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April 30, 2009
By Sherry Lee
Art teacher Todd Elkin is taking a leave of absence next year to pursue a master’s degree at Harvard on a full scholarship. He is participating in Harvard’s Arts in Education (AIE) program, which is, as stated by the online course description, “intended for self-directed individuals who are interested in fashioning their own arts-related courses of study.” Elkin first learned of AIE while teaching at Harvard’s Project to Summer Institute. In this program, Elkin taught other teachers from around the world about the art process.
“There is a certain kind of thinking in art that doesn’t exist in other disciplines. I’m interested in the way teachers can make their student’s thinking visible,” Elkin said.
Elkin hopes to learn how to help students see connections between art and other subjects.
“Mr. Elkin is a really chill teacher who always encourages us to be creative and to ‘engage and persist’. It will be a loss to Washington having him leave us,” junior Kaylee Miu said.
He is planning on returning to his job at WHS after the year is over.
“This is an exciting opportunity. I’ll miss Washington. I’ll definitely miss my students. I love my job and intend to come back,” Elkin said.
