26 Aug After 39 Years, Nancy Townsend Passes the Torch

I don’t need a successor, only willing hands to accept the torch for a new generation.

BY KRISTIE SMITH

After 39 years, beloved Forney art teacher Nancy Townsend is retiring and “passing the torch” to the next generation of teachers.

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Indeed, Townsend has won multiple awards and honors, including Teacher of the Year and Forney Chamber of Commerce, Helping Hand Award winner. She has also been a UIL and art show sponsor; has served on the Forney Historic Preservation League, the Forney Arts Council, and the Downtown Business Association; and is a faithful member of First Baptist Church in Forney. She was once even a two-trophy winner in the Miss Athens contest!

She describes her career with passion. Her mother always taught her to “try a little bit of everything,” so she has always directed her students to experience her classroom like they should experience life—try it all and find themselves artistically.

Every year, she would first teach her students to draw a tree. “Even middle school  students  come  into  an  art  class using rectangles and circles to create a tree,” she laughs. “I demonstrate how to draw a tree, including the roots.”

Because her specialty is 3D art, she has taught all forms of sculpting—from clay to knitting. Her husband, Forney Fire Chief Rick Townsend, chuckles as he recalls which students loved knitting the most—“The big tough football players!”

Townsend’s ideas are always creative (one class created a Duck Dynasty gnome garden), and she continually looks for ways to teach students to “give back”, as when she and her class honored armed service members at a Forney Veterans Art Show.

Like other outstanding teachers, she has never simply seen her subject matter—her eyes focus first on her individual students, whom she encourages to be someone. “Some children do not know of their true heritage,” she says, “so I have them find out  about  their  pasts,  their  backgrounds, where and who they came from. It helps them to know themselves better and to have more self-esteem.”

She also believes that it is important, too, for teachers to reveal who they are. “I shared my stories, feelings, and who I am with my students. I showed them respect, and they in return, gave me respect. They always knew I cared and loved them.”

As Townsend reflects back on her career and looks forward to devoting more time to her own artwork, her advice to new educators reflects her classroom practices of many years: “See the individual student. Teach them where they came from. Help children experience many forms of art. Teach across the curriculum through your subject.

“And,” she concludes, quoting singer/actor/comedian Danny Kaye, “Life is a great big canvas—throw all the paint on it you can!”