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Mariah Calman doesn't act or look like a rapper.
Outside the classroom she's quietly spoken and reserved, but that all changes once she's in front of a roomful of Year 11 visual art students.
"I have this feeling that I'm meant to be a teacher. I come across as very shy and very introverted but when I'm in classroom with teenagers I am so very confident and ambitious. That's where I feel I belong," Ms Calman said
"Teaching — so little of it comes down to curriculum. A lot of it is about how to engage students, how to differentiate and focus on student wellbeing as well."
Drawing on the HSC art curriculum, she's written and performed a rap song to help students deconstruct artworks.
She did it to help her Year 11 students at Ambarvale High School, in south-western Sydney, study for their exams and never expected it to go any further.
That all changed when artist Ben Quilty shared a video of it on his Facebook page. It's now had tens of thousands of views.
"I thought, 'Yeah, that's what it takes'," Quilty said.
"Art takes giving everything, and she's giving everything to young artists. I thought she's got to be one of the very best art teachers on the planet.
"Those kids, I hope they know how lucky they are."
'Being a teacher is such a privilege'
Her students certainly agree.
"She's fearless. She doesn't care what other people think of her," Year 11 student Lachlan Winter said.
"I've got to say one of the best classes I've ever had is an art class. Some days even if I don't have art it's why I come to school."
The school's principal Louise Barnott-Clement said her students love Ms Calman because she's "determined that they can produce work beyond what they entered the classroom thinking they could do".
Ms Calman said the best way to engage students was "to reawaken that curiosity and creativity and critical thinking in their learning".
"A lot of that sometimes comes through a sense of play, because ultimately teenagers are still kids," she said.
"I honestly feel being a teacher is such a privilege. Ultimately my first priority is to make sure students come into a classroom where they feel really accepted and they feel that their voice is heard.
"They are such wonderful human beings and I want the very best for them."
'There is never a relief from the pain'
Three years ago, during her first year of teaching, Ms Calman started having severe migraines. She initially put it down to the stress of being a new teacher.
After enduring six months of intense pain her doctors discovered she had a rare chronic condition called idiopathic intercranial hypertension.
"My body creates fake brain tumours, and so my body produces five times more brain fluid, then my brain assumes there's a brain tumour and then produces brain tumour-like symptoms," Ms Calman said.
"It has impacted on about 40 per cent of my vision I have limited depth perception and peripheral vision.
"I have chronic pain, so I always have pain. There is never a relief from the pain."
She turned to art to explain what it's like to live with the constant pain.
What started as drawings to explain her symptoms to her doctors became intricate art works.
Memorable teacher gives life lessons
Ms Calman said she believes teaching helps her cope with her illness.
"This job is the reason why and how I can and do get out of bed and I love it so much," she said.
"The sense of positivity and optimism helps so much with the pain."
Ms Barnott-Clement said Ms Calman helped "kids understand you're only limited by the limitations you place on yourself".
"We can't always measure outcomes in terms of benchmark data or NAPLAN results. Sometimes it's much more subtle and much more nuanced and yet also more powerful," Ms Barnott-Clement.
"If she was teaching my children I'd be absolutely overjoyed."
Student Elijah Neti said Ms Calman's teaching techniques "really digs deep in our hearts".
"That's the unique thing about Miss. She's in our generation, really cool. I'll always remember Miss," he said.
Topics: teachers, brain-and-nervous-system, art-and-design, education, music, rosemeadow-2560
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