Evidence of his students’ work is all over Michael McLoughlin’s classroom and in the hallways of St. Joseph Grade School and Middle School, where he teaches art.
Origami creatures, dragons created for Chinese New Year, giant snowflakes, and paintings of various sorts all show the abilities he’s teaching his students in his 25th year of teaching and his second in St. Joseph.
“Our students are learning how to express their creativity while learning about size, shading and perspective,” Principal Michelle Wagner said. “Mr. McLoughlin does such incredible things with our students. They are super excited to go to his class.”
Learning art in school is important because … it teaches creative thinking, problem solving, connects learners to cultures from all over the world, and it feels good in our brains! It is especially important to me because it keeps me learning and connected to all the diverse students and teachers I meet.
I became a teacher because … I wanted to use my artistic talents in a way that was helpful to my community and kept me growing as a person.
My favorite lesson that I teach is … I only teach lessons that I think are effective and also fun. I love any printmaking we do, but one of my students’ favorites is a lesson where we incorporate simple machines and recycled materials to create robots and then host a robot museum for other students to visit.
My most fulfilling moments on the job are … Teaching is full of fulfilling moments. But it is extra rewarding to hear from a teacher, sibling or parent that their child has been reproducing something at home that they learned in my classroom.
I keep students engaged by … differentiating my lessons, delivering fun and challenging content, and having a sense of humor whenever possible.
I’m also passionate about … music. If I could sing a lick, I would be a music teacher. I play in different bands and sing at home with my kids whenever I can.
My favorite teachers were … I really loved my great and funny history teachers back in my Mundelein High School days, and I really appreciated the education psychology classes with Dr. Zola at the University of Illinois in 1990s.
If I weren’t a teacher, I’d be … In high school, I took an aptitude test that said I would be a lawyer or a priest. LOL! If I weren’t a teacher, I imagine I would be a famous rock star, of course
— ANTHONY ZILIS