Top teacher says art is essential to academic success

Gwinnett County art teacher Aimée Burgamy knows that a child’s squiggles on paper could lead to masterpieces on museum walls or to technology that lands on store shelves.

“We all grow up drawing; it is like the beginning of language acquisition,” Burgamy said.

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Gwinnett County Schools teacher of the year Aimée Burgamy discusses drawing techniques with sixth grade art student Jake McKinney at Trickum Middle School.

But the passion for art dies for many kids when they hit their early teens. That’s an age, Burgamy said, when learning how to express themselves creatively could lead to better grades.

As Gwinnett County Schools Teacher of the Year, Burgamy, 38, a former museum curator and college professor, is working to show her students and peers that art is essential to academic performance. She is an advocate for making arts education a mandatory part of the state’s core curriculum.

“Art trains that part of the mind that deals with the abstract, visualization and understanding complex concepts,” said Burgamy, who has bachelor’s and master’s degrees in art and is on course to finish her doctorate in January.

To prepare students to invent computer technologies, they need to be able to think creatively, she said.

With the zeal of a cheerleader on pep pills, Burgamy enthusiastically challenges her Trickum Middle School classes to roll up their sleeves and create. They learn new techniques. They paint, mold pottery, build sculptures and shoot photographs. Their lessons are tied to the curriculum —for example, they sketch portraits when they study anatomy in science.

Along the way, some students develop hidden talents.

A paper snowflake made by Quentavius Gary, 12, is on display outside of Trickum Middle’s school office. Burgamy hung it there because it turned out so well. “I feel famous,” Quentavius said, smiling.

First-time pottery-maker Kyle Kilgus, 11, recently made a jellyfish rattle that withstood a firing in the kiln. “I went wild with the colors,” he said. “In art, I really get to express my imagination.”

Principal Kay Sands said Burgamy’s love for art even engages reluctant eighth- graders. “She has an abounding energy that is just contagious,” Sands said. “Even if a student isn’t a future artist, she still wants them to have an appreciation of art.”

Watching students enjoy art is what Burgamy, a teacher for 11 years, loves most about her work. “When they get to middle school … many kids figure, ‘Oh I can’t draw, I’m not talented,’ so they stop,” she said.

And that’s a waste of potential. “When you go to the museum, it’s not the person who can draw like a photo that is making all of the money. It’s the person who has the unique idea.”

Student Jake McKinney, 11, says art class inspires him to draw at home. “Now that I know how to draw, I like to draw more,” he said. “It’s not like everything has to be perfect.”