Marcia Thompson, an art teacher in the West Salem school district for 28 years, was recently named Art Educator of the Year by the Wisconsin Art Education Association.

“I knew I’d been nominated, but I was overwhelmed when I heard I’d won,” said Thompson. “There are so many qualified teachers out there — I couldn’t believe it was given to me.”

Thompson will be presented with her award Oct. 30 at the WAEA’s fall conference in Sheboygan. She was nominated by Ann Kohl-Re, an art educator who used to live in the La Crosse area.

“Marcia deserves this award. She has always been there for others and is always networking with other art educators. I knew she did a lot but even I was surprised when I learned of all that she has done,” Kohl-Re said.

Thompson thought she’d be retiring after leaving West Salem, but she’s back in education again. Now she’s at UW-La Crosse teaching the art teachers and elementary school teachers of tomorrow.

“I’m thoroughly enjoying it,” she said.

Although Thompson taught first graders all the way through to high schoolers while at West Salem, she spent most of her time in middle school with seventh- and eighth-graders.

“I’m absolutely passionate about art education. I think it’s something not only every child but every adult should have, Thompson said. “It helps us think well, it’s important for creative development and it helps us learn to respond to our environment — we don’t see the world very well with our eyes in this culture.”

Thompson is skeptical of the value of living in a strictly “virtual” world. “There’s not enough building of things with real materials in the real world,” she said.

One of the reasons Thompson is pleased about teaching future teachers is she thinks the value of the visual arts is starting to become more apparent.

“There’s hope,” she said. “I’m seeing a lot of prospective teachers who are trying to find ways to integrate art into regular courses like math, science and language.”

Thompson is adamant about the values of art education. “It leads to brain development, discipline and a better understanding of the world,” she said. “Through art you can learn that problems don’t have just one answer. In the world of testing there’s usually only one right answer — I don’t think that’s right.”

While continuing to influence future generations of elementary school teachers Thompson reminds them that one of the values of teaching art is the sheer joy of helping others stretch themselves creatively.

“It’s fun — it’s a blast,” she said. “It’s so great to see anyone get a sense of themselves and realize that they can do something.”