Mr. Ingram has been Deemack’s art teacher, along with head cross country coach for 12 years now. He started helping out for cross country that following year, now he is the head distance track coach. He also teaches intro, intermediate, as well as advanced art classes. Before this year I never knew I had any artistic skills whatsoever. I joined at the last minute this year and I’m so glad I did because he has taught me how to do one of my, now most favorite hobbies! I interviewed Mr Ingram about his time as a teacher and coach and here is what he had to say.
My name is Sophia Schimmelpfenning, and I am interviewing. Mr. Ingram. All right. So my 1st 3 questions are gonna be the ones that I thought of myself. So 1st off, we have, how is it like being married to another art teacher?
Well, the good things about that are that we can bounce ideas off of each other, we can relate to each other on a lot of things. The downside of it is definitely when it’s the end of the year, like it is right now. Uh, there’s not a lot of patience, uh, for venting about things that are going on at school because neither one of us wants to hear about school anymore.
How is it like balancing art class and teaching track and cross country at t
Coaching cross country and teaching is pretty easy. Coaching track’s hard, but at the end of the day, I’ve got a prep, so that helps a lot- that didn’t used to be the case. So I’ve been coaching for 12 years, and I’ve also been teaching for 12 years. So I’ve been at it the whole time. I don’t know what it’s like to not coach and teach at the same time.
How long have you been doing it?
12 years.
Okay, so rapid fire questions. what’s your favorite color?
Green.
What’s your favorite song?
Ooh, that’s a tough one. Uh, I’ll go with uh, Foo Fighters, Ever long.
That works! Favorite movie?
I’m not there.
Book?
Bluebeard. That’s Kurt Vonnegut
he same time?
Okay, never heard of it. Favorite Sports?
Uh, the Cubs, I guess. Reluctantly.
We’re Cardinals fans.Yep. Oops. Okay, favorite thing to teach, wild guess?
I like ceramics, actually.
Okay. That’s solid. Solid. What is your favorite classroom essential? Favorite classr
oom essential?
I love our new tables. I wish we could keep magnets on them.
Yeah, possibly. That’d be nice. And finally your favorite snack.
Oh, let’s say some peanut butter pretzels.
And how long have you been teaching and why did you decide to become a teacher?
For 12 years? I really liked art, but I didn’t want to try to be a professional artist. I didn’t think that would be very secure, very helpful for having a family either, so this seemed like a logical progression.
Makes sense. Okay, who inspires you? Who makes this person so, or what makes this person so influential to you?
Mm, I think I’d have to go with my wife, because she’s a really good art teacher, and she’s good at a lot of things that I’m not.
Awh! That is sweet. What’s your favorite unit and lesson?
So I think specifically, like throwing on the potter’s wheel when I get to show that for an advanced class. Because that’s a really cool thing that is unique, not every teacher can teach and that not every student gets to have and take art at other schools. So we’re lucky to have those ceramic wheels.
We are. What is your favorite memory from teaching so far?
Mm, that’s hard to narrow down to one. I mean, I love seeing the success we’ve had at art shows and seeing those kids get best in show and feel really good about their artwork, but I also really appreciate just, um, seeing kids learn something new.
Okay, and then what is something you wish your students knew? How to make green?
You know, how to make a brown would be really helpful. It’s not like it’s secret information.
Okay. And what were you like as a student and how much of that has changed since?
Hmm. I was pretty quiet in high school.But I was pretty decent. I liked mischief outside of school.
Okay, mischief. I like that word. That’s fair. Okay, finish this statement. If I was not a teacher, I…
Hmm, probably broke.
Honestly? That’s one thing! Okay! What do you like outside of school? What do you spend your time doing? Only if you want to answer this one.
I’m a pretty avid gardener.
Really? Yeah, like I knew that one. That’s fun. What kind of, like, plants? Like, do you do vegetable gardening flowers?
We got pears, berries, we do annual stuff like tomatoes and all that.
Do guys have trees and stuff?
And we also, my wife’s, my mother-in-law was a botanical gardens, Chicago botanical gardens, horticulturalist. I remember that. So we got lots of cool plants from her.
How long have you known you wanted to be a teacher?
I think I thought I was gonna be an engineer, and I took honors, physics, and physics 2 in high school, and realized I didn’t really like that so much. But I thought that it would be a good path. Good path to go into, you know, arts.
Yeah, those are pretty hard classes. So did you, did you get your bachelor’s, tell me about college? What’d you do?
So I went to ISU. I went there for four years, but I also started getting the BFA, which is another fine arts degree. So, actually, I have two degrees. Two bachelors. For the fine arts degree, I had to have an art show that was up in the university galleries for a week and do an artist statement and do a bunch of additional classes. So I had a lot more studio classes than the typical art educator.
Thats Neat, okay! How does, like, when you 1st started here compared to, like, how it does now, if that makes sense? Like, how did the classes compare?
In a lot of ways, our students are pretty similar, and then behavior wise, there’s definitely some things recently that are a little overboard compared to what we had 12 years ago, I think.
I can imagine. 13, 12 years ago?
Yeah. My first year, I was a one year sub for a teacher that was getting her master’s. Instead of doing a little bit here and there, she did one year intensive, but had to be at U of I for that entire time. So then when she came back, you guys were in elementary school and I went over there for the two years. Then she went to a new job. I came back to high school full time. Oh, okay. Very cool. And what about track in cross country?
Did you start teaching those the same year, or how long? Have you been doing that?
My first year, the head track coach, head boys track coach job opened, so I did that. The following year, cross-cou
ntry was something I had helped with, but that coach was not rehired, and I moved into that position too.
What’s your favorite food?
Mm, good tie between pizza and tacos. Do pizza and tacos anytime-
Taco pizza?
So many varieties. Taco pizza, oddly enough, not my favorite.
Really?
I would take it.
That’s fair.
They’re looking for their own unique properties. They can’t come together.
What’s your favorite pizza in Taco place?
Tobin’s in Bloomington has the best pizza.
I’ve never heard of it.
It’s like a Chicago style deep dish.
Tobin’s. Yeah. Take note of that.
If we’re going thin crust, Monicals is a standby, but Lucas is the best for thin crust. Also in Bloomington. Lucas is an early, like, 1900s establishment that used to be a place where they would stash alcohol during the prohibition era. So it’s got mob connections. Cool pizza place. It looks like it’s been around for more than 100 years.
Really? That’s crazy. Oh, wait, what’s the taco place?
Uh, was El Portone, as Mr. Russell would also tell you! El, porton. Take your El Portone in Bloomington or Lupita’s.
Lupitas. I’ve never heard of any of these places.
You guys aren’t in Bloomington that often, probably. You guys go to Peoria. If you’re going for food?
Yeah, that’s true.
Don’t get caught on market street, then.
Right. Yeah, I just had one. I just had a question. Oh, tell me something, like, that not a lot of people know, or like, what’s a hidden fact about yourself?
Mm, I’m a Florida man. Born in Florida.
Really? No way. Way. Did you go to, like, grade school and all of high school?
No, I don’t really remember much of that. I was, I think, 4 or 5 when we moved.
Did you move straight here?
Uh, yeah, to the Metamora area.
Hmm, I see it now. You have, like, a darker complexion. -bethany owen
Oh my gosh! Oh my gosh! Bethany! It’s the track tan.
He’s outside.
I know, but like… -bethany
You should see when the sock comes off. The feet are pure white.
That’s funny. Okay. And my last question is, what is your fastest mile time or your most
impressive time that you want to tell us?
Uh, to be honest, I don’t think I didn’t like track a lot in high school.
Really? Okay.
Not at metamora, we never even distance runners touched the track hardly, except for meets. So cross
country, I ran 15:56 for 3 miles, which is more impressive than, I think, my best mile in track was probably 4:52 or a 450.
But I’m glad to coach boys that were faster than that, so… Right.
Yeah. That’s, yeah, quite insane to me. That’s crazy. Good for everybody that can run that fast. Okay, and we are signing out. Thank you Mr. Ingram, and Peace out!
To sum it up, Mr Ingram has had a huge impact on our school and done amazing things for the people around him. Here’s what a few students / athletes & coworkers have to say about him.
Shaun Deniston- “He’s brought out my artistic side. Being in that class with him has made me enjoy drawing and being creative.”
Addison Born- “He is very positive and always tries to make his athletes feel accomplished even on their bad days.”
Kayden Malmgren “ He’s a hardworking coach”
Gunner Stoops “He’s the goat, I’ve had two classes with him and he’s taught me a lot.”
Mr. Hill- “He’s a good teacher and a good coach, he does a lot of things a lot of people don’t notice around here.”
Mr. Finny- “Mr Ingram does way more than people give him credit for and is not only a good teacher but a very good coach.”
He has impacted many student lives in so many ways that have gone unrecognized. Next time you see him in the hall be sure to thank him for all he does for our students and school! Thank You Mr. Ingram!! Happy Teacher Appreciation week!
