TEACHING PHILOSOPHY


As a creative arts teacher, my goals are to assist in students’ development of skill sets, to expand their contemporary and historic understanding of their discipline, to expand their ability to take part in artistic discourse and to foster the development of their artistic voice.  In each class, students explore major aesthetic concepts while developing skills with their given media. While working towards mastering skills, students are asked to push boundaries as well as think about the formal decisions they make and to relate those decisions to their personal objectives.  In each course, students are required to research a contemporary artist, as well as the theories informing the work researched, to foster the understanding that art is produced within cultural, historical and theoretical contexts. 


Metaphorically, my perception of the educational class is best understood as organic, responsive and evolving.  My methods and materials have these characteristics and are in continual negotiation with the needs and abilities of each class of students. I listen to student's needs, via student voices in-class as well as evaluations, and change my methods of relaying ideas as needed, as well as making arrangements for students with special needs. I design projects to engage students both visually and cognitively; they involve challenging processes that lead students to aesthetic concepts, or, in later cases, conceptual challenges proposed by the student. Multiple interpretations of projects are encouraged to ensure that all students have the opportunity to reach their creative potential.  In all classes, each assignment includes a dialogue explaining the parameters of the requirements with the end goal being a personal engaging response. Class decisions are balanced between students' immediate needs and my perception of their long-term needs. I am continually reexamining my approaches, materials and methods adding to and modifying as needed to remain flexible, responsive to contemporary life, and allow for student input as they are learning.


The development of a class community is fostered, encouraged and designed. Each class includes group interaction and group presentations.  I keep supplies in the classroom to help foster community and sharing. Building relationships in class activity creates interactive critiques that are forums for student discussions.  Conversations as such have covered questions about the purpose of art and its social relevance, along with the viewer’s relevance to the creative process, as well as the evolving definition of craft. Critique dialogue covers issues of form, emotion, artists' intent and audience reaction, history and theory, bringing to light that student's aesthetic choices are tools that engage others. Acting as a facilitator, I see it as my responsibility to both impart historical and contemporary information and provide a supportive, challenging environment for exploring student inquiries in depth.


In developing creative work, focusing can be a most difficult challenge.  To foster growth in this area, I structure my course projects on the concept of series works and expounding on themes giving students a foundation for understanding process and focus in relation to their own work.  It is made clear that while learning skills and developing an aesthetic voice there is a certain amount of evolution that occurs when ideas are brought to fruition.  I encourage students to allow changes and to listen to those changes and let each shift inform their work.  My goal, in teaching is to guide students in their development towards an evolving body of work that is both an expression of their ideas and a tool for their future development.