Florida

On this page, we offer a snapshot of the stories of Florida-based art educators, selecting direct quotations, each of which represent a unique participant. Due to the confidential nature of the data, the teacher’s names, and mention of their school or district have been removed. 

Share Your Story

What art educators are saying:

Impact on teacher identity:

“One of the constant threads is you're just so self-aware of everything you say, and everything you do, and everything you present, that you… you lose, you know, your authenticity, which if the students are looking for, or the program were looking for, that could be a challenge. So, you just –the space is neutralized, what you're teaching is neutralized, and just void of personal experiences, and, you know, the students' experiences, and how that all comes together in the learning environment. So I just think you're just very cautious, very cautious. And you keep your guard up as a result of that. Your guard is up all the time when you're teaching, because you're protecting yourself. You're in a defensive mode. Like I said, the parents, they immediately, they come in triggered, they come in aggravated, they're not coming in with an open mind, whether to discuss what's happening.”

– Art teacher, Florida

“It's a different situation. Like, my students will… students will turn you in. You do something, you say something wrong, they're gonna report you in a heartbeat. “

- Art teacher, Florida

Strategies of Persistence:

“Your guard is up, you know, most of the time, and I find myself having to make a commitment to myself. And to say, you know, I'm gonna be myself, and I may have to walk those lines, or what have you. But I'm going to, you know, not lose me. And, I just kind of have to make that personal commitment. But yes, yeah, you… you are being very careful. But then, I'm gonna do so with the commitment that I'm going to be me regardless.” 

– Art teacher, Florida

Choose your method of participation

WRITE
UPLOAD
CALL
TEXT
Join