Chris Cooper – 874
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ANN RICE COOPER
EVELYN
SHOULTS NAMED
ALABAMA
TEACHER OF THE YEAR
“My
love of art is more about just creating something with everything you have in
you and not letting this world take that feeling away from you.”
Evelyn Shoults
Evelyn
Shoults found out she was Alabama Teacher of the Year Award winner for 2012 and
2013 through letters that were sent to her headmaster, principals, and herself.
“I am very honored to have been able to
receive the Alabama Teacher of the Year Award the past two years, but most of
all honored to have such incredible students that touch my life daily.”
She
received a plaque and gift certificate for art supplies.
Shoults
inherited the love of art from her family, where she was exposed to the art form
since she was a child.
“I
can not remember a time that it was not a part of me. I enjoy many mediums of art and am always willing to learn
something new. I work with
acrylic, watercolor, oils, drawing in graphite, sculpt in clay and found
objects, and dabble in glass art.
I also have a hobby in photography.”
She
always knew art would play a special role in her life, but she was adamant that
she would never become a teacher.
She
attended Auburn Montgomery University with a major in Graphic Design and a
minor in Marketing. While in
college, she discovered the art of photography.
“In graphic design we had to come up with
many different project ideas and most projects just leaded themselves to having
photography in them, so strong photography was important. With photography you
can go down many avenues. For me it really boils down to an artistic photograph
is the vision of that particular artist. Every person will have a different
interpretation and way to capture an image. With strong composition and
individual style artistic photography is in the making and who is to say it is
not art?”
She
worked as a graphic designer; and even though she enjoyed her job she felt that
something wasn’t right.
“I felt that there was something missing,
something was not being fulfilled in my daily tasks. I wanted to do more with my art.”
She
learned that there was an art teacher position open at a Montgomery Public
School. She applied for the
position and started her first year of teaching in September of 2007. She realized this was the calling in
her life.
“I did not realize how it would change my life so incredibly.”
“I did not realize how it would change my life so incredibly.”
She
teaches visual art to 6th, 7th, and 8th grad
middle students. She also teaches
Photography 1, Photography II, and Graphic Design to 10th, 11th,
and 12 grade high school students.
“Artwork is very subjective, so I list
out my rubrics in attainable goals for each project that the student should
have accomplished in their final piece.
I aim to enter student work in as many competitions as possible. There are many local, district,
regional, and national art competitions that I enter my students in each
year. I believe in building
confidence in each child and these competitions definitely do the job. Even
though I make a master plan, my plans change for each class for different
students. I have to be flexible to the learning styles and varying talents of
each student.”
The
most difficult thing about being a teacher and an artist is that she has to
literally force herself to make time to do her own artwork.
“It is hard to get inspired about my own
artwork when I am a teacher of art.
The reason is I am so focused on pushing my students to be better
artists that I let myself as an artist go. I have to plan a day and time each week to devote to my
artwork. I paint every Tuesday
night from 5 to 7 p.m. with a wonderful group of artists. This has turned out to be a blessing in
my life.”
Shoults
considers her students her blessings as well. She’s seen many artistic works from her students, but more
than their art, it is the student her or his self that inspires Shoults the
most.
“I have seen incredible talent in the
children I have taught, but my favorite part about teaching is when a student
is impressed by their own talent that they can’t stop smiling from there
accomplishments.”
Many
people may question the validity of art and the power it may or may not have in
the classroom and in a student’s life – both in the present and in the
future. According to Shoults,
there is no question that art is necessary and vital for a student’s well
being.
“I believe the arts, not just visual arts,
are crucially important to the
development of a well-rounded child and
adult. The arts have no cultural barriers, it is understood by all. The arts help with attitudes, social
skills, independence, critical and creative thinking. The arts have proven to help with higher
order thinking skills including analysis, synthesis, evaluation, and
problem-solving. All these are important, but most of all the arts provide a
means for every student to find a place, a niche, a joy in life.”
PHOTO COPYRIGHT AND DESCRIPTION INFORMATION
Photo 1. Evelyn Shoults standing next to two of her paintings: boots, oil on canvas and tree lined path, oil on canvas. Copyright by Evelyn Shoults
Photo 2. Award winning self-potrait of Ben and Evelyn Shoults by Shoults, with Nikon DSLR. Copyright by Evelyn Shoults.
Photo 3. Award winning photograph of Shoults's daughter by Shoults. Copyright by Evelyn Shoults.
Photo 4. Award winning photograph of Shoults's daughter by Shoults. Copyright by Evelyn Shoults.
Photo 5. Image of a painting in progress by Shoults - oil on canvas. Copyright by Evelyn Shoults.
Photo 6. Award winning photograph of dog by Shoults. Copyright by Evelyn Shoults.
Photo 7. Shoults standing next to her painting, red train, oil on canvas.
Art..huh...Is that what this is? Clearly the south has a different definition.
ReplyDeleteThis is the quality of work that "teacher of the year produces"?....interesting.
ReplyDelete