Look at store windows throughout the community of Coweta, Oklahoma, and you will find the artistic talents of Coweta High School students on display, thanks to art teacher Shelley Self. A National Board Certified educator with high standards, Ms. Self not only helps nurture her students' artistic ability but also teaches them about life and culture, incorporating a wide range of other disciplines. When creating scarabs and papier-mache heads of Egyptian gods, students also research ancient Egyptian culture and history; when producing origami art, they write compositions about it. Conscientious in planning and delivering instruction, Ms. Self considers her students' individual learning styles, providing written, oral and visual projects. She was the first educator at the school to implement an Advanced Placement course in Studio Art, and despite its rigorous nature, enrollment in the class continues to climb each year. She seeks every opportunity to showcase her students' talents, not only in the classroom, but throughout the school and community as well. And she often motivates students to enter local, state, national and even international art competitions, where they consistently achieve top honors. In Ms. Self's classroom is a scrapbook of photographs and articles documenting the successes of her students-evidence that in her classroom, to be Self-taught is to be taught by a true education professional.
