I believe that art education is important in that it teaches students to look, to consider, and to reflect. The process of art making requires collaboration, persistence, and creative problem solving. As an educator, I strive to deliver an art curriculum that is accessible and relevant to all students, whether they go on to study and work in creative fields, or become tradespeople, or writers, or neuroscientists. I seek to provide experience and practice in artistic styles, techniques and media, and to teach a contemporary and relevant curriculum from a student centered approach. I want to use art to counter inequity and apathy and build stronger communities through comprehensive multicultural education. I want my teaching to supplement students’ critical and analytical abilities and afford them a more informed reading of visual and media culture.
Central to this student-centered approach is the relationship between visual and verbal storytelling. Asking students to create artworks which explore personal and community narratives does more than engage their interest, it gives them a voice and values their experience. As a teacher, I hope that challenging students to creatively explore their own narratives will allow them to recognize and celebrate their personal and community’s cultures and assets. Additionally, I believe this process is crucial for teaching understanding and empathy. I will create a landscape for learning that reflects varied communities, celebrates cultures, and fights the systemic, social inequality of the larger society.
Finally, my approach to art teaching is one that strives to make students visually literate, to interpret and make meaning of everyday imagery, and to consider cultural, historical, and aesthetic perspectives of visual culture. As an art educator, I aim to offer students tools to engage in respectful and constructive dialogue, which will allow opportunities to think critically and carefully about their own creative choices and processes.
Central to this student-centered approach is the relationship between visual and verbal storytelling. Asking students to create artworks which explore personal and community narratives does more than engage their interest, it gives them a voice and values their experience. As a teacher, I hope that challenging students to creatively explore their own narratives will allow them to recognize and celebrate their personal and community’s cultures and assets. Additionally, I believe this process is crucial for teaching understanding and empathy. I will create a landscape for learning that reflects varied communities, celebrates cultures, and fights the systemic, social inequality of the larger society.
Finally, my approach to art teaching is one that strives to make students visually literate, to interpret and make meaning of everyday imagery, and to consider cultural, historical, and aesthetic perspectives of visual culture. As an art educator, I aim to offer students tools to engage in respectful and constructive dialogue, which will allow opportunities to think critically and carefully about their own creative choices and processes.