Quality Standard 2: Teachers establish a safe, inclusive, and respectful learning environment for a diverse population of students.

• Element A: Teachers foster a predictable learning environment characterized by acceptable student behavior and efficient use of time in which each student has a positive, nurturing relationship with caring adults and peers. 

• Element B: Teachers demonstrate an awareness of, a commitment to, and a respect for multiple aspects of diversity, while working toward common goals as a community of learners. 

• Element C: Teachers engage students as individuals, including those with diverse needs and interests, across a range of ability levels by adapting their teaching for the benefit of all students. 

• Element D: Teachers work collaboratively with the families and/or significant adults for the benefit of students.

Name Tags

The foundation for this lesson was built around a lesson created by Mr. Ahbi Joseph.  During my personal educational journey, I learned the importance of a name. There are a lot of marginalized communities that only have their name; they take pride and ownership of their name.  Fonts have the same power. Fonts, subconsciously, give a first impression to the reader about what they're reading. Integrating the ownership of your name with a font to empower you to the reader, is an important first impression.

Standard 2: Establishes a safe, inclusive, and respectful learning environment for a diverse population of students. 

• Element A: Teachers foster a predictable learning environment characterized by acceptable student behavior and efficient use of time in which each student has a positive, nurturing relationship with caring adults and peers. 

With this assignment, students were introduced to the importance of their names. How, if they end up having nothing, they still have their name, just like marginalized communities. This was to teach students to take pride in their name, or the name they want to be called. Both are equally important as being called the name you want to be referred to and being referred to it shows respect. Sharing this classroom, showing respect to the students, and students showing respect to each other creates that respectful environment key to learning.

Studio Habits of Mind: Reflection. This project has students reflect on who they are, what they deem is important to them, and how to communicate this information to others through their name, font, and images they add on to the name tag.

Pinch Pot

To get the students started with clay, we wanted them to take baby steps in ways they could create ceramic mugs or plant pots, through the pinching method. This lesson focuses on taking your time to ensure that the clay has even thickness throughout the walls, a close to flat bottom as it could be,  as well as a smooth outside and smooth inside.

We wanted to get the students to think about the agraffito process and underglazes, how they could add depth, texture, and personality to their piece. We demonstrated how to do the glaze, how many layers, and how to make designs in the clay, along with the repetition of the designs. 

Standard 2: Establishes a safe, inclusive, and respectful learning environment for a diverse population of students. 

• Element B: Teachers demonstrate an awareness of, a commitment to, and a respect for multiple aspects of diversity, while working toward common goals as a community of learners. 

We wanted the students to embrace themselves, their personality, and the symbolism that would reflect that. Students would pre-plan their designs on a worksheet. They would then come talk to us so we could reflect on the sketch they made. This reflection would focus on how symbolism can be added, along with any adjustments, to make the sgraffito more uniform. 

This process helped create an environment where creating art is a safe space for the students. Some of these students have struggled with confidence about who they are or what their likes are. However, when they were able to create the sgraffito on these pinch pots, they were able to explore how they could use symbolism to confidently showcase themselves. Reflecting with us about their work highlighted that this is a safe space for them.

This is why it is important. Art is literacy that allows students the confidence to grow in communicating, display their true selves, and regain power that may have been taken away from them. This lesson was a great exploration of how art has those abilities; students who found that freedom were able to successfully explore those ideas.

Studio Habits of Mind: Express. Students were able to express who they are through the use of underglaze and the sgraffito they carved into the clay.

Flowers (petals)

This lesson introduced a project in which kindergartners created flowers to display both at home and at school. Students were given a worksheet with the pistil of a flower already provided. From there, they were asked to design their own petals and color them in any way they chose. They were encouraged to base their designs on their personal interests, preferences, and experiences.

Standard 2: Establishes a safe, inclusive, and respectful learning environment for a diverse population of students. 

• Element C: Teachers engage students as individuals, including those with diverse needs and interests, across a range of ability levels by adapting their teaching for the benefit of all students. 

Although these students are young, they are already developing a sense of identity. One important lesson we can teach them is to take pride in what they enjoy, regardless of others’ opinions. Some students loved Minecraft and created Minecraft-inspired flowers. Others preferred cooler colors, using shades of purple, blue, and green. Some were interested in ninjas and designed flowers shaped like throwing stars. I consistently encouraged students to embrace their individual interests and express themselves freely.

At the same time, I discouraged negative comments about others’ work or preferences. Whether a student liked Minecraft, cool colors, or ninja stars, each choice was valid. This project provided an excellent opportunity to teach students to appreciate diversity and be open to different perspectives. By valuing each student’s unique interests, the class was able to create a collaborative and inclusive environment that brought students together rather than pushing them apart.

Studio Habits of Mind: Express. Each student was able to express their interests by making each flower the way they wanted to. The only thing they were required to do was make petals for each pistil and to color them in.

Parent Communication

Standard 2: Establishes a safe, inclusive, and respectful learning environment for a diverse population of students. 

 Element D: Teachers work collaboratively with the families and/or significant adults for the benefit of students.

One of the opportunities I was most looking forward to was learning how to interact with students’ parents. During my secondary placement, I had more access to this experience than at my primary placement. At the secondary level, I was able to observe a parent-teacher conference, interact with one set of parents whose student struggled to stay focused due to socializing, and communicate with another set of parents whose student was very excited about ceramics, specifically pottery that had been created by classmates and donated to nonprofit organizations.

At my primary placement, my interactions with parents were more limited. Most of my contact involved simple greetings, such as saying “Have a good night” while assisting with crosswalk duty or exchanging “hello” as parents dropped off or picked up their students. While brief, these moments are still meaningful, as they help establish a welcoming and positive connection with families and contribute to a sense of community.

Parent-teacher conferences were something I was especially interested in experiencing. My mentor teacher, Mr. Meikel, explained that at the primary level, specialist teachers often assist in the front office during conferences, helping direct parents to the appropriate classrooms. Meaningful one-on-one interactions with parents in art at this level typically occur during student art shows, which I was fortunate to participate in during my first week. At the secondary level, my mentor, Ms. Webb, described conferences as often focusing on students’ missing work. When I observed these interactions, this proved to be accurate; parents were primarily concerned with incomplete assignments and how their students could make them up. I appreciated Ms. Webb’s approach of not enforcing strict due dates but requiring that all work be completed by the end of the semester or quarter.

I also had the opportunity to reach out to a parent regarding a student’s behavior. I found this experience particularly valuable, as it allowed me to learn how to communicate concerns professionally and collaboratively. The student was intelligent and creative but tended to rush through assignments, resulting in careless work. At the same time, they invested significant energy in socializing with peers, both in and out of class, sometimes breaking school policies and being dishonest about it. Addressing this situation required a team-based approach, emphasizing partnership with the parents rather than positioning it as a conflict.

Another experience involved a student who was extremely enthusiastic about glazing and fired ceramics. However, this excitement led them to take other students’ work home, mistakenly believing it was available to take. My mentor initially contacted the parents before going on leave, and I briefly took over communication when the parents responded. Although it was a small interaction, and I made a minor mistake by getting the organization’s name wrong, I was able to work with the parents to resolve the situation and ensure the artwork was returned.

Conclusion

Creating a safe, inclusive, and respectful environment that allows a diverse population of students to effectively learn is an area where I believe I am proficient. I take great pride in embracing the differences my students bring into the classroom. I respect each student’s background and encourage them to draw inspiration from their culture, identity, and personal experiences in their artwork.

This can take many forms. Some students incorporate religious symbols or iconography into their work as a way of expressing their beliefs. Other students drew inspiration from the artistic styles and visual culture connected to their heritage. For example, I had one student whose family is from India fully embrace artistic influences from that culture within their projects. I have also had students from the LGBTQ+ community create work that reflects pride in their identity and communicates to others that the classroom is a safe and welcoming space for self-expression.

I could feel the impact of standing in front of students from historically marginalized communities and telling them they should be proud of who they are, proud of where they come from, and proud of who they are becoming. Those words came from the heart and were meant for every student in the classroom. I believe students recognize that the environment I create is one where they are safe to grow, learn, and express themselves authentically.

Creating a safe and inclusive space is an ongoing process, and there is always room for growth. My professional goal is to continue learning how to be a stronger ally for all students. I want to actively listen to voices and experiences that deserve to be heard and continue creating opportunities where students can teach me through their perspectives and lived experiences. In those moments, I believe it is important for students to see that learning is not one-sided, that sometimes the teacher becomes the student as well.