Teaching Philosophy
"Tell me and I forget;
Teach me and I remember;
Involve me and I learn"
Teach me and I remember;
Involve me and I learn"
As an artist, my way of interpreting and understanding the world around me is through my artwork. I investigate my surroundings and use materials to make visual my personal thoughts and feelings. Art, for me, is a connection to my experiences in life and often my reaction to them. As an educator I observe clear examples of times where there is overlapping between my studio practice and how I approach teaching. The overarching importance of my lessons and curriculum go beyond what students can create and the techniques they can learn. Although these areas are important, I think it is above all essential to have a purpose to one’s work. Why are we doing this? What does it mean? What purpose does it serve for not only my students, but me as an educator? These questions reach levels of understanding about the human experience as a whole.
I am a believer in student-centered learning. Inquiry is natural to humans and is the foundation to many different ideas and lessons related to the arts. Having active learners in the classroom strengthens the conversation and sets the tone for a healthy and successful environment. Influences from not only our own experiences together as a group but also what is going on in their lives outside of the classroom provide students with opportunities to further investigate concepts and ideas. Lives outside of school do not get put on hold when they enter my classroom. Their actions, ideas, and memories make them who they are as an individual and will help influence what they find interesting and worth exploring.
My classroom is a community environment and in order for that to be successful, it needs to have all parts collaborating and contributing to make for a worthwhile experience. Doing so allows participants to process information through their own viewpoint and interpret it using their own voice to create artwork. That is what art is for me; a process that is shaped by my own personal experiences at that present time or in the past. This is what I want my students to take from my lessons. To know that they are artists and they’re working through problems and finding solutions using the creative aspects of their mind to reach conclusions.
Students rely on the arts to supply them with the values and qualities that all individuals need in our present-day world. As we become more reliant on technology, our societies are becoming distanced yet, at the same time, yearning for more connections. Through the arts I want to help others find that way to make connections and become explorers of the world around them. It is essential that the arts be a catalyst for further development of all individuals as learners, explorers, and dreamers.
I am a believer in student-centered learning. Inquiry is natural to humans and is the foundation to many different ideas and lessons related to the arts. Having active learners in the classroom strengthens the conversation and sets the tone for a healthy and successful environment. Influences from not only our own experiences together as a group but also what is going on in their lives outside of the classroom provide students with opportunities to further investigate concepts and ideas. Lives outside of school do not get put on hold when they enter my classroom. Their actions, ideas, and memories make them who they are as an individual and will help influence what they find interesting and worth exploring.
My classroom is a community environment and in order for that to be successful, it needs to have all parts collaborating and contributing to make for a worthwhile experience. Doing so allows participants to process information through their own viewpoint and interpret it using their own voice to create artwork. That is what art is for me; a process that is shaped by my own personal experiences at that present time or in the past. This is what I want my students to take from my lessons. To know that they are artists and they’re working through problems and finding solutions using the creative aspects of their mind to reach conclusions.
Students rely on the arts to supply them with the values and qualities that all individuals need in our present-day world. As we become more reliant on technology, our societies are becoming distanced yet, at the same time, yearning for more connections. Through the arts I want to help others find that way to make connections and become explorers of the world around them. It is essential that the arts be a catalyst for further development of all individuals as learners, explorers, and dreamers.