Teaching Philosophy
As an arts educator, my teaching practice is grounded in inspiring my students to become better makers and thinkers by guiding them through their discoveries in the arts. Like the education theorist John Dewey, I believe students are best supported when they are encouraged to take an active part in the process of their learning. Students should be presented with learning opportunities in which they can relate their life experiences and knowledge to the curriculum. Additionally, learning should be a collaborative act in which students build relationships with each other and grow as individuals. I believe it is an educator’s responsibility to foster an inclusive and safe environment in which students feel empowered to take control of their learning, take risks, and be critics of the world around them.
The arts benefit students beyond school walls. Like Harvard professor Lois Hetland, I believe the eight “Studio Habits of Mind” are not limited to the art classroom. These habits include one’s ability to observe, reflect, stretch and explore, engage and persist, envision, express, develop craft, and understand art worlds. Each of these practices act as tools for students to use as they continue to discover themselves and the world around them. Similarly, like art educator Olivia Gude, I am an advocate for centering arts education around “big ideas.” Big ideas are broad, important human issues which provide students with the opportunity to make personal connections to art. I believe art education should aim to acknowledge varied understandings and perspectives. Students presented with this approach are able to direct their own learning, compare and contrast their perspectives against their peers, contemplate multiple perspectives, and work through contradiction and ambiguity.
My hope is that all of my students develop a desire to be lifelong learners through positive experiences in school. As an educator, I value the act of reflection and adaptation. I hope to live as an example for my students, that we are constantly growing as individuals, and we should not fear failure but instead welcome it as a learning opportunity. Art educators should help students to view artmaking not as a linear process with a product as the final goal but as a series of experiments and failures that facilitate growth.