Revised Teaching Philosophy

I believe that the visual arts overlap and connect all aspects in one's learning, interactions with culture and society, and one's self discovery. The visual arts are ways to document history, describe culture, express emotion, inspire technology, critique society, and examine individual ideas. Appreciating, creating, and talking knowledgeably about art are valuable tools for every individual. By studying art, students can look at the world they live in critically through different points of views. Our world is made up of art, and because we are surrounded by it, we should explore it. I believe teaching art should be a combination of studying the aesthetics and meaning behind other artists' work, and the students' interpretations of art through their own creativity. An art class should be a place where students feel fearless in their work, knowing that mistakes are simply tools for their success. Teaching art gives students the rare opportunity to break boundaries and truly analyze and form their own definitions of the world they live in.

To be an effective art teacher, I need to understand my students. I must take the time to show them that every individual student matters, and that their work is valuable. By developing a personal relationship with my students, I will be able to help guide them throughout their creative process. I will treat each of my students with equity rather then equality. Every student is an individual learner and creator, and they should therefore be assessed individually. Success is measured by personal improvement rather than competition amongst classmates. Also, to be an effective teacher, I need to be an artist as well. I must acquire the proper knowledge and the skills in order to teach them. Modeling the techniques to my students is a key component to their learning and for setting them up for success. Learning is an ongoing processes, and I will never stop improving as a teacher and an artist. I must continue making art so that I maintain my passion for it. If we do not believe in the power of what we teach, we are doing our students a disservice.

To demonstrate my ability to teach, I will need my personal art work, my ideas, and my experience as evidence. My teaching ability will improve from continuously interacting with real students. I believe learning how to teach is most effective through actual hands-on teaching. I will need to have many ideas and lessons plans already prepared before I gain teaching credibility. These will be rich with content, meaning, and big ideas that students will use as driving forces for their creative production. Also, the work I have created over the years as a developing artist will be the proof of my capability of executing techniques and conceptual ideas. Most importantly, learning from my mistakes in order to make improvements will positively impact my teaching ability. 

Put simply, I wish to better the lives of students everyday through teaching. No one can deny the strong correlation between education and success. Every teacher's philosophy will differ in one way or another, but we must share the passion and determination to make a positive difference. Teaching is a privilege, a calling, and an upmost responsibility. Ultimately, the youth's future rests in our creative hands. 

Summative Reflection

Throughout my semester in the Overview to Art Education course, I have learned so many valuable things about what it means to be a great art educator. Although I was always passionate about art's impact on students, I realized that there is so much more to teaching than simply regurgitating the elements and principles of art. I learned that art is more than an elective, a hobby, or an easy A. Teaching art to students is not only cross-curricular, but it also demands the highest level of thinking.

From my experiences, I realized the importance of being prepared. As a future teacher, I have learned to expect the un-expected; preparation and planning is crucial. This calls for organization and effective classroom management. Regarding the class topics, I learned that viewing the work of artists to build knowledge and context is something that I will absolutely implement in my classroom. The method of Visual Thinking Strategies is a powerful way to allow students to think deeply, analyze, and make their own connections to artwork. Also, the creation of art should always have a purpose behind it. Unit plans and students' work should stem from a big idea to ensure meaningful making. I will always model  techniques for my students and provide exemplars to show students what success looks like. It is important that my expectations always remain clear through the use of rubrics. Finally, I feel that an art curriculum should have a balance between concept and technical execution.

I now have a clearer idea of my identity as an artist teacher. As I gain more knowledge, my confidence in my ability to teach grows stronger. I think communication with students is a strength of mine. I have a sincere desire to develop a strong relationship with each of my students. I will continue to develop my skills in different media, as well as develop innovative ideas for meaningful units.

I intend to add more artwork, more reflections from teaching experiences, and revisions to my philosophy to my portfolio in the coming semesters.

Teaching Portfolio

I assembled my teaching portfolio on a separate blog. It contains evidence as well as a full synthesis of what I have learned throughout the Overview to Art Education course. 

Click here to view.

Unit Plan

Journal: Reflection on Classroom Management

For my field experience, I am in an elementary school, and I get to spend class periods with 1st and 3rd graders. Classroom management in an elementary school is crucial in order for an art class to run smoothly. I think my field teacher has great classroom management, and it all revolves around organization. Students sit at tables all with a different assigned color. Supply containers and folders for students' work are also color coated and correspond to the different tables. The students at each table are also given a number one through five. Each number is responsible for different tasks when gathering materials and cleaning up. Having this system of categorizing students is very helpful for the teacher because every student knows their role and their responsibility. She sends the students to get materials by color so that everyone doesn't crowd around at once, and she does the same when she dismisses them to line up. This is a tool I would love to use in my own classroom. Also, to monitor behavior, the teacher is good at demanding the students respect and attention in a nice way. I think it is so important for elementary level teachers to come across as warm and welcoming. There must be balance, and teachers must be careful not to be intimidating and scary, while still maintaining authority. The students in my field classrooms all work together to receive a maximum of six points if they display good behavior. The class points are compared to the other classes and are used as a way of friendly competition. The students seem to respond well to this method, and they all are motivated by the idea of earning points. Throughout the class, it is important to sometimes stop the students, get their attention, and evaluate their current behavior. The students are then aware of what they need to do to correct themselves as they continue working. The main things that I will take away from my teacher and apply to my own classroom are to establish an authority position, to maintain a positive and cheerful attitude, to practice patience, and to master a system of organization. If I have good classroom management in my art room, I then have the ability to create meaningful and rich unit plans. If I earn my students respect and trust, they will feel more comfortable expressing themselves and challenging themselves to be more creative.

Blog entry #4: Assessment

Why is it important to employ several assessment strategies when teaching art?

Assessing art in a classroom is perhaps more complicated than assessing students in other content areas. Within a class, students are at many different artistic skill levels, so it is difficult to grade all students on the same scale. Students will have different strengths, and some will pick up techniques easier than others. For some, art might be a passion of some students and they will feel intrinsically motivated to create good, meaningful work. Other students may not only struggle in executing skills due to their lack of exposure, but they might also simply dislike art. As an art teacher, I wouldn't set higher or lower standards for these students, but rather I'd set different standards. Instead of comparing a student's work with to their classmates', I think is is important to look at their personal growth. From seeing how a student progresses and improves throughout lessons, a teacher can determine what they have learned. It is also beneficial for the students themselves to see how they have grown throughout their art work. I also think that it is important for art educators to communicate with students that mistakes shouldn't be viewed as "bad." In other subjects, students are used to thinking that a mistake means something is incorrect, and therefore a failure. However in art, mistakes are simply learning tools for success. Without first making errors, an artist doesn't grow. When assessing students in my classroom, I think it's important they have a part in the process. For every unit, I think students should view their classmates' work and exchange suggestions and feedback. I want my students to be able to talk openly about their work. Furthermore, I think it is vital for students to self-critique through reflection. By answering questions about their own art pieces, they can recognize what they have learned and realize what they can improve on.

Artist Statement

Big Idea: Beauty

Beauty is one of the most coveted qualities humans strive to achieve, especially in today's society. There is an overwhelming pressure to look a certain way in order to be accepted and desired. The idealized image of beauty has strict criteria about what facial features and body type is ideal. These images are overwhelmingly repeated in the media, and viewers perception of "normal" is tainted as a result. My purpose for this book is to question the idea of beauty. Beauty is often associated with perfection, however, perfection can never be reached. The process of altering ourselves in order to be beautiful coincidentally, make us artificial.