By Roberta Morrow
For students at Box Elder, art class is a special time to
express themselves outside of the typical structured
environment. During art class, most students feel at ease
because they can work at their own pace, rather than under
strict time schedules for assignments. The main reason why
these students feel most comfortable in art class, though,
is because of their teacher.
Thomas Marinkovich, affectionately known to his students as
"M," has been doing his best to make art enjoyable for
students at Box Elder for nearly 23 years. Marinkovich has
an outstanding reputation throughout Montana for teaching
art to students and opening opportunities to them. He not
only teaches the students at Box Elder, he conducts
workshops throughout the state and teaches adult education
classes. His awards have been many, including the Service
Recognition Award for his efforts in the "Keep Montana
Green" campaign. He is the only individual ever to have
received such recognition.
"Art is the most important class in this school," states
Marinkovich. He feels this way because he has discovered
through the years that art is the class that has kept many
students coming to school at Box Elder. They look forward to
coming to art class because it is relaxing and less
stressful than those "regular" classes, and they get to work
with their hands instead of just their heads. This is by
Marinkovich's design.
"I try to make it fun and interesting," he smiles. "I had
way cool art teachers in school, and I learned a lot about
how to teach from them."
One of the ways Marinkovich makes his classes fun and
interesting is through variety. He gives the students
assignments in different areas of art, but gives the
students freedom to do their own thing. He is able to teach
this way with Native American students because, according to
Marinkovich, most of them already have a natural feel for
color and design. Also, he noticed from the beginning of his
career at Box Elder that art was a strong component in
Native American culture.
More evidence of his success is that many of Marinkovich's
students have moved on to successful art careers of their
own. One that sticks out in his mind the most is Jesse
Henderson. Last year, Henderson, a painter, was a featured
artist at the C.M. Russell Art Show in Great Falls. Also,
for 19 years, Marinkovich has been taking students from Box
Elder School to that same show to display their artwork. Box
Elder is the only Native American school that shows there as
a school.
Probably the best evidence of his success, though, comes
from the way he is thought of by his students. "M" is more
like a friend to them than a teacher. He is someone they can
talk to that encourages them in a way that makes them want
to learn. But most importantly, he has given the students a
way to express themselves through art. With his 25 years
nearly completed, "M" will defini
