Teacher Appreciation Week: An Interview With Middle School Educator Caitlin Sweet
**A condensed version of this interview appeared as part of our May print issue**
Photos by Kiki Vassilakis
“Art is one of the only classes that the students really have to express who they are as an individual, and they learn skills that can be brought into anything they go into in the future.”
Today marks the second day of Teacher Appreciation Week, a friendly reminder to show your local teachers some well-deserved love and support. To coincide with this, I recently had the pleasure of interviewing a handful of our area’s many incredible arts educators for our May issue’s cover story. Each day this week, we will be highlighting these interviews individually, offering the additional space for their stories that print could not allow. Consider these the Extended Cut versions.
To all our educators – thank you for instilling a love of the arts into the next generation.
Do you have fond memories of middle school? You might be the only one. This is typically when puberty happens, after all. But Caitlin Sweet thrives in her role as North Albany Middle School’s art teacher, recognizing the unique perspective of a child beginning adolescence.
“The kids are mature enough to start realizing what they're interested in and what they want to do moving forward with their lives, but they still have the openness and playfulness of being young,” she tells me.
Caitlin began teaching at North Albany three years ago. Her mother is a kindergarten teacher who radiated a love for teaching young children, serving as an inspiration for her pursuit of an education career. She received a Bachelor’s degree from SUNY Fredonia before attending SUNY Oswego for her Master’s of Education.
Now, Caitlin has the pleasure of working with sixth, seventh and eighth graders on developing their skills as artists and creative thinkers at a time when their bodies are changing, their minds are growing and their basic sets of values are forming. From her perspective, art class is a space that allows students to express themselves in their own unique way, and they seem to impress her during every lesson.
“I love to see them take their creativity to places they've never taken it before, because they don't always get to do that in other classes. Art is the class where they can explore with all different types of materials and ideas and concepts, and they really take it and make it their own. It's so amazing to me what they can do.”
Just like in elementary school, middle school comes with its own set of challenges. At this age, teachers begin fighting the battle of keeping kids off of their phones in class. They’re also navigating a culture of instant gratification, which has a negative impact on students having patience with their work. When a quick ‘like’ or 15-second video can give you an instant serotonin hit, it’s challenging to put yourself through the trials of creating, even if the outcome is worthy. In spite of that, Caitlin has found ways to connect with her students not just in the classroom, but outside it as well, through a program called Art on the Rise.
“It’s in partnership with Community Schools, a program that offers grant funding,” she explains. “I do murals at my school and one other elementary school in our district as an after school art club. We plan out the designs [together] and do murals on the wall in the schools. I did two this year, and three last year.”
Additionally, Caitlin is the secretary for our region’s chapter of the New York State Art Teachers Association, which covers eight different counties locally. In this role, she curates events for educators, including the NYSATA members show, which is currently happening up in Saratoga. As an artist herself, it’s a doubly meaningful position.
“In the summertime, I’ll sell my paintings at art fairs,” she tells me. “I have some that are in galleries throughout the year, and then I have commissions as well, where people reach out to me and I create paintings for them.”
Just like yesterday’s interviewee, Erica Doran, Caitlin is quick to express the importance of advocating for classes like hers in the public school system, encouraging parents and community members to reach out in support of the programs.
“Our budgets are not that big, to be honest. We try to ask people for donations. Sometimes we get them, sometimes we don't. A lot of times teachers post things they need on Donors Choose (www.donorschoose.org) for specific projects.”
Caitlin notes how quickly she goes through things like colored pencils, markers and glue sticks. Especially come this point in the school year, her supply is all but completely drained. She encourages folks to reach out to their local schools and see what specific needs they may have, but also to show their support by being physically present.
"I call and reach out to a lot of parents asking them to attend their child's art shows. We have two every year at our school, as many schools do. I would encourage more parents to attend—not many come, and it means a lot to the kids. They feel so proud in showing their work and having it be seen by friends and families."
In addition to support at the school, it is imperative that education be supported at home as well. In today’s climate, there is an abundance of home versus school dialogue when in reality, students—and educators!—will benefit most from a partnership between the two. This includes arts programs, and for very good reason as Caitlin points out.
“Art is one of the only classes that the students really have to express who they are as an individual, and they learn skills that can be brought into anything they go into in the future. Things like how to solve a problem creatively – they don’t always get that same knowledge in other classes.”
Thank you, Caitlin, for embodying artistic expression and individuality for our kids, both in and out of the classroom.
For some great ideas and materials you can use to thank a teacher this week, visit https://www.pta.org/home/events/PTA-Teacher-Appreciation-Week
