– Philosophy of Education –
One of the most important things that I’ve learned in my time as a teaching student, it is that the only constant in education is diversity. There will never be a classroom full of kids for which the same approach to teaching works equally well. The best teachers are not the ones with a rock-solid approach or one philosophy that they zealously practice. The best teachers are the ones who can adapt to the needs of their students so every student gets the best education possible. Some students will need to be told what to do, some will need to be asked what they want to do, and some just need to have the right options placed in front of them to allow them to ask themselves those same questions.
Whether a student is having difficulty learning, or a student is gifted, and especially when they are both, every individual student deserves to advance their education at least a year by May. As an Art teacher, I will be in the unique position of being able to reach a lot of divergent thinkers that might struggle in other classes. The practice of art promotes creative problem solving skills that will help students in all of their classes. That’s not philosophy, that’s science. I’m not just teaching kids how to draw better, I’m teaching them how to learn better. So, my mission becomes much larger than the collection of paper, paint, and glue that I’ll send home with my students. I’m not just sending parents better artworks than they got a year ago, I’m sending them home students that are better thinkers than they were yesterday.
…also, fun. I forgot to mention it should be fun. Because seriously, if your students can’t have fun in art class, well, you’re just doing it wrong.