I teach because I love it. I teach art because art makes my heart beat faster and because I believe that art matters, that it has always mattered as a mediator of the sweeping range of human experience. I value the role of the art teacher as facilitator and awakener. And I believe that if I am doing my job well in the classroom, I am a source of encouragement every minute. I strive to have a classroom environment pulsing with dialogue, experimentation, innovation, attention, cultivation, and observation. When my students make new connections, suspend judgment, and embrace diversity, I find myself profoundly grateful that I am in the position to witness the power of art in the lives of students. My students inspire me so often, that daily, I find myself exclaiming out loud, “It is good to be the art teacher!” It is particularly good to be the art teacher at Blessed Sacrament Huguenot Catholic School where I teach wonderfully gifted and dedicated artists.