Empowering Students to Live Their Best Lives and Embrace Their Passions
Celebrating the Art of Teaching, One Educator at a Time
We’ve been publishing educator stories through our guest blogging program, The Art of Teaching, for over seven years now. Educators from all over the country (even the world) have shared their perspectives on what makes teaching so deeply fulfilling despite the seemingly never-ending challenges.
Now, we want to pause a moment and celebrate them individually. Every one of these educators and bloggers brings their own unique skills and perspectives to what makes teaching a true art form. We’re sitting down with them to find out what brought them to teaching and how they refine their practice.
Today, we spoke with Tim Needles, an innovative STEAM teacher with expertise in both art and technology integration:
What path did you take to your current role in education?
I was always interested in being a teacher and knew that would be part of my journey. As an artist, I found that it helped me practice my craft and allowed me to share my passion so it was a fitting career choice. My current role as a technology integration specialist in addition to teaching art evolved out of the collaborative STEAM work that I was doing in the classroom with kids and it allows me to share the creative approach to educational technology with my colleagues as well as students.
What do you want most for your students?
As a teacher, you have an opportunity to see students with ambition and dreams and I always want them to live their best lives and embrace their passions. I’ve had hundreds of students pass through my classroom over the twenty-five years of teaching and it’s incredible to support them in achieving their goals and see the amazing work they do as they go on to interesting and creative careers.
What do you want parents, families, and the public to know about art education?
I always try to share with family and friends how art is so much more than drawing and that creativity is not something you are born with, it’s something you can strengthen and build over time. The arts in all their forms benefit the soul. Even if you don’t have the skill, art can be beneficial in your life.
What does the “Art of Teaching” mean to you?
The art of teaching to me is that special magic of connecting in a meaningful way with students and inspiring them to become lifelong learners. Teaching can be transformative and I’ve seen a good teacher change lives for the better which is why it is an art, not just a career — it takes hard work and dedication but it’s always worth it when you see the impact you have on students!
Watch and read Tim’s contributions to the Art of Teaching project:
Tim Needles is an artist, educator and author of STEAM Power: Infusing Art Into Your STEM Curriculum. He teaches art/media at Smithtown School District, is a TEDx Talk speaker, and his work has been featured on NPR, in the New York Times, Columbus Museum of Art, Norman Rockwell Museum, Alexandria Museum of Art, Katonah Museum of Art, and Cape Cod Museum of Art. He’s the recipient of ISTE’s Technology in Action Award and Creativity Award, NAEA’s Eastern Region Art Educator Award & AET Outstanding Teaching Award, and The Rauschenberg Power of Art Award. He’s a National Geographic Certified Teacher, PBS Digital Innovator, a NASA Solar System Ambassador, an ISTE Arts & Technology and STEM PLN leader, NAEA ArtEdTech interest Group leader, and Adobe Creative Educator and Education Leader Emeritus. He’s active on social media at @timneedles.
Follow the conversation #WhyITeach
To be reminded why your work is so very important and for more stories and advice, visit our collection of teacher perspectives at The Art of Teaching.
You can view the McGraw Hill Privacy Policy here: http://www.mheducation.com/privacy.html. The views and opinions expressed in this blog are those of the author, and do not reflect the values or positioning of McGraw Hill or its sales.
