teach on the side but it’s been the other way around. I don’t spend a lot of time on my own work, but do get to make a lot of samples for the students so I’m still being creative.

TMB: How do you support and encourage your students with their bodies of work?

MY: We’re fortunate enough that we’re not far from the city, so we can catch the train to Sydney to see ARTEXPRESS. We take years 11 and 12 together, so they can see the standard they need to reach. The year 11’s can be a little scared, but we point out the artwork and tell them “That kid was the same as you”. The year 12’s are generally excited, they’ve been dreaming about this their entire secondary schooling life. They have a great understanding about what they can achieve. A body of work isn’t about one year, it’s about years of skills building and assessment.

Forget Me Not by Monika Haselhuhn

TMB: What has it been like teaching year 12 art during a global pandemic?

MY: I didn’t take the year 12 class this year, but I’ve been supervising their teacher. When the lockdown was announced, we just loaded the students up with everything they needed, then had regular check-ins over Zoom. One-on-one’s with year 12 only, group calls for year 12 and all other grades. In terms of teaching, it was exhausting. We were learning how to deliver and delivering at the same time. And trying to balance our home life. 2020 started with the bushfires, and then Covid… it’s been a draining year. We’re all looking forward to the Christmas holidays!

TMB: How have your students handled the changes?

MY: For some kids, it was fantastic. Working in their pyjamas. But others struggled, whether because of their home life or not having a dedicated workspace. There’s a huge divide, which is more apparent when the playing field isn’t level. For families who value education and can provide a proper space, those kids have fared better. Some kids have been working during school hours to support their family, because their parents lost their jobs. That means they’ve been doing their schoolwork at night. It was like a 24/7 job.

TMB: Pros and cons of teaching art online versus the classroom?

MY: There’s no such thing as normal hours anymore, which can be difficult. But being able to deliver lessons online or have a virtual coaching session with a student is a wonderful resource.

TMB: Do you have any advice for other teachers trying to navigate these times of Covid-19?

MY: It’s all a little overwhelming, so try to take little bites. There’s a tonne of resources out there, and they’re not going away. Explore. Take your time finding them, and adapting. It’s all about relationships with our kids. The relationships help get you through. You help them, and they – the students and other teachers – help you. You’re not alone, remember that.

TMB: Where do you see the role of technology in art education going in the future?

MY: I’m in two minds about whether lessons will continue online, or if – and when – it will go back to normal. I only knew the basics of Google classroom, so having to produce the whole course was a challenge. It’s been a huge learning curve, but we got through it together. If this is here to stay, we’ll get better at it. There’s been a lot of chances for personal development that I never would have had a chance to participate in otherwise.

TMB: What are the benefits of the virtual format of the exhibition?

MY: Having virtual galleries is a game-changer. We don’t have a gallery in the highlands, which means we have to travel to experience art in person. The nearest regional gallery is an hour away. The virtual gallery lets us engage with ARTEXPRESS from the comfort of our own homes, in our own time. And there’s no cost, which makes it accessible for more people. It’s great for kids who can’t just pop in to a gallery. ARTEXPRESS Virtual has definitely broadened the audience. Especially with the lockdown, it means the students don’t miss out. You don’t get to have a good look when you’re on an excursion, so the students get more time to explore the artwork. And the online tools allow you to get up close with each piece, which you can’t do in real life.

TMB: In a world that is becoming increasingly dependent on technology, does art still have a place in schools?

MY: Being creative is a human pursuit. We’re creative beings, and computers will never take that away from us. We’ve always had a STEM class at Bowral high, but I’ve fought hard to add an A for art. This is the first year of STEAM, from year 7 onwards. The “A” is about being innovative and creative, about improving your communication and problem-solving skills. Creativity is important in all fields, no matter what career a student chooses. Art can teach you to how think differently, to think outside the square. And that’s going to be an important skill for the jobs of the future.

TMB: What does winning this award mean to/for you?

MY: It’s extremely flattering to be recognised in this way. But I don’t believe the award is just mine, it belongs to the whole faculty. No one teacher is responsible. There’s three of us and we all have different skills, so the kids can go to whoever can best help them with a particular problem. It’s a faculty award, but it was a nice surprise.