Profiles in Teaching: Jerry Guillot

[FULL STORY]

To say that Jerry Guillot is an important member of the Newman community does not do him justice. He has watched two generations of students pass through its halls, as well as scores of teachers and administrators and seven headmasters. He has been here longer than nearly every other employee – and many of the buildings! But after 43 years of teaching art, he is hanging up his paintbrushes at the end of this year. We asked him to tell us about his time at Newman in his own words.

In 1969, when Guillot started at Newman, the School was a different place. “It was much smaller. They had one person for the business office, two people for advancement, and one registrar,” he says. “I was teaching part-time at the JCC before here. I came here to tour the campus because I knew the upper school art teacher. The headmaster, Bill Cunningham, showed me around, and by the time he was finished he offered me a job.”

Though many people today see Guillot as an upper school teacher, he started in the Lower School, and spent much of his career teaching younger Greenies. “I’m now in the 5th or 6th art room since I’ve been here. Valmont used to be the Lower School, and I had an art room in the top level. Then I moved to an art room in the new Lower School building. At the time, they asked me to help design it. I worked in that building for almost 30 years,” he says.

As the times changed, so did Guillot’s role at the School. Though the students do it much more quickly, he finally joined them in moving to the Upper School. “I did everything – ceramics, painting, drawing, sculpture – all that. I do computer graphics now. Actually, Dale Smith was the head of the computer department then, and I asked him to help me organize my supplies and put them on computer. That’s how I got interested in computers. Then I found out that computers had drawing programs, and I got interested in fooling around with them. And then the head of the Arts Department, Kitty Greenberg, said, ‘Why don’t you teach a computer drawing class?’ That was 12 or 15 years ago.”

A skilled art teacher and knowledgeable veteran in the classroom, Guillot instructs by fostering the enthusiasm and creativity of his students. His classroom is always open – to anyone. “I have opened up the art room to anyone who can draw or who is deeply interested in art. I have students come in and paint who are not taking any art courses. Some come in before class starts, and they come in after school. I have one student who comes in before and after practice,” he says.

To Guillot, the arts also extend past the walls of his class or even his discipline. “I’ve had kids come in to do their science projects – but that’s good,” says Guillot. “They’re including art in another subject. I’ve always wanted to have kids use Photoshop or photography in their writing. I talked with Nat Gee about having his students illustrate their writing.”

It has been said that it is hard to grade in the arts, but Guillot carefully assesses his student’s and notes their ability, enthusiasm, effort and the final product. “Some kids do great work but they are very slow and you have to push them; and there are a lot of them that are too quick to hand something in and they don’t have enough time in it to be worth handing in. There was a girl in one of my classes who did this and then asked, ‘is this A work?’ I said, ‘Turn it in and C.’”

Guillot believes that part of the joy in teaching art is to get to know the students and the special strengths of each as an artist. For the incoming visual arts teacher, he offers this advice: “Enjoy the kids. The kids are all different. They all have special ideas. Some of them like to try something different. And if they want to try something different, I say go ahead. If it doesn’t come out we know it didn’t work but if it does we’ll be happy with it. I’ll give them extra effort for doing something special.” He also believes that one serves the students best by being honest and hands-on. “You really have to be honest with the kids. You can’t be too far apart from the kids. You have to show the kids what they have to do and be honest about it, and say ‘you can do better than that,’ and show them why. Show them how,” he says.

After working so hard (six or seven classes a day) and for so long, Guillot’s retirement plans are simple and restful. He plans to do “as little as possible. Sleep late. Travel, read, play with the grandkids, one of whom goes here; he’s in 2nd grade now.”

He also sums up his time at Newman simply: “I enjoy the classes; the kids are bright. The big players in 40 some odd years have been the parents. The parents have been absolutely fabulous over the years. Now I am teaching kids of kids I’ve taught. If I start teaching the grandkids, then I am in trouble. 43 years is a long time. It’s been a good run. I’ve enjoyed all of it.”

We thank Mr. Guillot for his time and service. He has introduced the youngest students to the arts and taught the most experienced upper school artists how to refine their work, he has taught every grade level and in a wide range of media, from sculpture to computer graphics. He has been a constant presence at the School and he will be missed.