Artist Profile: Michael Buchanan

Art, Books & Movies

By Heike Hellmann-Brown

As a math and science high school teacher in the Fulton County school system, Michael Buchanan was deeply rooted in the academic world for more than three decades. When chaperoning a diving trip to Honduras in 2001, fellow teacher Diane Lang challenged him to edit a book about diving that she was writing. Diane continues to inspire me, Buchanan says. She was the one who told me that I can write, that I am creative, and that my voice is powerful.

This initial collaboration sparked a long-standing co-author relation that led to several nationally and internationally acclaimed books, screenplays and movies, with the most noteworthy being The Fat Boy Chronicles. Inspired by a true story, the novel depicting the world of an obese and bullied ninth-grader won the National Parenting Publications Gold Award, the Moms Choice Award of Excellence, and is used by schools around the nation in their anti-bullying and childhood-obesity efforts. In 2010, a feature film adapted from the book was released. Both the book and movie are supported by the Georgia State Superintendent of Schools and Childrens Healthcare of Atlanta, as well as Cincinnati Childrens Hospital, the International Bullying Prevention Association, and Southern Poverty Law Center.

Bullying starts as early as kindergarten, Buchanan notes. Kids and adolescents are the barometer of our society. Their behavior patterns reflect what they experience at home. As teachers, we see the world in a hopeful way and strive to initiate change. Changing a person can eventually change politics.

A frequent speaker at anti-bullying conventions, and local and national schools, Buchanan emphasizes the effect that art education has on the socialization of our children: Art can break this cycle of violence and give a child a voice. De-funding arts education has devastating consequences, not only for the individual student but also in regard to our nations continuing prosperity. The high school drop-out rate with a high involvement in arts is only 4 percent, versus 22 percent without.

Based on his screenplay and produced by The Arts & Science Council of Charlotte, N.C., the just-released feature documentary, Spiral Bound, showcases how high school students from a youth development program and a group of liberal arts college students use the power of the arts to lend themselves a voice and change the face of education.

An artist himself, Buchanan raises awareness for art education within his local Alpharetta community. We need spaces where kids can be creative, he says. Creativity in any form has a direct impact on the individual. Art raises self-esteem, it inspires, engages and fosters a sense of belonging. The students grow emotionally, intellectually and artistically. Ultimately, art creates better citizens and thus shapes our society.

Buchanan stresses the importance of parent involvement. Parents need to learn about their childrens world. The way school is now is not the way school was for us. Youth and adolescence are the formative years. Stay involved. Ask questions. Not everything is great. Everybody will be better if everybody does better!

TheFatBoyChronicles.com