Amanda Bockelman (Ceramics Teacher)

Q: Which school did you teach at in previous years?

A: During my first two years, I was at Costa Mesa High School…and I taught at San Luis Obispo High School for five years. I’ve been on a two-year break from teaching before I came to Woodbridge because I have two little kids.

Q: Why did you decide to come to Woodbridge High?

A: Woodbridge seemed like a wonderful place to be. It also reminds me a lot of the high school I went to in San Diego. It even has the same school colors.

Q: What subjects did you teach before and what are you teaching right now? And why?

A: I’ve taught ceramics since the beginning and I’ve also taught AP Art History. I would love to teach that next year if there are any students that are interested.

Q: What is one significant thing different about Woodbridge High than in any other schools?

A: It is way more diverse than other schools…pretty homogeneous in the previously schools I’ve taught at. It is really nice to see a lot of different nationalities here at this school.

Q: What are some significant things different about your class? What are some core moral values you teach students about?

A: I guess I like to focus on increasing a visual literacy because most of the other subjects during the day are very academic. There’s an academic portion in ceramics too. But I like to get kids to focus on being able to express something by looking at a visual. Definitely, grit and perseverance are very important in this class, because on a pottery wheel, it takes a lot of practice and time to figure it out. Perseverance is something that you definitely want to have to make it through.

Q: What are you looking forward to the most in this year?

A: I am looking forward getting to know more students and faculties better…and getting the ceramic art out in the community of Woodbridge. I am hoping to be able to display it on Fine Art’s Day and around campus.

Q: You don’t have to pick a single student, but what is one thing that you want to compliment about your students?

A: So far they have been very hard-working and very creative, coming up with some interesting ideas.

Fun Fact: After taking two-year break from teaching, Bockelman is very familiar with little kids songs. She can also recall lyrics from the song “No Such Thing” by John Mayer from her years of college.