Art is an essential life skill (Taylor, et al., 2007). Students need to be able to read, understand and respond to the visual information they are surrounded by every day. My job as an art teacher is to help make this possible. The study of visual culture, idea-based lessons and interdisciplinarity are some ways that I urge students to think about the meanings present in the images they wear, see and make. Technology is an important part of my art classroom, students use computers as part of the process of learning. I focus on looking from multiple perspectives and emphasize the research process as an element of artmaking. Ideally I learn as much from my students as they learn from me. In my classroom, art empowers students to think and act as responsible citizens.