National Core Art Standards

Philosophy

Throughout time, art has been essential to human existence. When people create sounds, images, gestures and words, they discover ways to shape and share their thoughts and feelings with others. Visual arts have been used to record history, capture a moment in time, and enrich the lives of all humans across all boundaries.

Art education allows children the opportunity to create, connect and respond no matter their age, gender, culture, mental or physical challenges. It is all inclusive, all accepting and all encompassing.

I have that same curiosity and passion for learning. Through collaborations with colleagues, connecting to web resources, and industry associations, I feel I have honed my skills as an art educator. Through planning, doing, studying and acting I have become an enthusiastic facilitator to the students' critical thinking and creative skill.

Exploring the contribution of diverse artists of the world community opens children's eye's and encourages exploration, curiosity, wonder and pride in being an artist. Art should be studied and made for both its expressive power and its possible social meaning.

Art is a language of thought which must be accessible to all students, not just the talented or well-connected few. It is essential for teachers and artists (including student-artists) to work together to explore their own stories and dislodge the ideologies that sustain the practice of exclusion and marginalization. This can be achieved through critical multicultural art education. Teaching non-Western art, European art, and contemporary art is important because, in some way, it is part of everyone's story and survival. One story is needed to balance the other.

Through a community of inquiry, students learn to investigate, question, and judge art which includes challenging their own ideas. In my class, I want to invite risk-taking in art making and art thinking that questions the status quo and searches for personal or social truths. Ideally, art should be connected to other academic disciplines. With interdisciplinary studies and

collaboration between teachers so that students can explore the concept of a cohesive community by interweaving the arts with literature, history, the environment, and much more.

There is so much to learn. I am excited to continue learning and teaching.

Mrs. Cara Kingsley - Art Instructor - Heritage Lakes Elementary