East Grand Rapids — Resilience, compassion, the spark of creativity, a desire to change the world for the better — count them all among the things Holly Lampen sees when she looks at her students. And it’s these things that keep the East Grand Rapids Middle School art teacher coming back, after 27 years in education.
As a kid, growing up in the Grand Rapids Public Schools system, Lampen was a restless student, changing schools often, constantly on the hunt for something new. Teachers like Jean Hamilton Cope at Huff Elementary, and the staff at Zoo School, helped “bring learning to life,” Lampen recalled, and her aim is to do the same for her students — to show them what’s possible through art, and to help them realize that education extends well beyond the walls of a school building.
“The art room can be this safe space that gives kids not only a break from all the bigger problems they might be facing, but also lets them feel like, if they can tackle a big problem, they might actually be able to impact the greater community. Which is so powerful,” Lampen said. “If a kid, at 13, 14, 15, feels like they can impact their world around them, that’s life changing. You’ve given them that little spark of, ‘I can make a difference,’ or, ‘I have power in me.’”
Why do you teach? “For a while in art school I thought, ‘I want to be a painter.’ … But after spending hundreds of hours alone in a studio, it was not so great. It was very lonely, and I was like, ‘What am I actually doing for the world?’”
In search of an answer to that question, she applied to the graduate program in art education at Rhode Island School of Design, and soon found herself student teaching in inner-city schools. For one of her first projects, she had students design a billboard featuring some kind of public service message about an issue in their community. She was moved by the enthusiasm with which students tackled the task.
“They came in so excited every day to work on these projects. Which amazed me because some of them didn’t have lunch, some of them didn’t know where they were going to sleep that night,” Lampen said. “Just super heavy issues that they were dealing with, and somehow they showed up to the art room and were so excited to produce something.”
The experience had such a profound impact on her that recalling it brought tears to her eyes.
“That was kind of a turning point where I was like, ‘Hmm, this is maybe bigger than me wanting to paint pictures in a studio,’” she said. “Maybe I could be one of those people in kids’ lives that empower young people to make a difference, and help kids realize that their concerns are important, what they’re doing is important, and they can change things.”
What is your biggest motivator that keeps you excited about teaching? “That little spark that kids have. Like, on a Monday morning they start a little project that they’re excited about, and then they have to move on to PE class or music, and they’re heading off for the day. And I know they’re thinking about it, and I know they’re excited to come back the next day and keep going at it.
“That’s a great little thing. You get to see all these mini projects being produced and you’re invested in all of that. You want to see that finished piece that they’re working on. And just talking to the kids and … getting to know them. You get to know all these great little personalities.”
Why art? What’s the best thing about it? “Art is something everybody can do. … In many ways, I just see art as a vehicle for people to learn more about themselves and to find out what’s important to them. There doesn’t have to be a right or wrong answer, which is great. People kind of figure out their story or their solution to a problem through art.”
What are some of the biggest challenges in your role and how do you strive to meet them? “You’re competing with online things, and that’s tricky because attention spans are a little shorter than they used to be. … They have the world at their fingertips, so getting kids to think originally — not just reproduce what they’re seeing, but come up with original ideas — that can be a challenge.”
Her strategies for addressing this include limiting the use of technology in the classroom until it’s absolutely needed, and taking kids outside often to look at the world from a different perspective.
“And relationships are super important,” Lampen added. “Kids do want to talk to an adult. They want to know that adults care about them. That’s a biggie.”
What’s the most amazing thing about your students? “How resilient they are. … As a teacher, you get to know all of the challenges they face. … You may know what siblings are going through or what’s happening in a family. And yet, every single day, middle-school-aged kids will rise to the occasion, show up at school and try their best despite everything that might be going on at home.
‘If a kid, at 13, 14, 15, feels like they can impact their world around them, that’s life changing.’
— art teacher Holly Lampen
“It’s so inspiring to see that resilience. Every kid has a story, and every human has a challenge they face. But middle-school-aged kids — it’s just amazing to me that they’ll come in and still work on being a human and doing their best out in the world.”
What would you say to someone considering teaching as a profession? “Teaching is super rewarding. You’ll have something that’s super positive every day and also a huge challenge every day, of some sort,” Lampen said. “You won’t have two days that are exactly the same.”
Read more from East Grand Rapids:
• Immersed in history, science & culture at Grand Rapids Public Museum
• Eighth-graders make mark with murals, with help from Disney artist
