To be an effective art educator, I teach like a postmodernist and run my classroom like a modernist. By that, I mean the structures established within my classroom create a safe environment in which my students can investigate open-ended questions. This combination fosters personal growth and allows students to build confidence in their choices as they pursue their artistic goals.
All students have the capacity to create and think innovatively. Each student has the ability to analyze and synthesize varied information, and master new skills. With the right encouragement, every K-12 student can channel that energy into the problem-solving and question-asking pursuit that is art. Because students learn in multiple modes, I use a variety of methods to share ideas, such as aural and tactile learning, reading and writing, collaborative and independent exercises, and class discussions. I am dedicated to developing techniques to reach and teach every student on his or her own terms while also enriching the educational environment as a whole. I support inclusiveness in my classroom by using a variety of techniques and tools that encourage success through differentiated learning, including modifications to instruction, materials and assignments. By building both class-wide and one-on-one relationships with my students, I also recognize what piques my students’ interests and what encourages them to learn. This allows for me to provide my students with choices in the classroom.
My overall goal is to tap into each student’s strengths using whatever tools are available in order to cultivate optimism in the future of the Visual Arts and its ability to change the world. As Art is a reflection of the world and a reaction to it, I assign thoughtful projects, where students are expected to act responsibly toward one another and what they make, and take pride in their contributions. Just as students have responsibilities to each other and what they make in the classroom, I also have a responsibility to create my own work outside the classroom and to share it with others. While students are cultivating skills in the classroom, my goal is to nurture and enhance my own skills. In addition to making, I believe it is just as important to remain an impassioned and involved citizen. Staying engaged with the world allows me to improve myself, my artwork, and my classroom practices. This continual influx of ideas encourages each student to develop a relationship with Art that extends beyond the boundaries of the classroom, whether as an artist, a collector, an art enthusiast, or a concerned citizen of Planet Earth – and the hope that the results are nothing less than transformative in the way students view their world and its possibilities.
All students have the capacity to create and think innovatively. Each student has the ability to analyze and synthesize varied information, and master new skills. With the right encouragement, every K-12 student can channel that energy into the problem-solving and question-asking pursuit that is art. Because students learn in multiple modes, I use a variety of methods to share ideas, such as aural and tactile learning, reading and writing, collaborative and independent exercises, and class discussions. I am dedicated to developing techniques to reach and teach every student on his or her own terms while also enriching the educational environment as a whole. I support inclusiveness in my classroom by using a variety of techniques and tools that encourage success through differentiated learning, including modifications to instruction, materials and assignments. By building both class-wide and one-on-one relationships with my students, I also recognize what piques my students’ interests and what encourages them to learn. This allows for me to provide my students with choices in the classroom.
My overall goal is to tap into each student’s strengths using whatever tools are available in order to cultivate optimism in the future of the Visual Arts and its ability to change the world. As Art is a reflection of the world and a reaction to it, I assign thoughtful projects, where students are expected to act responsibly toward one another and what they make, and take pride in their contributions. Just as students have responsibilities to each other and what they make in the classroom, I also have a responsibility to create my own work outside the classroom and to share it with others. While students are cultivating skills in the classroom, my goal is to nurture and enhance my own skills. In addition to making, I believe it is just as important to remain an impassioned and involved citizen. Staying engaged with the world allows me to improve myself, my artwork, and my classroom practices. This continual influx of ideas encourages each student to develop a relationship with Art that extends beyond the boundaries of the classroom, whether as an artist, a collector, an art enthusiast, or a concerned citizen of Planet Earth – and the hope that the results are nothing less than transformative in the way students view their world and its possibilities.