Written By: Julia Bailey, Editor in Training
NEW BEGINNING: Mrs. Beckman says goodbye as she embarks on the next part of her journey
Poly High School is losing an incredible asset this year as one of our beloved Art teachers, Mrs. Beckman is moving on to Washington with her husband in the fall. This being only her fourth year with us, Mrs. Beckman had to survive the strange and stressful Covid years, moving to online school and having to create a completely new way to connect with kids and teach them the fundamentals of art. Since beginning teaching, although she has less and less time to create her own art, she is always looking for new and different styles and mediums to teach to her students, gaining a new appreciation for each work. Through this new perspective to look at art, Beckman has started to “think about how to break it down into instructable pieces” for her students – changing the way she approaches unfamiliar artworks – as she takes a “scaffolded approach” to build up to her ideal end result.
Throughout her years at Poly, she found solace among her coworkers, thankful that her “community support was just phenomenal”, and appreciative of the friendships she made along the way. Among those friendships, Beckman must admit that Mrs. Williams has become her closest work friend. From hanging out at passing periods to lunches to planning coordinating outfits for spirit days, this pair was widely recognized across campus as inseparable. After so many memories, it’s hard to pinpoint any one favorite time, as every day is another chance at a funny joke or a meaningful conversation, with “lots of fun moments of good true honest laughing” that will remain unforgettable for the rest of her life.
Now you may be asking yourself, why Washington? For the Beckman’s, who both grew up in the mountains – surrounded by cool weather and plenty of plant life – visiting up north a few years ago was an immediate ideal endgame. After having many friends and family migrate up there, it was only natural that they finally followed suit and started a new, exciting adventure up in Washington. Set on their decision, Mrs. Beckman has already found a job as a teacher of graphic design at a high school in Washington, ready with an eager outlook on her upcoming year. She advises anyone attempting their own leap of faith to “trust the process” and keep trying, just as she did, despite all the uncertainties. Looking back, she wishes she would have been a bit easier on herself, and “not stress the small stuff” so much as she navigated, through trial and error, her first years as a teacher. Now, looking forward, she is hopeful for her future and hopes to have left Poly, as all things, “better than she found it.”