My Teaching Philosophy

 

Nurturing a Safe Space for Learning

 

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As an art educator, my teaching philosophy acknowledge's that all students are unique with their own needs, talents, experiences, and perspectives. My goal as an art educator is to create a safe and inclusive learning environment for all students that inspires them to express themselves, explore their interests, and build confidence through their art making. Art can be used as a tool to help with self-discovery and self-expression. Art allows students to explore their emotions and feelings that are difficult for them to express verbally. Art can be a powerful way to provide a way to process these experiences and offers students a healthy sense of reflection.

 

I strive to provide my students with a wide range of materials, techniques, and knowledge. By allowing my students to explore a wide variety of materials and concepts I am pushing them in finding their own personal art style and preferences in their art making. I believe the classroom is a place to let students feel like they can fail with their experiments without the fear of being a failure. Not every material will be a success for every student, but I always encourage them to look back and reflect on how each material can be used differently in their art making. I like to think of it as we are all on an educational walk together, learning together from one another, I learn just as much from my students as they learn from me.

My biggest goal as an art educator is to make all of my students feel welcome and safe in the environment I create. I always prioritize their safety and well being over anything else and I do this by giving them creative freedom to communicate their experiences in a way that develops well-rounded creative individuals. Art can surpass social and cultural barriers so I strive to create a curriculum that honors the background of each and every one of my students. Our differences make us beautiful and unique, creating art that helps students embrace their background provides confidence in theirselves and their community.

Overall, as an art educator, my philosophy puts a focus on creating an inclusive, expressive, and exploratory safe space for all. These beliefs push me to inspire my students to use art as a method of expression and give them an opportunity to try out new things without the fear of judgment. I want to inspire creative, confident, and compassionate students who aren’t afraid of creating art.