Teaching Philosophy

In the last few years I have, through my own teaching and learning
practice, learned that there is nothing more gratifying than the
reaction of an excited student who just completed their first print or
constructed their first stabile abstract sculpture. I experienced great
achievements along with, what I then considered setbacks but later
realized were only learning experiences for myself. I always remind
myself to think of when I was that nervous quiet student, too
consumed with anxiety to participate and fully enjoy the environment. I
consider how much of a hindrance that is on the student, to be too
afraid to ask a question or make a suggestion. The classroom setting is
where we automatically spend at least seventeen years of our life, it is
important to maintain respect not only between you and the students
but also amongst the students themselves. I think it is necessary for
students to be aware they are in a safe comfortable place, even if only
for a short time, to establish a community for voluntary participation
and expression. I think the classroom is a place where you begin to
define yourself as an individual and establish various ways of
expression yourself and as the teacher it is your role to help guide this
process as informative and creative as possible. Whenever I design a
lesson, I really try to consider the differences amongst the students,
where they come from, what they know already, their socio-economic
backgrounds and how it influences the mindset of the student upon
entering the classroom. I think before you can even begin teaching
your group of students regardless of their differences, they should
know you are there for them and your not so different from them even
if you truly are. We all relate in some way.
I am an art teacher; I would not categorize myself to one specific art
form, because how would I encourage my students to try new things? I
believe that the art room always assumes the role of the safe place, it
was always that place for me and through much observation I still see
it utilized the same way by many students. The art room is the place
where the pressures of school, home, friends, and all the other issues
we keep stored inside, somehow surface in the art room. While there is
still a structured format and curriculum required, I feel that by teaching
art, I have the ability to give students the chance for some academic
freedom, where they learn in a way they have some say in things and
things arent so black and white. To me the art room is the place of
subconscious learning, we as people experience life visually then
cognitively, in the art room there is a primary hands on opportunity
that separates the experience from its neighboring studies. An art
environment (not just a room) creates multiple channels to convey
information to students that may not be as beneficial to them as a pop
quiz in math. My main goal in any lesson is for the student to walk

away having learned at least one new thing and being able to talk
about it, whether it is a word, material, process. Discussing your work
is always hard, even for the most outgoing student, but if the student
is confident in what they learned they are eager to share. The
willingness to share contributes to the overall effectiveness of the art
room; students will remember that there is the space of more rights
than wrongs.
It is said that we develop our own personalities by adapting parts of
those around us; I find the same to be true of my teaching methods. I
consider the teachers who made me feel the most comfortable, those
that intimidated me, and those who really inspired me to learn. I think
of their tone, the way they interacted with us as students, were they
authoritative, were they nurturing, some of both? I think of their
classrooms, seating assignments, the organization of the room,
designated posts where they spent majority of the class time, posters
they choose to use as decorations and secondary learning tools. I know
understand that everything my former teachers did was all part of their
classroom blueprint, their carefully considered navigation system of
the layout they designed. I realized quickly most students work best
specific instructions and demonstrations and the time and freedom to
interpret the information for themselves but I also know that not every
student is so independent. I try to design the space for both sets of
learners, independent and those that need a group. I feel the teacher
should be located in the interim, as the last resort for any unanswered
questions or last minute confusions. I incorporate visual reproductions
for every lesson; I try to provide several representations of the art
content relative to the lesson. I take time to discuss the images with
the class, employing the vocabulary when needed, but all in a casual
setting to establish we are having a conversation and I am not simply
talking at the students. I always try to encourage students to think of
an instance where they may have seen something similar, even if they
compare Mona Lisa to SpongeBob, providing them with the chance to
relate a new idea to a familiar one, sets a foundation for dialogue.
Assessments can be difficult when it comes to grading art; its hard to
generalize the creativity of an assignment to fairly provide feedback to
students. I find that it is more informative to allow the students to
Asses their work themselves. It can be surprising to see how harshly
they may critique themselves based on their interpretations of the
assignments requirements. However with prompts such as questions
about the process or vocabulary and accessibility to learning tools such
as word walls or checklists, the students can gauge their own
performance during and after the art making. I think it is important to
allow the students as much creative freedom as the lesson allows, the
variety of results informs the teacher more than carbon copies of

master paintings. would The students should know they can and
should be inspired by one anothers mistakes as well as strong points.