Student Inspiration Leads Southern Art Teacher to National Recognition
Michael Bell and his students have won nationally recognized awards, but in his spare time Bell does work for the TV show the “Sopranos.”
Southern High art teacher Michael Bell has won national awards, has helped his students win the national Rising Star Award four years in a row, was named Teacher of the Year—and that’s just during his day job. When Bell isn’t teaching or running the art department at Southern, he is working on a narrative thematic series of paintings for his “buddies” on the HBO TV show The Sopranos. One may wonder why a nationally recognized artist with TV star buddies is teaching in a high school art department, but for Bell the answer is simple—he loves the kids. “I love this, being around kids, it gives me the juice,” Bell said. “Kids have so many ideas. Imagine being surrounded by artists with amazing ideas all day long, it is so cool to have that. If…
In this Article:
Joe Van Deuren
11:01 am on Thursday, February 28, 2013
Michael Bell may well be the most innovative and creative teachers in the county. His thoughts of leading by example, living his work and giving permission to the students to find the stories within themselves demonstrates his own authentic self - which in the end is the most important part of being a teacher. more ›