Welcome to the Art Room!

Fast Facts…

• I am

  • Matthew Clark (He/him)

• I teach

  • Grades 9-12

  • Visual Art, Yearbook, 10th Grade Advisory

Why I Teach…

Before deciding to pursue teaching full-time, I was able to work with young people in various settings such as youth groups, Boy Scouts, and as a tutor in a private art studio. Working with kids taught me many things- patience, kindness, the importance of preparation, the need to have a solid foundational knowledge of the things I’m trying to teach, and much more.  The most important thing I learned though, is that kids are fun to be around! 

Each child is unique, interesting, and worthy of respect.  It is fun getting to know students personally.  It was rewarding to identify their strengths and shortcomings, and develop a plan to help them improve.  I decided to pursue teaching to help students:  

Make connections-  Learning is more fun and sticks with you longer if it relates to important aspects of your life.  Through observation and one on one meetings, I planned to learn what matters to students so that we could harness that energy to extend learning from their interests to other important skills and concepts.  

Discover passions-  You can’t find what you’re going to love, obsess about, dream of, and work for if you don’t try it first!  I wanted to create an environment where students would feel safe to try new things, make mistakes, put themselves out there.  I envisioned a space where students would have access to a variety of tools and materials, and time and freedom to explore them.     

Face challenges- Real confidence is developed by facing down failures.  Adversity forces us to change and adapt, learn from mistakes.  Working through challenges builds strength of character. Art provides students with many opportunities to work through anxiety, most skills can only be developed through hard-won dedication and repetition.     

Be their silly selves- High School was hard for me. I struggled to find a place where I fit in, was capable, and could express myself. I eventually found all of those things in the Art Room. When I decided to teach, I committed to creating a safe, fun, creative environment where kids would feel free to be themselves.

It is my hope that students I teach will embrace an attitude of lifelong learning and curiosity.  They will learn skills they can apply to art and to learning new things.  They will learn to set, and strive to achieve challenging goals.