The Tableau of Teaching
Theresa O’Neill Walsh, Co-Founder and Director of Education at The Brooklyn Middle School Collective, writes about art as an avenue for teaching and a powerful way to enhance learning.
Even since middle school, I have considered myself to be an artist. Growing from a full-on drama nerd to being a professional actor, only to become a self-taught painter, I have always been intent on forging new paths. Now that this winding road of creative identities has led me all the way back to the middle school classroom, I have made it my mission to approach education as an artist.
At its best, the process of teaching and learning is already a creative and collaborative act. It is a dance that requires all participants to listen as intently as they speak, to be in the moment with each other, and to create a dialogue that is fluid, responsive, and dynamic. I believe the teaching and learning processes can be transformed for the better if we, as educators, approach teaching as artists—and bring the imaginative thinking, radical empathy, and willingness to explore multiple perspectives that are the hallmark of artists, to bear in crafting new approaches to education.
Rather than using arts as a peripheral element, I believe the creative arts can and should be central to the entire process of teaching and learning. Because of its unique ability to spark joy, generate original thought, build connections, and promote critical thinking (even when students are unaware that’s what they’re doing), art can and should be harnessed as a pedagogical tool in all subjects.
Frequently, academic success and holistic development are framed as an “either-or” proposition. We either need to focus on rigor or creative expression, either high test scores or social-emotional development. But we need not feel as if these elements are in competition with each other — or even that they’re separate. I never did more thoughtful literary analysis or closer reading than in my drama classes. My work as a painter engaged me in questions of proportions and ratios and geometry. Music is inherently mathematical. There’s evidence to demonstrate that movement increases cognitive function. Rather than framing art as a “dessert” one can only have after finishing their “real food,” art in all its many forms can and should be a staple of the pedagogical diet.
Especially now, in this moment of educational crisis — when students are facing record levels of isolation and depression, academic learning is only a fraction of what it usually is, and educators are doing their darndest to reach through the void of Zoom and ignite some kind of meaningful learning—art can be a bridge. In our fatigue, our frustration, our loneliness, let’s turn to art to infuse the learning experience with creativity, connection, and hopefully even some joy.
Hear more: The Tableau of Teaching
Theresa O’Neill Walsh is an artist and educator originally from the Bay Area. While studying at UCLA, Theresa began working with The Soze Project, which created month-long artistic and cultural international exchanges between young people, culminating in original theatrical productions.
In addition to her experiences as a working actor, Theresa is a visual artist — a part of the artistic collaboration, Brand Us Art. Theresa also spent several years with the Epic Theatre Ensemble, using theatre to explore ethical dilemmas in high school history and English classrooms throughout New York City.
Several years ago, Theresa founded The Brooklyn Middle School Collective, a small-group middle school program dedicated to fostering a personal, creative, rigorous, and relevant approach to middle school education.
Theresa is currently earning her master’s in education at Columbia University, Teachers College.
