Teachers play impactful roles in students’ lives and educational journeys. Oftentimes, it is forgotten that our teachers are not just instructors, but passionate individuals who were once students like us.
Every teacher has a different story behind their teaching journey. Whether it came to them naturally or was a thoughtful process, each of our instructors decided to pursue teaching for their own unique reasons.
For Art and Theater instructor Erin Allen, teaching was always the aspiration. Allen has been teaching for 25 years. Though career planning is a challenge for most people, Allen knew she was meant to teach from a very young age.
“I never felt like [teaching] was a choice. To me, it was a calling on my life,” Allen said, “I remember classmates would change their career aspirations from year to year, “I want to be an astronaut!” in third grade, and then, “I want to be a nurse!” in fourth grade… and I remember thinking, “What? You don’t know what you are going to do?”
Allen drew most of her inspiration from her preschool teacher. Ever since then, she knew that being a teacher was her purpose.
“My preschool teacher was Mrs. Pfeiffer, who was my inspiration. I wanted to be like her, to teach like she did…From age four, I knew!” Allen said.
In the classroom, Allen finds most fulfillment in watching students experiment with their creativity.
“I love teaching art composition and guiding students to become artists themselves, making aesthetic choices–placement, color, medium–that communicate their intentions well,” Allen said.
Allen’s passion for art, performing, and originality inspires students to express themselves.
Junior Juli Black is in Allen’s Studio Art 3 class. Black especially enjoys Allen’s encouragement of individual creativity.
“I enjoy how much creative freedom I have in that class. Each project we do I get to express my own ideas and use my own style,” Black said.
Additionally, Allen’s art class has allowed Black to grow as an artist over the years.
“Mrs. Allen’s class has pushed me outside of my comfort zone for my art. I used to only draw and paint because those were the only things I had confidence in doing, but now I enjoy experimenting with new media and all types of art, even if I find it challenging,” Black said.
While guiding students like Black makes teaching a very rewarding job, being an educator can sometimes be tough. Allen believes that it is fundamental for future instructors to acknowledge the positives and negatives of being a teacher.
“…it is a profession that is incredibly taxing. There are few upsides and I encourage students who are considering teaching to talk to as many teachers as possible, shadow them, do their research so that they fully understand the enormous stress and burnout that currently comes with the profession,” Allen said.
Nevertheless, Allen’s passion for teaching fine and performing arts continues to enlighten students, allowing them to discover and explore their artistic side.
