Teacher-Student Portfolio
Joe Schwartz & Mary Lynn
Joe Schwartz, Teacher
Many of the problems that face society today have been caused by old-school thinking and failed old-school
solutions. Those rules no longer work.
If we are to solve the problems we’ve
gotten ourselves into, we need to train
a new breed of creative minds, ones
who are not being trained to simply
answer questions on a standardized
test, but who can use design thinking as a tool.
My attempts to develop unique critical-thinking and
problem-solving skills in my students are done with the
hope that one day, some of them will be our guides into a
brighter, more innovative future.
Joe Schwartz has been an art director and graphic designer for more
than twenty years. He currently
teaches computer graphics and
design courses at Spotswood High
School in New Jersey. A sampling
of his portfolio can be found at
www.coroflot.com/designr66.
Mary Lynn, Student
I believe that the task of any
designer should be to find the
extraordinary in the mundane, and to take that state
of mind and convey it to the
public. A designer should be
able to show an object’s or
person’s true beauty, bring
out their quirks, and make those quirks magnificent. I
want to create something that makes people stop and
see it with a new state of mind. In this field, you have
the opportunity to show people a glimpse of your life
through your eyes—and for that brief moment you connect with your audience. That’s art.
Mary Lynn is a senior
at Spotswood High
School in Spotswood,
New Jersey.
Call for Entries: SchoolArts is recognizing the work of high-school students and teachers from around the country, and we
are looking for more art to be featured. Please send images of your work and the work of one of your students, along with
100-word artist’s statements, on a CD to Nancy Walkup, Editor, SchoolArts, 2223 Parkside Drive, Denton, TX 76201.
