On Campus: The art teacher

Posted at 4:05 PM on January 28, 2009 by Bob Collins (3 Comments)
Filed under: News Cut on Campus

Pearl Madryga makes a lot of money working at a high-end boutique in Edina; more money than she'd ever make as an urban teacher. Pearl wants to be an urban teacher, a passion that brought her to Minneapolis Community and Technical College, this week's stop on the News Cut on Campus Tour.

She teaches part-time at Whittier Elementary and has taught some high school. She knows the age group she wants to teach -- second and third-graders. Her reasons for not teaching kids older than that are sobering.

"Fourth or fifth graders have felt the harshness of reality," she said. "It's over. They're already so mean."

She wants to teach art and younger kids are more willing to express themselves. Any older than that and they're too concerned "with doing it right."

She's still got years to go before she's a full-time teacher, but it's still not a great time to specialize in art, a subject that's being cut from schools all over America. "But it's my passion," she says. "I also have other elements of my life I want to pursue as well. Whether it's working for a non-profit arts organization or traveling -- I've done a lot of mission work -- if you don't have the passion there, nothing's going to work anyways."

She knows the economy is going to get worse. "Every other day I hear about a friend's parents losing their job and it's affecting everybody; it's not just one sector of the community. It's capitalism. If you're going for a profit, you're going to fail. It's bottom line. It's not going to go up forever," she said.

"I'm just really grateful to be living in this moment," she said of the era ushered in last week.

Listen

---

Comments (3)

"It's over" for 4th and 5th graders? Look deeper, it's just beginning.

Posted by chris | January 28, 2009 4:49 PM

---

I don't know if it is or isn't over for 4th and 5th graders. This is a pretty broad speculation on her personal experience.

What does "it's over" for them mean? Very bleak, very bleak.

It makes me sad and a little pissed off to think she may be right.

Posted by jim | January 28, 2009 5:49 PM

---

I know from first hand experience that 5th and 6th graders have lots to bring to the table in 'enthusiam to create.'

I would also like to encourage Pearl to persue her interest in teaching art even if the paying job opportunities dwindle. she can always volunteer her talents. I had a highschool ceramics teacher who said that he taught not for the money but because of his passion for clay.

Posted by greenwareforever | January 29, 2009 11:43 AM

---

• E-mail this page
• Print this page
• Tweet this page
• Share this

Services

• Hourly Newscast
• HD Radio
• iPhone App / Mobile
• E-mail newsletters
• RSS feeds
• Podcasts
• Submit your photos
• Videos
• Weather
• Most e-mailed stories