Melody Rockwell’s art class is not about perfect lines or polished final products: It’s a place where students are encouraged to explore who they are and what matters to them.
Rockwell has spent the past 23 years in education, including 15 years at Grant High School. Her teaching philosophy evolved from years of exploration before she ever stepped into a classroom.
“There’s this idea that we’re supposed to know what’s right for us and what we want to do,” Rockwell says. “And sometimes the thing that you’re best suited for reveals itself through trial and error.”
Before becoming a teacher, Rockwell spent her twenties soul-searching. She volunteered at a homeless shelter for teens, worked in classrooms doing short-term projects, traveled extensively and experimented with multiple career paths.
“I didn’t have a clue what I was going to do,” she says. “I did a lot of trying things on … not liking this about it, liking this about it.”
Rather than viewing uncertainty as a failure, Rockwell now sees it as a necessity. She describes her path as something that “unfolded” slowly, shaped by experience rather than certainty.
Her turning point came when she led a mural-painting project with incarcerated youth in a juvenile detention center. “That was kind of the ‘aha’, okay, I’ve arrived,” Rockwell says. “If I can work with these kids, I probably have my presence and my power to be able to do that.”
Soon after, she earned her master’s degree and began teaching art full-time.
In the classroom, Rockwell emphasizes authenticity over perfection and self-improvement over external approval. “Life isn’t about finding yourself, life is about creating yourself,” she says.
Rockwell believes art should not be driven solely by money or audience reaction. “The ability to create because it makes you happy is more important honestly than the ability to create to make money,” she explains. For her, art is “an extension of [the] creation of self.”
Students say that this approach is what makes her class different. Elaine Schoenborn, a freshman art student at Grant, says Rockwell allows space for exploration. “My middle school art teacher was pretty restrictive,” Schoenborn says. “I feel like Rockwell really lets everybody explore all the possibilities with their art … she really has a passion for teaching kids art.”
Eva Aschoff, a freshman art student in Rockwell’s class, echoed that sentiment, noting Rockwell’s balance of honesty and freedom. “She gives really good constructive feedback,” Aschoff says. “She’s not afraid to tell you when she knows you’re not trying, or when you could do better, while still allowing you to have creative freedom.” Aschoff also says Rockwell emphasizes “creative integrity.”
Despite moments of doubt over the years, Rockwell genuinely loves teaching at Grant: “The environment that we have here in this room just feels alive and happy,” she says. “I wouldn’t rather be somewhere else.”
