Bob Ross Hits Highland

It’s the end of the school year. With less than four days of class left, students and teachers alike are beginning to slack off and get ready for the summer.

Although this last week or so of school is generally unproductive, the inactivity gives teachers the freedom to stray from their traditional lesson plans and experiment a little. Many  classes end up watching movies, while others work on projects like ice cream making labs or language videos.

Several Highland teachers have notorious end-of-year traditions that even incoming freshmen may know about, having heard about them from older siblings. These include Molly Welsch’s calculus rap, English teacher Brandon Winn’s brick burdens, and Kyle Bracken’s screening of the Bollywood film Jodha Akbar.

These quirky and unique events are one of the things that gives Highland so much personality. They serve to foster school spirit and give students fond memories of their time in high school.

But not every teacher has established such an institution. Highland is forced to replace several teachers each year, after some retire, quit, or move to other schools. Therefore, a considerable proportion of teachers at Highland have been teaching at the school for fewer than five years. End of year projects may be a good way for them to get their foot in the door and establish a memorable tradition.

After the AP test is over in Tera Hunter’s AP studio art class, the lingering seniors are given a space on the wall in art hall to leave their mark. But after all the hard work of creating a 24-piece portfolio, last year’s students decided they deserved a chance to mess around and have some extra fun.

Highland junior Olivia Carson was there when last year’s AP students decided to hold Highland’s first ever Bob Ross painting party.

“It was fun last year!” Carson said. “So I was like ‘I’m going to do that again this year’ and so I did it again this year.”

Carson helped to organize the project, setting up oil paints and picking out the episode of Bob Ross’s show “Beauty is Everywhere” to paint along with.

For those unfamiliar with Bob Ross, he was a painter who hosted a series of television shows from 1983 to 1994. In the episodes, Ross would work on a landscape painting, encouraging the viewer to follow along with him as he worked. Though his show was quite popular when it aired, Ross’ celebrity has continued to grow during the YouTube era, and a whole new generation of fans have become enamored with his soothing tones and quirky monologue. He has become sort of a pop icon, spreading love, joy, and happy little trees.

“It’s very calming.” Highland senior Madison Hilber said. “It’s very nice. You know you just listen and follow along. You don’t really have to think about it – you can just paint.”

Even when students became frustrated or couldn’t keep up, they laughed it off and worked to the best of their ability. The project challenged many to branch out into media that they were unfamiliar with and encouraged the already-accomplished artists in the room to grow even further and try something new.

Reactions to the project were overwhelmingly positive, even for those whose works didn’t turn out quite as they had hoped. That being said, maybe the Bob Ross painting party will take its place in the long line of Highland’s end-of-year traditions.