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Philosophy of Art Education Brochure:

Educational Philosophy:

An Advocate for the Arts

Art class was always my safe haven in school. My hope is that my students feel similarly to the way that I felt about art class while growing up–that it is a safe space to explore their unique interests, creativity, and to develop their ideas through the art-making process.

I believe that my job as an art-educator is to facilitate the unique growth of each individual student. I feel immensely privileged to be in the field of art education because of the freedom which comes with it. There are so many artists/styles/eras to learn from and as an art teacher I would be able to tailor the class content to wherever the students’ interests are naturally inclined. Introductory art classes are not tracked as many other academic subjects are and student achievement is not measured or contingent upon standardized test scores. Art students are free to learn without conforming to testing guidelines and regimented curricula. My goal as a teacher is to facilitate my students’ explorations and to provide them with the technical tools necessary to express themselves. As a teacher, it is extremely important to continue learning as a student does, to always maintain currency in the field, and luckily, that’s my jam! I love discovering and learning about emerging artists and established artists that I haven’t yet encountered. Each artist, just like each student, is unique and there are limitless possibilities when it comes to an individual’s personal growth as an artist and learner. The art room should be a space that celebrates the diversity of culture, ideas, and experiences among students. It should be a place which fosters Multiple Intelligences through a plethora of learning modes and interdisciplinary collaboration. Art has the ability to elicit complicated, abstract ideas and higher order thinking among students. This is the quality that makes art such a critical tool in education–that it is inherently about differentiation and adaptation–that anyone can find something that is personally valuable to them in an art classroom.

 As much as I feel like setting up a prompt to get the gears moving is important, I also believe in freedom to a certain extent and that there is always room for adaptation and personalization on assignments when it pertains to developing a student’s body of work. As an art teacher, sometimes the most helpful thing you can do is to take a small step back and allow the student to take some control of their own education–a luxury they will not have in other classes. I believe in every student’s ability to learn if given adequate tools and I recognize the importance of fostering social awareness, and encouraging celebration of racial and cultural diversity through integration into the classroom content. 

Aspects of some emerging trends in education that resonate with me are open content, adaptive learning, flipped classrooms, and personalized learning environments. While these are not always sustainable methods for teaching students in a typical public school setting in academic subjects, an art classroom is a lot more flexible and can really be tailored to the strengths and interests of each student. Students should be encouraged to research whichever art topics they are drawn to because not every style/artist/period will be as rich in learning opportunities for every student. When students are allowed to take some ownership of their education, it will reinforce their natural instinct to learn. Curiosity and freedom are the greatest gifts that a student can get from an art class–these qualities will encourage them to continue to learn outside of the classroom as well. The art room is certainly not a place where students should be force-fed arbitrary information that is irrelevant to their personal lives and interests because they will inevitably get that elsewhere at some point in their educational career. Although not all of my students will go on to pursue careers in the art field, an education which includes the arts will provide fundamental tools that are pertinent to success in every other aspect of life.

Galleries and museums are valuable resources where students can gain first-hand experience viewing art; in-person exposure is a vital element to the learning process. When I was in elementary school, I went on a field trip with my class to the Metropolitan Museum of Art and it was a life-changing experience–one of the most memorable days that I have ever had in school. Real-world correlation to the learning content is paramount to retention of the material. Art, creativity, and self-expression are inspired by the human experience. The arts are relevant to every aspect of life. I would argue that for many students, as it was for myself, art class is the most important class that they will ever take. Teaching students from an early age to express themselves through the arts and to interpret the meaning of a work of art is critical to the development of a child’s character. It instigates their natural ability to empathize with others and in turn provides them with the understanding of themselves to communicate their own experiences. As pointed out by Sir Ken Robinson, the act of art-making encourages the child’s aptitude for creativity and divergent thinking. It assists in their cognitive abilities and enables them to form complicated and abstract ideas that they can apply elsewhere. Art teaches students to look for more than just one right answer and to seek many possible solutions to problems that arise in their daily lives. Developing art fluency at an early age will help students make connections, even in other academic fields of study, and, critically, it will enable them to enjoy their unique learning experiences. From the Fibonacci Series and its relation to mathematical patterns which can be observed everywhere in nature, and astronomical and biological observations made by Galileo and Darwin, to ethical, social, and environmental dialogues initiated by countless humanitarians and artists in response to current and historical events, aesthetic experience is woven into every aspect of life. Aesthetic experience isn’t mutually exclusive with visual experience--it extends into other arts areas such as dance, literature, music, drama, etc.

My early interest in visual arts was initially recognized and cultivated by my father, whose background is in poetry and the literary arts. For that reason, I had an early start to appreciating the world from a poetic perspective. My father has always encouraged me to be an artist–he instilled the idea for me that I should prioritize my passion and find a way to do what I love rather than prioritizing a career that would generate a larger income. Art was my first passion and the only passion that has stayed with me for the entirety of my life. I am a visual artist first and foremost.

Although I come from a family of teachers, I never had any pressure from my family to become a teacher myself and initially thought that I just wanted to be an artist. However, by chance, during my MFA I worked as a Graduate Assistant  for numerous painting classes and realized how much I enjoy engaging with other artists and talking about art. There is something so exciting and fulfilling about the moment when something clicks in the mind of a student as a result of a critique or suggestion that you’ve given. It is a privilege to watch the transformation that occurs when a student catches their creative stride and when they make something that they are proud of.

Classroom Management Plan (9th Grade Painting 101):