Student Testimonials

What Students Say
"Your class is very fantastic, you are an artist and I love your class." - Student, Nansha College Preparatory Academy (March 2023)
"Mr Frels is an amazing teacher and he cares about student's mental health. He always tell us to take a break for the sake of our mental health even when we’re prioritizing our time for grades. When I feel out of control, anxious and angry, he calms me down by allowing me to walk a bit and do some organizing. He knows what his students need and what to improve and always humble to suggestions and comments. He’s a great teacher that’s like my friend and father with great authority. Thank you Mr Frels." - Student, Nansha College Preparatory Academy (March 2023)
"The best teacher I have ever met, and the teacher's evaluation has greatly inspired my painting. This is important because those evaluations really help me improve my skill a lot." - Student, Nansha College Preparatory Academy (Dec 2021)
"Mr. Frels has always given me clear feedback, the most important part was enlarging my ideas with an audience perspective which help me a lot. The best art teacher in the world." - Student, Nansha College Preparatory Academy (Dec 2021)
"Mr. Frels is helpful when his students need it on skills/inspirations/critiques. He has a profound understanding on art and aesthetics. I love his class." - Student, Nansha College Preparatory Academy (Dec 2021)
"Kind and genuine." - Student, Nansha College Preparatory Academy (Dec 2021)
"In our very first class with Mr. Frels, I remembered very clearly that he told us to clear our mind and to not think about anything else instead of “we’re having art class now”. Then, he told us to imagine the art classroom as an ocean, and we’re all going to step into the water. To be honest, I giggled like most of my classmates did at first, however, after thinking about the purpose of this, I realized this can really calm me down. After that, I started to see Mr. Frels as a person who really has his own opinion on teaching; I really like his way of teaching and the atmosphere he creates in the classroom. This is the true feeling from my heart, not just saying something nice." - Student, Class of 2022, Mingdao High School, Taiwan (May 2019)
"Mr. Frels and his art class have assisted me in crossing one of the most challenging phases that I have been eager to overcome. After reflecting myself through the mirror of time, perceiving that if I haven’t got the opportunity to attend high-school in MDID, if I didn’t accidentally choose the visual arts class, and if Mr. Frels wasn’t my art teacher, there would be no existence of this graceful, extraordinary achievement in art and life. This delightful coincidental occurrence certainly is one of the most wonderful chains of accidents, imperfects [sic], and difficulties that totally reshaped various beliefs..." - Student, Class of 2021, Mingdao High School, Taiwan (May 2019)
"Mr.Frels did not give up on me. Thank you, Mr. Frels for giving me opportunities and not giving me up." - Student, Class of 2022, Mingdao High School, Taiwan (May 2019)
"I have yet to meet an educator who’s as inspiring and involved in his students as you were." - Student, Class of 2016, American School of Kuwait (Dec 2018)

A Teaching Biography

The Spark of Curiosity

I was in first grade, six years old. My teacher blew my tiny mind as she taught the Solar System. She wanted the class to understand the vast distances of the Earth, the planets, and the Sun. If a yellow ball in the center of the room was the Sun, she determined that a green ball on the third desk would be the Earth. It would take over 176 years to drive that distance in a car at highway speed. She pointed out the subsequent distances of Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune. By the time she placed Pluto, which was still then considered a planet, she was nearly out in the hallway.

Our teacher flicked the classroom lights on and off to demonstrate the speed of light. “Are you ready? Here we go!” In that flash we tried, in vain, to witness the fluorescent light move from the bulbs, through the air, and into our eyes. And at that speed, eight minutes and twenty seconds is the time it takes for a ray of light to travel from the Sun to Earth. The light that we see is already over eight minutes old!

A Lifelong Search for Meaning

Sitting in class and at home in the evening, I tried to wrap my mind around this unfathomable knowledge. Light shot across outer space at speeds faster than race cars, rocket ships, and bullets. There existed distances beyond the Earth and beyond my comprehension.

As a result of that lesson, I began asking deep within: “Why is there something instead of nothing?”, “Why am I me?”, “Who am I?” This search for meaning was an invisible, deliberative force charting my coming-to-age. To get to the bottom of existence, I plunged into art and academics, poetry and politics, mentors and religion. And eventually I chose, and still choose today, to teach.

A Journey Through Art and Teaching

As the educator I am now, I likewise aspire to engage students in powerful learning. I care about what I am teaching and stand behind education as the means to expand the mind. A passion for freedom, responsibility, and experiential reflection ought to be evident in my classes. Students are challenged to higher level thinking and to understand how they participate in their communities and beyond in the dynamic, interdependent world today.

Education shines light on the previously unknown. More so, it should, to the end, reveal that there is much to be known. I try to put myself in the students’ shoes and understand from where they come and where they are. The incentive to continue on is to witness students grow in self-regulation and discover their freedom to choose who they are becoming. Alongside them on this journey, my students consistently describe me as calm, helpful, patient, and kind.

Commitment to International Teaching

I am keen to pursue international teaching because immersion into another culture and way-of-life brings forth the best in me. I feel human on the front-lines of the unfamiliar, relying on perception and intuition. I grow in equanimity, cultivate friendship, and become more fluent in language. Integrating into places others call 'home', an empathetic equal-sameness shines for the diversity of cultures and people in this world.

I was raised in West Texas, home to rodeos and ranches. The sparse, arid High Plains were the ground for growing crops, grazing cattle, and pumping oil. Yet the sheltered boundaries of my purview rapidly expanded with the advent of the Internet. Thereafter, I embarked on university studies, a Peace Corps stint, and further international living.

Beyond the Classroom

When not in the classroom, I enjoy activities in nature-- walking, hiking, or bicycling. I read and try to keep up with current affairs. As an artist, I think about artworks. Give me a small pot of tea, and close friends, and the freedom to do and create much of nothing.

Teaching Philosophy

Notepad This teaching interview video beautifully captures a teaching philosophy grounded in student choice, agency, and presence. Although recorded in 2017, the guiding principles are a constant thread, reflecting my unwavering commitment to nurturing creativity, fostering reflective learning, and cultivating an environment where students thrive as curious thinkers and global citizens. I hope I've become a little wiser and more articulate in my thinking since then, too:

Watch My Teaching Philosophy Video!

Impactful Classroom Moments: An Addendum Reflection

Progress GIF One of the most powerful aspects of art education is its ability to cultivate reflection and self-awareness. In one memorable unit, I took students outside the traditional classroom to sketch and observe nature over several weeks. The culminating session was a departure from technique—students left their sketching materials behind and engaged in silent observation, immersing themselves in their surroundings. This exercise was designed to help them understand that art is not only about representation but also about perception and experience.

Their written reflections captured profound insights:

"Art class gives me the chance to experience these almost invisible things."
"I realized nature is a great teacher because it is never the same."
"I could sneak into my mind, and found the things that [were] hidden because I was too busy to notice."
"I feel the beauty of this world, and I’m grateful to born in this world."
"Everything has its own reason for existence, including myself, but after a few weeks of observing and drawing, I began to think that, what is the reason for me to be born? ... I see the leaves under the sun, I came up with the idea that everything, no matter big or small, exists because there [is] something, someone, or someplace [that] needs it. ...I drew a painting of leaves, and so did Morris, but the ideas and the things represented in the painting are very different."
"One thing that surprised me was that I feel the sense of release when I draw."
"Through the process of learning to observe different objects and my peers’ works, I understood that every circumstance and object can be viewed or analyzed in different ways because we all perceived things differently. ... Notably, we can not incorporate all the aspects we perceive in artwork, so we choose one or a few of them..."
"I pondered: since when did I lose the drive, that eagerness, to come up with ideas, to accomplish goals by myself? Since when did I stop thinking and start following orders like brain-dead soldiers? This fact was a slap on my face... it yanked me from the comfortable bubble where I used to believe all-would-be-fine as long as I followed the path others had paved for me."
"This direction… encouraged me to dig deeper into this field of knowledge, and lead to my sudden realization that art is far beyond limits."

Student Achievements and Work Examples

AP Art Student Oneal Yingjian Gao

Selected for 2023 AP Art and Design Exhibit
(50 selected from 74,000)

"The question I keep investigating is about the relationship between my pride and my body. People call me a couch because of my soft and fat body. I use the sofa to express my pride in my fat body."