Jack Burgess: Living Curriculum Teacher: From Painting the Hills of Kentucky to Enriching the Lives of Students

Jack Burgess teaching with pictures taken by his students hanging in the background.

Jack Burgess: Living Curriculum Teacher
From Painting the Hills of Kentucky to Enriching the Lives of Students

Jack teaches Digital Photography, Graphic Design, and Painting at Wheaton Academy and is known by his colleagues as a creative, godly teacher. He wears many hats, including ad hoc artist at WA, called upon for his professional assistance in everything from branding to website layout. His Winterim course for set design brings students together who want to learn the art and craft of theater stage design, skills used in Wheaton Academy’s musical. 

Books about art, design, education and collaboration fill Jack Burgess’ classroom. Student art and photography cover the walls. Piled in corners and leaning against his desk are a banjo, juggling pins, and a balancing device which looks like a cross between a skateboard and a see-saw. There is purpose to all of this, says Jack, “It’s about creating a creative space, where inspiration is always just a few feet away, where risk taking is encouraged.”

The consummate multitasking teacher, he assisted one student in a complex printing issue, solved another student’s camera problem, and offered ideas for a third student’s artwork – all while participating in our interview.

Becoming an Artist
His high school didn’t have an art program. It wasn’t until his sophomore year at college that Jack realized that he was an artist. Through the influence of friends, including New Yorker cartoonist Matt Diffee, Jack switched his major from Accounting to Graphic Design after his freshman year, and then to Studio Art with a concentration in Drawing and Painting his sophomore year. “My parents were amazing. Neither of them went to college but they did everything they could to ensure that I did. They paid for my education, making sacrifices to afford the tuition. They supported me as I worked my way through three different majors.”

“I had a late start as an artist… I had quite a bit of catching up to do. For three years, I spent every day in the studio, doing the work of an artist, developing my style, really learning how to paint,” Jack said with remnants of his Lexington, Kentucky accent slipping through. He spent the early part of his career capturing Kentucky’s natural beauty on canvas.

After college Jack worked as a painter and began showing his work at Mary Praytor Gallery in Greenville, South Carolina. He spent three years painting in Kentucky, Scotland, and South Carolina, helping him see a large range of God’s handiwork.

Before arriving at Wheaton Academy in 2003, Jack taught art and coached basketball at Dublin Christian Academy in Dublin, New Hampshire. He found success as a basketball coach, as well as in the classroom. “We took the state championship,” he smiled. After five years at Dublin Christian Academy, Jack moved on to work as a designer for Ernst & Young in Cambridge, Massachusetts.

A Designer in the Corporate World
Jack considers his experience at Ernst & Young to be the most formative of his life. “I worked as an artist and designer in a place that was set up for collaborative work. I learned how to work on a team, the value an artist brings to the thinking process, and how to enable large groups of people to work together to discover answers to their businesses’ most complex questions.” It was also the first time that he was in an environment in which he was the only Christian.

“I grew up in a really conservative environment, and I think I was really afraid to step out into the world. I realized that I could function and thrive in a secular environment. My faith wasn’t threatened like I had been told it would be. To the contrary, it grew. It also gave me tremendous confidence in the value of the artistic perspective. Our clients came to us with issues that they couldn’t resolve on their own. I realized that problems get solved when someone gets creative.”

Gaining a Vision for Teaching
Jack also gained a vision for teaching that was really different than any he had experienced before. “We would work 16-hour days and still be completely energized. I realized that we all love to learn, and that when it happens the right way it creates energy instead of draining it.” Jack brings that energy to Wheaton Academy, and he sees Wheaton Academy as a place where he can merge all the things he loves: art, faith, and teaching.

Jack knows that the vast majority of his students aren’t going to go on to be photographers or designers. He strives to convey to them the importance of the examined life. “He is always talking about the difference between looking and seeing,” senior Harrison Cowell said.

“He cares about our opinions,” Harrison said,“He respects us. His assignments help us to grow spiritually and artistically.”

Dozens of other students could echo Harrison’s words. Jack’s impact on their lives, artistically and spiritually, is deep. He is a creative example of what it means to be a living curriculum teacher. 

Faves
Food: Sushi
Author: Wendell Berry
Banjo Player: Steve Martin
Artist: Wolf Kahn
Baseball Team: Boston Red Sox

Church
Church of the Resurrection (deacon)
in Glen Ellyn, IL.

Heroes
His dad, Jack Burgess Sr.
Carl Blair, college professor

For more information, contact
Wheaton Academy
630-562-7500