My Teaching Philosophy
In my classroom I strive to educate the whole child, while understanding the full impact we educators have on them, and they, as people, will reverberate out into the world. When we teach children about the concepts of art, we teach them so much more than just color theory and line-work. We are teaching them about relationships, cause and effect, and how we may use these basic elements of art to communicate with the world and learn more about ourselves and others.
Color, line, and shape are part of a universal language which resonates deeper than words alone. Regardless of race or culture, there are certain ideological topics in life we all struggle to understand. With art, we are given a reason to research and dig deeper for answers which one might not be able to find through a simple Google search. Art educator Elliot Eisner once said, “The arts teach children to make good judgments about qualitative relationships. Unlike much of the curriculum in which correct answers and rules prevail, in the arts it is judgment rather than rules that prevail.” (Elliot W. Eisner). I like this quote by Eisner because it speaks to the constant state of decision making which goes on in the art process. Unfortunately, we put a lot of pressure on kids these days with standardized testing, and it does nothing to encourage students to develop their own opinions and judgements. Instead it teaches children that there is always a definitive right and wrong answer, and then often makes them feel less-than when they don’t know.
In my art classroom I wish to lift up my students and promote individuality. To do this, I look at another well-known art educator: Fred Rogers. Through his “friendly neighbor” persona, Rogers promotes various life-lessons geared toward children. For one, Rogers always promotes kindness and self-worth. He also is a firm believer in community involvement, which to me, goes hand-in-hand with the art world. Rogers has said, “We live in a world in which we need to share responsibility. It's easy to say ‘It's not my child, not my community, not my world, not my problem.’ Then there are those who see the need and respond. I consider those people my heroes” (Rogers). My goal is to strive toward Roger’s definition of “hero” and encourage my students to do the same. I want to feel confident that my students leave the classroom with more social and emotional tools than they came in with. It is my hope that if we provide our children with these mechanisms early on, they will be better off for the long run, and more equipped to have a fulfilling life.
