Future Teacher Goals – Provide Safe Space for Young Artists

Art ed major Caterina Brunell comes from a family of engineers and artists. Her leaning, however, has always been art and teaching.

“Art was my escape,” she says. “It was a way to calm down, a way to process my feelings. It was also a safe space because in my high school there were fights and I knew I was a breakable kid.”

Brunell has a rare disorder called Ehlers-Danlos syndrome. The connective tissues that support her bones, skin and other organs are weak, resulting in loose, hyperextensible joints that easily dislocate.

“Basically, there’s not enough tension or strength to hold my joints together,” she says.

So, she lives with chronic pain. Yet she refuses to allow her illness to divert her ambition – to be the best teacher she can.

Though her favorite art period is the Italian Renaissance, she says it was the Dutch Post-Impressionist painter Vincent van Gogh who influenced her the most.

“He transformed his mental anguish into beauty, and I can relate to that,” she says. “I’m planning for my graduation dress to be a print of van Gogh’s ‘The Starry Night.’”

Brunell’s love for teaching started early on. In fact, she discovered that she learned better by teaching:

“When I was little, I would teach my homework to my stuffed animals to help me understand,” she says. “And in high school, I was always helping my fellow students to better understand the assignments. I got honors every semester in my high school career. I was also in some AP courses. So, I was always teaching, helping other kids. For me, without teaching there is no learning, and without learning, there’s nothing.”

Brunell chose Rhode Island College because of its excellent teacher preparation program. Now in her final year, she is doing her secondary ed practicum at William Tolman High School in Pawtucket. Practicums involve sitting in on a classroom for a full semester observing the teacher in action, then teaching two lessons on your own.

When she engaged in her elementary ed practicum last semester, she got creative:

“My lesson was to create a sticker of your superpower,” she says. “First, I asked the students to find their superpower. I asked them, ‘What are you good at? Are you good at being kind? Are you good at math or writing?’ Then I asked them to draw a logo inside a circle representing their superpower, just like Batman and Superman have logos. Then they cut out the circle and I put it through my sticker maker.”

“I’m a big Captain Marvel fan myself,” she went on. “On the day of my lesson, I came to class wearing a Captain Marvel shirt and jacket, and I had made my own infinity gauntlet. I played the Avengers theme song as the students entered the class and I played it when they left. I also had a superhero interactive video for them to watch when they were done with their logo so they could get their wiggles out.”

With two practicums under her belt, Brunell is ready to student teach this Spring Semester. She’ll be required to teach for seven weeks at an elementary school and then another seven weeks at a secondary school. Upon completion of her art ed degree, she will be certified to teach grades K-12.

When asked her thoughts on the problems plaguing American public schools, such as low test scores, acting out and low attendance, she replies:

“I know the situation is very bad right now. Kids have been raised on iPads, so they’re not learning social skills. When COVID came, it cut them off from each other even more. So, they’re really rebellious and they’re really trying to get attention.

“There’s such a big divide between the current generation and my generation. We weren’t on our phones all the time. We played outside. We read books. Kids today are scrolling Instagram and TikTok rather than reading books, so they have a shorter attention span. As a result, they’re reading at an elementary school level in high school. They’re struggling. And they’re acting out because they’re struggling.

“I want my class to be an outlet. I want it to be a safe space for them, because a safe space was given to me in high school. The other subjects they teach in high school are focused on testing, but art education focuses more on social/emotional learning. Through art education, I’m able to teach students to socialize, to connect, to learn about each other and about themselves.”

Brunell admits that she is both terrified and excited to get out there and teach. Yet she is confident that Rhode Island College has equipped her well:

In May the 23-year-old will be graduating with triple honors – General Education Honors, College Honors and Departmental Honors. She is a member of the 3.5 Society, which honors academic excellence, and a recipient of the Shinn Study Abroad Scholarship. Last year, she studied for a full academic year at the Lorenzo de’ Medici Institute in Florence, Italy.

Brunell has nothing but praise for RIC’s teacher preparation program. “It’s a very strong, very intensive program,” she says. “You’re going to learn a lot of different teaching styles and you’re definitely going to feel prepared to teach. RIC has produced quite a few teachers of the year. I hope to be one of them someday.”
 

For more information on the B.S. in Art Education, visit our website.