Teaches Graphic Design, Graphic Design 2, AP 2D Design, and Advanced Illustration at Waltham Highschool (Justin Kingston)
Nominee – Mr. Kevin Keaney
In the hallway off the cafeteria, outside of room 1177, you can often find Mr. Kevin Keaney greeting students. Mr. Keaney opens his classroom to all people showing them kindness and humour.
Mr. Keaney teaches an array of classes including: Graphic Design, Graphic Design 2, AP 2D Design, and Advanced Illustration here at Waltham High School.
In these classes, students learn how to use Adobe programs such as illustrator, indesign, and photoshop to create compelling and creative designs. These students learn how to make different forms of art on paper and online.
For many students these classes are a calm and stress free break in their day. Students come to these classes and spend time creating and expressing themselves.
Mr. Keaney has taught for 22 years. He taught for two years in the art department. After leaving for a year, Keaney came back, and has been teaching in his current department for 18 years. Mr. Keaney created the Digital Illustration class, the Animation class, the Graphing Design Classes, the Advanced Illustration class, and the AP2D class at Waltham High.
“I went to school here,” Keaney said, “so one of my goals when I came here is I wanted to start classes that I didn’t have when I was in school.”
Mr. Keaney loves teaching, and loves his students, “My favorite part of teaching, this is cheesy, ’cause this is probably what every teacher says, it’s always the kids. But it really is. It’s always the students. It’s always like connecting with students, sharing with students.”
Mr. Keaney also likes connecting with a variety of students. As a teacher who hated going to school when he was a student he has a lot of respect for students who go to school. Additionally he likes connecting with both kids who like school and who hate school.
“When I meet a student who’s particularly difficult to work with, it’s always something else going on, right?” Keaney said, “So it’s always trying to figure out how I can use graphic design to allow this student to express something that’s inside that’s bothering them? And forget about the grade, forget about all these graphic design things. Let’s just tap at that.”
This goal of connection is expressed throughout his classroom in the form of projects and critiques which encourage students to connect with each other and ask questions. His classroom structure also allows for a lot of open conversation.
“I have a lot of improv. I have plans. I always have my plans. Some parts, I’m scripting, some parts I write out, each lesson has its own objective,” Keaney said, and it rings true, “But then a lot of it is improving, going off the cuff on something that a student does, that triggers a memory. I like to share in the process of making, because the process of making is so hard.”
Keaney also enjoys incorporating past projects and famous works into his lessons. He additionally tries to encourage his students just to try stuff out and that it has worked for many great artists. He encourages his students to just start doodling and get ideas out to start a project.
“Theres this great artist, Andre Matisse, who once said, ‘you have to have to have courage to be creative,’” Keaney says, “It’s not the courage of, like, a fighter pilot, but you have to be able to just take chances and try things to get to something greater. You have to make a lot of bad stuff first.”
Of course there are challenges to teaching. In the era of technology these challenges are heightened and many teachers find it challenging to regulate technology, “The phones are a challenge, but so is any level of discipline. Which is probably strange because you’re like, what discipline, right? Because my classrooms are pretty loose. And I planned it that way, because if it’s too much discipline, it’s gonna hamper on the creativity.”
Outside of Waltham High School Mr. Keaney has many interests and hobbies.
After school Keaney runs the Dungeons and Dragon club. He is also in a family band with his wife and other members of his family. Music has been a part of his life for a long time, “I’ve been playing the guitar for 30 years, I should be better than I am.”
Additionally, Mr. Keaney enjoys hiking with his wife. “Strangely, we like hiking in the winter, in the cold months,” said Keaney, “In the summer, we don’t hike. We walk the streets of the town we live in.” Keaney also likes yard work in the summer, such as planting sun flowers.
Last but not least, the graphic designer follows Keaney home. Keaney does a lot of creative projects and illustrates. Right now Keaney is close to finishing his children’s book, Pearls of Wisdom, about his beloved cat, Pearl. He hopes to finish it soon so stay tuned for that!
Keaney has so many things he is still excited about in his future in education, “I’m always excited to see what my students are going to make next. Another thing I’m excited about is Hawks for the holidays, that’s always a nice event. It always feels like a nice sort of coming together. It’s really pretty heartfelt and pretty touching.”
Additionally as Mr. Keaney gets further into his teaching career a new possibility is coming onto the horizon.
“I could say, this new word just snuck into my head this year that really hasn’t before: retirement. It’s like, I can actually retire,” said Keaney, “And I don’t feel like I’m looking forward to that, but, you know. To be able to have more time to draw and paint. I don’t know how to feel about that. But right now, it’s just a whole different thing that I never really thought about before.”
For now though, Mr. Keaney has no intention of going anywhere and has a great love for the Waltham community, a community he has been part of for his whole life, growing up in Waltham and now teaching here.
“The people are very very caring and tough. I would say the Waltham people that I know are like the salt of the earth,” Keaney said, “They’ll do anything for you, and also tell you in no uncertain terms when you’re wrong, or when you’re off, or when they disagree with you. But, the thing I like about Waltham, it seems to me, in my experiences, that no matter what the problem might be between you, when the proverbial stuff hits the fan, they’ll be there for you. The community will rally around you.”
If Waltham is the salt of the earth then Keaney is too. So visit Mr. Keaney, drop by. His door is always open, a smile always on his face. Thank you Mr. Keaney for all that you do!
