Teacher Spotlight: Sault art teacher Kathryn Murphy shares her passion

SAULT STE. MARIE — Local teacher Kathryn Murphy uses her passion for expression to help Sault students succeed in what she believes is a very enriched arts program.

Murphy is an art teacher for Sault Area Schools, teaching classes for kindergarten, elementary and high school students.

Growing up downstate, Murphy was always passionate about art and expression, knowing from a young age that she would grow up to be an artist. Murphy went on to study painting and other forms of expression at several schools, including abroad in Ireland for a time.

Even as a young child, Murphy recalls making her own art show with drawings she made and hanging them on the walls with Band-Aids.

"I've always been drawn to art," she said. "I think there's definitely a story to tell when creating art, but there's also something just meditative about putting paint to canvas or hand to clay, just the act itself of creating something can be therapeutic."

While she was studying, Murphy said she was determined to become a professional artist. She was hesitant to pursue a career in teaching, because she preferred to continue creating, but fell in love with teaching after her first experience leading a classroom.

"At first I fought against being a teacher. I was like 'I'm going to be an artist,' but then I did some hours as a pre-service teacher downstate," said Murphy. "The art teacher there was amazing and what he did was amazing and I was inspired right away and I started teaching and loved it."

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Murphy worked for over 14 years as a teacher in Leland before the arts program at her school was significantly defunded. Once she learned about the open position for an art teacher in the Soo, she and her husband were eager to move.

The move to Sault Area Schools was easy for Murphy, because she really appreciated how much the district valued and supported the art programs.

Murphy teaches students at Washington and Lincoln elementary schools and Sault High School. According to Murphy, teaching younger kids usually requires more energy and discipline as the kids are full of creativity and excitement, but often don't have the motivation to focus. High schoolers, on the other hand, are usually very motivated because they choose specific art classes, such as pottery, but might need more help with creative ideas.

"There's pros and cons to both. I love seeing the high school kids, you see them every day so you can build those relationships," said Murphy. "My little kids I only see once a week, so it takes more time, but I do get to have them from kindergarten through fourth grade. So by the time they're fourth graders we've been together for years, which is really nice."

Murphy said one of her favorite parts of the job is seeing students transition from one grade to the next. She has only been at Sault Area Schools for four years, but she said building that relationship over time helps students become more confident when entering a new grade.

For Murphy, art is more than just a form of expression but something you can learn from. Her experience as an art student gave her insight into teaching and connecting with students that helps her focus on what a student actually needs to succeed.

"I try to focus on 'What's the big idea?' I don't try to pick a fight with the young kids about fidgeting or wiggling in their seats, but help them accomplish something that will improve their confidence," said Murphy.

Another aspect of art that she thinks helps students is the way it cross-connects with other subjects. For some students, learning to express themselves in art can help them overcome issues they face in other classrooms.

"We take ideas from chemistry and we bring it into the art room as well as other subjects like history and math, and I think that makes the learning more real for the kids," said Murphy. "It helps them view a subject from different angles and process it on a deeper level."

— Contact Brendan Wiesner: BWiesner@Sooeveningnews.com

This article originally appeared on The Sault News: Teacher Spotlight: Sault art teacher Kathryn Murphy shares her passion