Wheeling art teacher emphasizes academics too
Art class at Holmes Middle School in Wheeling is rarely "draw whatever you want," said Steve Hamann, who's been teaching there for the last three years, and for a total of 22 years in Wheeling Township Elementary District 21.
His lessons are always connected to and inspired by a famous artist or art form, and there's a writing element to almost every assignment.
"I think art should be a fun place, but it's also an area of study," Hamann said. "You want to have an academic component. It's not recess."
Hamann, lauded by the Illinois State Board of Education last year with a Those Who Excel Award, is a constant presence in the classroom and hallways of Holmes, lending support to not only students, but also teachers and administrators.
He mentors new faculty members, and offers suggestions about curriculum, on how art and other elective classes can be integrated with language arts and the social sciences.
"We're kind of spoiled by having Steve here at the school because he really is such a well-rounded employee," said Holmes Principal Martin Hopkins.
Hamann, hired by District 21 in 1995, has taught at five of the district's elementary schools, during which time he received the district's Celebrating Excellence recognition in 2009 and 2014.
His students, in grades 6-8, have varying skill levels. Some are intrinsically artistic, while others may struggle drawing a circle on a piece of paper, he says. So he differentiates his level of instruction, depending on the type of student.
For the high-level learner, Hamann counsels them on ways they can take "the next step" - and how their creativity and problem-solving skills can be a benefit to future success in a profession.
For other students, Hamann provides more explicit instruction during art classes.
"I like to encourage success, no matter their artistic abilities," he said. "I try to emphasize, 'How can you be successful in your ability?'"
Art, he admits, is subjective. So to provide report card grades, Hamann uses a combination of students' self-assessments for art projects and scores from quizzes about vocabulary and concepts discussed during class.
He also requires students to write journal entries related to their artwork.
During one recent eighth-grade class, students spent the first half making their own collages in the style of Chicago artist Tony Fitzpatrick, then the last half on their computers, writing about how to create a collage.
It's an intentional exercise - as part of a focus on literacy by District 21 teachers' professional learning teams - and one wholeheartedly embraced by Hamann. Teachers across the board - including drama, music and physical education instructors - are trying to incorporate reading and writing into their lessons.
"Steve has been on the vanguard in terms of integrating literacy within an exploratory area (like art) that might not generally be associated that closely with literacy," Hopkins said. "We've all been impressed with his level of commitment to that, and his ingenuity and creativity have really brought it to a higher level."
As a young adult, Hamann had aspirations of becoming a professional artist. But education ran in the family - his mother, a junior high school science teacher, and father, a college professor.
"My dad famously told me, 'You are a great artist, but you need a vocation,'" Hamann said.
Today, he finds time on the side for his own artwork - typically pop art, illustrations and cartoons - getting published in a British magazine, and for advertising clients, including CareerBuilder and Cap'n Crunch.
Last year, he designed and painted a mural for The A.V. Club's Chicago offices. His work has also been displayed at galleries in Chicago, Evanston and Brooklyn.
At school, Hamann also spends time as moderator of the after-school art club and on special projects.
He was tasked with painting a bench outside the school counselor's office in memory of one-time counselor Zorine Lindner. She and her husband were killed in 2012 when they were underneath a railway bridge in Glenview that collapsed during a train derailment.
Hamann recently developed sketches for murals that will be painted next summer throughout the school hallways. The drawings incorporate caricatures of students and teachers and the school's theme, "Do Well. Do Good. Lead."
"It's great to be around art all day," he said.