Alumna to discuss overcoming roadblocks in K-12 art education

After more than 13 years of teaching art and being named the 2017 Teacher of the Year by the Michigan Art Education Association, Grand Valley alumna Tricia Erickson has a desire to pass along lessons she has learned throughout her career as an educator.

During an upcoming presentation, Erickson, ’05, will offer insights on her “go-to” lesson plans, free resources for art educators, field trip planning and collaborating with colleagues outside of the art education discipline.

Erickson will present “Tricks of the Trade: A Survival Guide for Art Educators” on April 17, from 9:30-11 a.m. in Calder Art Center, room 1201.

“I think that we face many similar challenges that all teachers are facing right now like lack of funding, time and resources, but as elective teachers we tend to get even less,” said Erickson. “This is why it is so important to show how we support school district missions and goals and demonstrate how a strong art program can put a school district on the map.”

Erickson said she hopes her presentation will ease the minds of students who will be entering the education field after graduating from Grand Valley.

“It’s hard to prioritize things when you first start teaching, so I’m hoping that by sharing some simple ‘go-to’ lesson plans and tips for promoting art that I can give others an upper hand when starting out,” said Erickson. “Honestly, I’m just a normal teacher who has figured out a few things over the years to help me connect to my students, prioritize my time and make my job more enjoyable overall.”

As a teacher, Erickson’s mission is not necessarily to make every child into a professional artist.

“My goal is to promote and expose my students to how thought-provoking art can be, so that they can learn to appreciate art and hopefully inspire them to want to get better and better with practice,” Erickson explained.

In addition to teaching at Northview High School, Erickson previously served as an adjunct professor at Grand Valley and taught at summer enrichment camps through the Grand Rapids Art Museum and Northview’s summer enrichment program. Erickson was additionally named Secondary Art Educator of the Year in 2017 by the MAEA.

After graduating from Grand Valley with a bachelor’s degree in art education and French, she earned her master’s degree in art education from Kendall College of Art and Design in 2010.

The event is sponsored by the art education program within the Department of Visual and Media Arts. For more information, contact the department at (616) 331-3486 or visit gvsu.edu/vma.