Mrs. Ashlock is a True Work of Art
by Kerry Neil
Who is behind the scenes of Perry Lecompton High School's artistic students? Well the answer to the question is Mrs. Deborah Ashlock. She has been in the teaching scene for 28 years, and has been building the Perry Lecompton High School's art program for 24 years.
She attended Kansas University, as a student. Mrs. Ashlock discovered quickly that the stereotype of Kansas University’s Art Program being easy was very wrong!
“The classes were very demanding, and I was challenged to the
extreme,” Ashlock said. Of the college art courses she took, art
history was the most important and difficult.
Mrs. Ashlock described, “ Key elements that I learned from my
college art professors was the importance of staying organized, and
creative thinking in the subject, these qualities have stayed with
me through my years of teaching.”
When Mrs. Ashlock thinks about her high school teachers she
said,
“They were not very artistically talented," and she attended a
large school in St. Louis where her teachers were not very involved
in the students work.
This inspired her to become a stronger and more educated teacher,
she decided to expand her teaching efforts and become an
inspiration to her students.
Art isn’t only a job for Mrs. Ashlock, it’s a hobby. She enjoys
painting and drawing on her own time.
“I have other hobbies too, including showing and training dogs.”
Ashlock emphasized.
She dreams of becoming a canine painter after retiring, but it will
be awhile before she will leave the lives of PLHS students. As a
young teacher, Mrs. Ashlock did art projects quite often, keeping
her skills crisp and advanced.
“I love being involved in PLHS students lives, it’s a great school
to be a part of because the kids are talented, upbeat, and a
diverse group,” Ashlock explained.
Mrs. Ashlock has always been a curious artist, as a young girl she
went to a Catholic school and right there was notice in her
artistic ability. She has been painting since high school, and it
has been a hobby for her since preschool.
“I feel that art is relevant to every body’s lives, there is an art
to everything. Many students’ interests tie into their daily lives,
and I believe it’s important to support young people in the act of
thinking outside of the box.” Ashlock enthused.
These days many people are robot-like, and keeping people's minds
alive is important to Mrs. Ashlock as a teacher and a citizen.
Many students believe that teachers don’t have a life outside of
teaching, and to a certain extent Mrs. Ashlock agrees, “Teaching is
something that carries over into my personal life, I’m always
thinking about it, and it’s definitely part of who I am.”
Personalities are critical to Mrs. Ashlock, “I never want to force
my ideas on other people, and I love discovering what student's
personalities are about.”
As a teacher she expresses her opinion often in the classroom, but
in the long run students make the final decision of the projects
they want to do. This gives her students more freedom to be
creative and enjoy the projects they take on.
In the class she gives advice, but the students have the opportunity to be creative and after lessons they enjoy time to do their projects while listening to calming music. Which in the student's opinion makes them relaxed and in a more comfortable environment.
Mrs. Ashlock is continuing to teach and inspire students to become
the best artist they can be, and learn at an appropriate rate. The
art program has become more advanced year by year, and the students
are still improving and learning. The Perry-Lecompton art program
will be around for many years to come and so will Mrs. Ashlock.
