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New art teacher makes the best of a big change

After having 20 years of experience at Sam Barlow High School, art teacher Andrea Paris is finally getting accustomed to her new job here.

Although she has been an artist since the age of four, Paris has only taught for 21 years. She grew up in a family of artists and has always felt attached to the subject.

“This is the love of my life,” Paris said.

Paris has dabbled in many types of art, including painting, sculpture, melding and woodworking. She even has her own studio.

“Clay is my area of expertise,” Paris said.

She has wanted to be an art teacher since she was seven years old. When Paris went to college, she took as many art courses as she could and ended up walking away with 65 credits.

As of now, teaching art is her passion, as she enjoys her job very much, though the transition to a new school has been a bit difficult.

“I miss the people and the kids I knew,” Paris said. “I would say that’s what I miss the most.”

She recalls one friend in particular that she worked with throughout the whole of her 20 years at Barlow. Their classes were very close by, and they were able to see each other often. The break from this routine has been hard.

In this way, the art room she is in now is a bit different. It is more isolated, but at the same time, there is also a lot of space, which she appreciates.

One slight dilemma has been the amount of kids she has to teach in each class. At Barlow, the most her room could safely hold was 28 students, whereas this one can hold up to 40. While she loves having the space, it is hard for her to meet everyone’s needs.

“It’s [a] whole other ball game trying to keep that many kids on task,” Paris said.

Sophomore Karen Bildsoe has Paris for her Painting 1 class. Bildsoe appreciates the teacher’s positive attitude.

“I like how she is trying to brighten up the classroom,” Bildsoe said.

Paris loves being a teacher. Though she now has a lot more students to keep track of, Paris is not complaining. She simply enjoys being around people and the ability to teach students about art.

“Teaching is teaching, and kids are kids,” Paris said.

Her love of her job is enough to push past the few dilemmas she has had to handle.

Whitney Hull, a senior in Sculpture and Painting 1, enjoys these classes very much. Being able to try pottery has been fun for her.

“I like making pots. I think that [is] interesting,” Hull said.

Hull also enjoys having Paris as a teacher. She finds her to be likable and kind.

“I think she’s nice,” Hull said.

One of Paris’s more unique hobbies is building tree houses. As she loves large projects, tree houses are fun for her to work on.

“The bigger the better, as far as I’m concerned,” Paris said.

Bildsoe also admires the way that Paris handles the classroom. She explained that Paris always tries to lead the class in the right direction and seems to refrain from getting angry.

“She’s a bit on the silly side,” Bildsoe said.

Overall, while there are old friends and routines that Paris will inevitably miss about the school she once taught at, she is making the best of her new job and appreciating the advantages that come with it.

“You never want to leave a place that you love,” Paris said. “But I’m still teaching what I love, and that’s great.”

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