With all the homeschooling taking place this year and the subsequent shift in educational tactics, we have revamped not only our public opinions of our educators, but also of the work they do.
Vicki McRae is an Arts Resource Teacher with the Toronto Catholic District School Board (TCDSB). She supports teachers and students from kindergarten to grade 12 with art education. When the pandemic shut down Toronto-area schools she and her team rolled up their sleeves and had to rethink how art education is delivered by teachers and received by students. Despite the challenges, Vicki and her colleagues see this as an opportunity. “There is an opportunity here for transformation. The learning curve has been steep for everyone and I think the message of patience and compassion for educators who are trying to persevere through this needs to be stressed.”
Education is currently a massive topic in the media, and it seems as though everyone has something to say about the shifts in process taking place. With all of the positive and negative press, Vicki realizes that the future of education lays in the hands of her and her colleagues. How is she getting through this? Vicki finds the strength in the good people around her. Just as she quoted Joni Mitchell in our interview, whose lyrics are always in her head, “I’m frightened by the Devil and I’m drawn to those that ain’t afraid”. Vicki has continued to gracefully strive and navigate these ever so rough waters.
Vicki is a clear example of a Woman Who Rocks. I asked her a few questions about her outlook on business, what new belief, behaviour, or habit has most improved her life, her perspective on creativity and the influences it has had on her career.. This is what she had to say:
Name: Vicki McRae
Occupation: Arts Resource Teacher for the Toronto Catholic District School Board
What is Art?
A very big question. For me, art is a bearing of the collective soul. It is a language that communicates truth in a way that words cannot. Truth, relative to our own situation, but at the same time, transcending the differences that separate people and populations.
Who is your favourite Artist and why?
That answer has changed over the many years that I have been looking at art. In my student days, I was influenced by teachers and my own father’s guiding principles about good art. At that time, I was heavily influenced by Gauguin for his skilled exaggeration of colour and proportion, and Egon Schiele for his incredibly raw texture and spare, economical drawing. Though still highly committed to good drawing as a foundation, I am looking more towards the simplicity of colour field painters such as Mark Rothko. I absolutely love the texture and the abstract power of colour. My father, William McElcheran – Canadian figurative sculptor – must be turning in his grave.
What is creativity?
That is another big question. I think it is the ability to use a variety of tools at hand to communicate something that is greater than the sum of its parts. It is problem-solving on a very basic level. At some point if beauty creeps in, it becomes art.
Where do you use creativity in your job?
As an Arts Resource Teacher for the TCDSB, I use creativity daily. When I came into a leadership role, I did have to get used to organizing arts activities for others to implement rather than doing them myself. I used to think that my medium had changed to my students. My creativity resided in enabling others to create. I believe I have grown in my awareness of how all art forms intersect with one another in my role supporting Drama, Dance, Visual and Media Arts.
How should we be nurturing Creativity in our students?
Open-ended activities, AND enabling teachers to feel more comfortable with the subject. I took it upon myself a few decades ago to visit grade 5/6 classes to talk about drawing. It is at the age of 10 that many humans make proclamations about themselves. They will define themselves as good at some things and not good at others. (a fixed mindset). Many will say at that point, “I’m not good at art” , “I can’t draw a straight line” etc. This is why, to quote Betty Edwards of Drawing From the Right Side of the Brain, “most adults draw like 10 year olds.” I wanted to disrupt that negative self-talk by empowering kids to recognize what they can do and not what they cannot. That creating art is a skill that is learned over time like anything else. I think I would like them to concentrate more on seeing than doing (or producing some product). Once you can see, you can make.
In the last five years, what new belief, behaviour, or habit has most improved your life?
Over the last five years, as an arts lead in a large school board, I have adopted the head down and one foot in front of the other approach. It doesn’t sound glamorous but it is how I have coped with all the new learning and frustrations of limiting my own creative output in order to foster it in others.
If you were not in your current occupation, what would you be doing?
If I wasn’t in my role, I would be creating my own projects rather than providing a structure for others. I would also enjoy my free time and my family more.
What would you tell your first day of business self?
I would tell my first day business self to relax. You don’t have to convince anyone, just do the work.
How do you feel women are treated in your industry?
Women dominate in the teaching profession. What I have noticed is a certain degree of ageism.
Who is the last person you spoke to about your fears?
I always talk to my husband and family about my fears. I am well-protected.
What is the last gift you gave someone?
The last gift I gave was very special. I did a drawing of my cousin’s baby for the first anniversary of her passing. In the drawing, she is pictured with our beloved grandmother. I was so happy to have done it and my cousin was comforted by it.
How would you like to be remembered?
I would like to be remembered as a caring, loving person.
What do you find an admirable quality in other women?
The trait I most value in other women in generosity.
Name 3 songs on your playlist.
- Brother by Royal Wood and Peter Katz
- Good Gifts by Melanie Doane
- Jersey on the Wall by Tenille Townes
How do you drink your coffee/tea?
If I am home, I drink both my coffee and tea black.
Famous person dead or alive in history you’d like to have dinner with?
Rachel McAdams – Canadian artist. I would like to know how much she was helped or hindered by her nationality and I wonder if she is as real as she seems on screen.
Finish this sentence “Women are…”
Women are.. Humans. The more interesting thought to me is people are… A mixture of the good, the bad, and the ugly, ( just like my golf game).
We were extremely grateful for the opportunity to have interviewed the wonderful Vicki McRae. I hope you were inspired by this Woman Who Rocks!
Until then,
Alessandra