My Teaching Philosophy

Art is a subject with no clear answers and little to define what it truly is. However, one thing that connects all art is humanity and how reflects it. Every culture and all walks of life create in order to express. That need to express is universal and it’s what intrigues me most as a teacher. As a teacher, I will give my students the means to fully express themselves artistically. 

The way I’ll go about that is by using TAB learning to give my Elementary students experience with a range of materials from crayons, tempura paint, markers, chalk, glue, and even graphite. With Lower Elementary students, I want to give them familiarity with the materials as we use them to make art connected to stories in books and even their personal lives! For Upper Elementary, I will use project-based learning to test their application of the materials I taught them. Not only that, but they’ll be trusted with more dangerous materials like scissors, hot glue, and staples. The projects that they’ll work on will still be based on their lives and the stories that they make because that expression is my top priority. Getting to Middle and High School, I’ll begin teaching the history of the most famous artists throughout history so that they get to learn the greats and how they choose to express themselves. Seeing all of their artistic styles and hearing their stories will inspire them to embrace their art as well as themselves and their own identity. 

For every grade level, my classes will be teacher-directed so that everyone can follow along and stay on the same page. I don’t want my students to be left behind if they’re left to work on their pieces individually, so I’ll be there to keep them on the right track! Most projects will be individual projects so that they can use what they know to make something truly unique, but there will also be occasional collaborative projects that will get them to engage with each others’ artistic process.

The thing that gets me excited about art education is that I get to see the way that my students see the world. Students can use their unique thought processes and personal experience to make something beautiful and that is why Art Education is important. They’re building skills and having fun while doing so! The techniques and skills that they learn are the knowledge that they can use at any point in life. It’s experience! Their personal experience with these mediums and self-expression is where their knowledge comes from. Using their experience, they can tell their stories in a myriad of ways and show the world who they are!