LOUIS BURKE | Culture | Contact
Thinking they’d have a year in the slow lane, art teacher Gladys Vandermolen (50) opted to teach years 7, 9 and 11 in 2020, with the goal of giving them clay and occasionally talking about how Picasso is important.
“Year seven is fine if you just leave them alone with something they can mould into the shape of a penis,” stated Vandermolen as she decided which sheer scarf she would have her photo taken with.
“Nine and 11 are keen to learn but without the pressure of final exams which is great, I get to sit on a tall stool and really be like a third parent to them, sort of a sage shaman ritualist if you will.”
While there is no denying the passion of the Betoota High Arts Faculty Leader the same cannot be said for her students who are really not in the mood for it right now.
With a global pandemic making teaching a serious hazard for the 35 year veteran of public education, Vandermolen is committed to convincing the disenfranchised youth that art will play an important role in their potentially post-apocalyptic future.
“Channel your negative energy onto the canvas,” Vandermolen encouraged the one student promising enough to purchase a canvas for.
“She returned her canvas untouched by paint but punctured in several areas.”
“I was forced to give her full marks.”
According to Vandermolen the level of which students are using art class as a bludge has grown exponentially in 2020 as many of them have realised there’s no way they could afford to study arts if the planned uni fee hikes actually happen.
“I even downloaded TikTok to see if that could help me relate to them. It didn’t.
