Art with Ms. Kennedy

Teaching Philosophy

As an art teacher I try to help students communicate their experiences, thoughts and feelings through a wide variety of visual media. High School students are at a unique time of their lives where they are finding their own voice. I expect students to be curious, to act upon their own intellectual initiative and reflect on their own experiential learning based upon their performance, skills and knowledge of aesthetics. Creative problem solving is a key component to each course. Students have an opportunity to develop their skills and technical knowledge of art media. Students are assessed based on their individual growth in terms of technical use of materials/media, observational skills, knowledge of major art movements/styles and finally, recognition and application of the elements and principles of design. Viewing art work, whether student work or master works, is a vital component of each student's art education. Students have the opportunity to discuss projects collaboratively, to discern how they did as a group and individually, based on the requirements of the lesson and what they see.

We explore what we know and we assess new information. Students are recognized through their quality art projects in continuous art displays at Conard High School, in Art Beat, in exhibitions at the Board of Education and through competitions including Scholastic Art and Writing and the Congressional Art Competition. CHS Art students have won numerous prestigious awards both locally and nationally in these competitions.

My teaching philosophy can be summed up in a quote from pioneer art educator Viktor Lowenfeld who said "The teacher's primary role is to expand the students's frame of reference." This means starting just out of the reach of a student and encouraging him or her to explore new possibilities and new ways of understanding the world and their place in it.