About Me 

My Teaching Philosophy:

My goal as an art teacher is to foster a productive learning environment where my students feel comfortable to experiment, learn, and grow in a place where they can be their authentic selves. This is accomplished by starting with setting my classroom up for my students to succeed. My classroom space will be welcoming and motivational. I will make sure students are comfortable in the classroom space and comfortable communicating with me. Then I will do everything in my students' best interest to facilitate their learning. Every student is a unique individual who has different needs. I also want each student to be proud of their differences and feel as if there is a place in the art world for them. “Limiting the diversity of artists whose work is shown might result in conveying to students that only some people can be visual artists.” (Seidler, 30) All of my students will feel as if there is a place for them and that art is a realm where they can succeed. I make sure of this by keeping track of the different artists I present to the class and their backgrounds, making sure every student in the class feels represented. Focusing on things that students like, value, and that are important to them are also top priorities of mine. I will appreciate the students as their whole person, as each person is made up of their own unique and individual experiences. I will get to know them on a personal level so I can tailor my teaching to their learning styles and interests. “Learning occurs when students confront questions that matter to them and when they are given the space to determine their own curiosities.” (Hamlin and Fusaro, 10)  Art education should be student-driven, as students don’t have many opportunities for that in school. I will provide them with the opportunities to explore topics they are curious about and I will make sure that with each lesson, they are taking away valuable knowledge and life skills. “Meaningful art projects are scaffolded around students' prior knowledge.” (Uhrmacher et al, 28) I will carefully and purposefully plan lessons that build off of each other. Education is designed to empower students to be active and critical thinkers. I can help my students to accomplish this by asking questions like “What do you see? What stands out to you? What catches your attention?” I will emphasize that learning in the art classroom is more about the process, rather than the final product. “They were not just shaping the material, the material was shaping them.” (Price, 124) Students will work with many different materials, some they’ve worked with before and some they’ve never heard of. They will learn problem-solving skills, be adaptable, and develop new ways of thinking. They will become better at being patient, valuing craftsmanship, and being proud of the work they spend time and effort producing. “Good art and good art projects transform the way in which we understand and process life experiences.” (Urmacher et al, 21) It is more important for students to take away skills that are applicable all throughout life than to get caught up in technical details. The technical details of art teach you how to translate ideas visually more effectively, but they are less relevant in the real world unless you are working on art-specific jobs. “The taught curriculum is different then the intended curriculum.” (Ayers, 39) My students will still learn technical art skills, and they will improve their artistic capabilities, but the hidden curriculum through art lessons will be more focused on helping them improve in ways that will carry out throughout their lives. I will constantly check in with students, give them room to try new things, offer ideas, remind them to focus on process rather than outcome, and allow them to grow as their own individual people. Learning is not always linear, and students are not on the same paths. I will document students' work throughout the process so I can understand how their thoughts are being shaped. The students will have their own process portfolios where they will add sketches, plans, reference photos, and more. It will allow me access to creative thinking and clues to student reasoning. It can help me to help them as well as develop future curriculums. Students will be evaluated based on their process and whether they are making an effort. I understand that effort looks different for each student. I will look at where they started and where they are at the moment. I will also use those evaluations to evaluate myself. Communication between the teacher and the student is extremely important, and there will always be a constant flow of communication between my students and I. I will remain adaptable, and I will be the art teacher that the students need.