TEACHING PHILOSOPHY

Learning is the fundamental basis in education. Without learning students would fall behind and not reach their full potential. As a teacher, I strive to help students gain the abilities they need to learn and grow. The best way to facilitate learning is through the act of making. Through making there is a direct link between the abstract thought of learning and the tactile. Students can realize ideas and concepts in front of them. Art education is this physical connection. All we do in the art room is make. Through the use of painting, ceramics, drawing, metals, printmaking, photo, and much more, students will learn more then technical skills, but also learn about themselves and the world around them. These are some of the base goals in art education.

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To help students realize some of these goals, I will base my teaching around the Studio Habits of Mind. Winner and Hetland’s Studio Habits of Mind are a set of eight dispositions that an artist uses. The wonderful thing about these dispositions is that they offer a language for critical thinking that spans across every discipline. They are develop craft, engage and persist, envision, express, observe, reflect, stretch and explore, understand the art world. The Studio Habits of Mind empower students to articulate their learning in any subject matter and provide an entry point for learning based on individual choice and need. These eight dispositions will be the pedagogy in my art classroom. Throughout the lessons, the Studio Habits of Minds will be utilized to create the connection between the art that students are making and what they are learning outside the art room. Studio Habits of Mind help us realize that we're all artists, is a fantastic metacognitive tool, and opens the door to creative inquiry that serves all disciplines.

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On top of the pedagogy, the connections and relationships built in the classroom are vital in student learning. By building a rapport with students, I hope to give them the abilities to grow as a person and as an artist. The art room is a unique place where mistakes are not frowned upon, they are welcomed. We learn from our mistakes and use the knowledge to help us in the future. By having the opportunity to be open to mistakes, students can better develop their learning and thinking in and out of the art room. One development and thinking all students should gain in the art room is creativity. Creativity can be taught to a point, but after it only develops if the students want it too. In my classroom I can facilitate the openness students need to develop their creativity by having lessons that are open for student choice and need. Students will have freedom in projects that have opportunities for students to add their experiences and knowledge.

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Education is important today and without the passion, love, and drive of teachers no one would be successful. My passion is to teach art and spread the impact art can have in people’s lives. I want to teach students how art is everywhere around them and can help them throughout their life. Art may not be for everyone, but with an open mind there is art for everyone.