With the excitement of high school sports, and the focus of building skills through FFA, plenty of art students feel that the artistic classes offered here at Hughson High School can be overlooked. Art is truly something that is underappreciated at times, but that shouldn’t be the case. Art is such a moving and diverse pastime– whether it’s photography, painting, or acting, artistic classes can teach students important things.
Just like sports and FFA, art classes help students build important skills such as creativity, critical thinking, emotional intelligence, and so much more. In fact, according to the National Institutes of Health, schools with art classes help grades increase by 0.61 standard deviations for language and 0.36 standard deviations for math!
Many students are also very creative: with schools offering art classes, students are able to let loose for a period so that they can let their creativity shine (instead of doodling in a notebook when they should be taking notes for math class). When a student who appreciates art is given the opportunity to be creative, it can create a comforting and positive school environment for said student.
Luckily, we have an art teacher here who offers many students the opportunity to create a positive space– Nicholas Brown. I was able to interview Mr. Brown and get some insight on who he is, why he appreciates art, and what he encourages students interested in art to do. Without further ado, let’s see what our school’s art teacher is all about!
When asked introduction questions, Mr. Brown stated, “My names’ Nick Brown… I’m an art teacher, and I’ve been working here since 2018.”
After we exchanged basic information, I asked him if he originally became an art teacher. In response, Mr. Brown said, “No, but then as I worked as, like, a freelance artist and painter, as the years went on, I felt like teaching art would be something I’d enjoy. And as I gained more professional experience, and just experiences creating art, I felt like I had a lot to share with students and that students could create fun projects and learning experiences in art class.” It’s clear that Mr. Brown’s very dedicated to giving students the opportunity to have fun and learn from art classes. His response led me to ask another question.
When did Mr. Brown realize that art was something he enjoyed? When asked, he replied, “Well, as early as I could remember. I always say five years old ‘cause it’s kind of an even number. My grandma was a self-taught artist, and oil painter, and she kind of watched me a lot growing up. I was surrounded by art at a really young age, and she was very fun and loose with how she presented arts and crafts. She wasn’t super rigid, but she still taught me things at a pretty young age, things like shading. I picked up on it and loved it, y’know? From the moment I started doing things and the older I got, it morphed from loving to draw comic books, and then I was like, ‘How can I do with for a living?’”
An aspiration can get you to start something new: and for Mr. Brown, it was art. However, the memories you make can be what gets you to continue something. Mr. Brown had some fond memories to share when asked what his favorite experiences were, “Well, it’s tough. I actually have two that I like all the same, the first is the murals we’ve done have been extremely fun. Two students have led the murals we’ve done, and it’s been super rewarding to watch the students work together, collaborate, and just seeing how skilled students are- it completely blows me away, every year. It’s so impressive how hard students have worked on the murals outside my room and in the Husky Den. Being a part of those murals and coordinating has been very special.”
After that, Mr Brown had another story to share about having students of his give art classes to younger children. Mr. Brown said, “Leading a student group that taught a fourth grade class art lessons last year at Fox Road. Watching my students teach an art project was really, really special. They seemed to have fun, and the younger children loved it. I think it was a really memorable experience for both the high schoolers and the fourth graders.”
After that, the interview with Mr. Brown was coming to an end, but I didn’t want to finish off the interview without allowing Mr. Brown to share some advice to others who may not be as experienced in art. The advice Mr. Brown gave was, “Don’t be afraid to make mistakes. You can’t learn anything and get better without making mistakes. Try to be willing to try all different forms of art making, because it can all help. Your experience with different materials can bridge from one to the other, it can help and reinforce other art making techniques.”
With that being said, it’s clear that Mr. Brown’s presence here at Hughson High School has created very positive experiences for both him and his students. So for that, myself and everyone else who have enjoyed Mr. Brown’s art classes have one thing to say… Thank you so much for being an awesome teacher! We appreciate you and the things you’ve taught us, keep working hard, Mr. Brown!
