Art education is a means of teaching communication, culture, diversity, history, math, philosophy, religion, science, and technical skills.  Art education combines creativity, communication, imagination, and problem solving, in a way other subjects can not.  Additionally, art education creates Studio Habits that follow students for life: develop craft, engage and persist, envision, express, observe, reflect, stretch and explore, and understand art world (taken from Studio Habits of Mind by Lois Hetland and Project Zero). 

 

My classroom is a safe place for students to communicate, experiment, share opinions and understand diversity.  I place myself as the teacher-facilitator, teaching what I know but accepting, there is still more to learn (from life, others, my students).   I am happy and excited to experiment and learn alongside my students.  I follow the premise of 'Create, Relate, and Evaluate.' Each student creates their art, by using skills gained by expermentation and scaffolding.  They relate their art not only to their personal ideas and culture but also to the existing world, society, and the past.  Additionally, the student evaluates their art to decide if they met their personal goals, the assignments goals, the skill set, and communicates their expression.

 

I believe every student (and person) is an artist. Making art is not only a highly technical skill, that can be taught, but also personal expression of the emotions, the self, and society. As an art teacher my role is to support, facilitate and assist all students to realize how they are artists and how their art and the art of others relates and effects the world around them.

 

I have traveled the world (from Tokyo, Budapest, Melbourne, Italy, Turkey, Greece, Morocco, Mexico, Canada and many countries in Europe) to learn not only about the art that is there but how they make their art and how it represents their culture.  Sharing that experience not only educates students, but it also breaks down barriers, and opens students up to diversity of art, materials, meanings, cultures, languages, symbolism and religions.