Educational Philosophy:
Exploration and Discovery Through Art
“Danger!” I warn, “Incoming metaphor!” Brandishing an imaginary paddle, I creep along the edge of the classroom in my boat, popping up with exaggerated delight. “Look!” I gesture wildly toward an imaginary discovery on the bank. The students are laughing. We are investigating both the relationship of the theater designer to the audience, and the role of the artist in society; both boldly explore uncharted territory, and illuminate the findings for the world at large. I also believe that the metaphor is apt for the role of the teacher in the classroom.
My personal teaching philosophy incorporates many aspects of exploration: collaboration, responsibility to a group, risk, hard work, reaching out to new ideas and new people, generosity and kindness, indulging curiosity, making the best possible mistakes, deep research, developing ideas and gleaning information for a greater purpose.
The world bristles with problems to be solved, both inside the classroom and out, and I see the education process as the opportunity to practice problem solving through exploration; I work to inspire students to explore options creatively, allowing them to develop foundational skills to transition beyond the classroom. I believe that good education shows each of us that we fit into the world in a unique way; it gives students the tools to excavate exciting ideas and to make connections with what they already know of the world. In my classroom, I strive to highlight the inextricable connections between different subjects of study.
I teach art, but I also teach through art. The process of creation requires both inner and external exploration: an effective means for introducing students to ideas and encouraging them to develop skills to express these ideas, whether this involves research, conceptual development of ideas, or hands-on technique for actualization.
To accomplish this, I employ a variety of strategies, sculpted to meet the needs of all learners in my class. With the study and analysis of professional works of art, viewed through both virtual museum tours and out in the world, students explore how others have harnessed the visual or performing arts to communicate a message; this provides both instruction and inspiration as the students apply their observations in their own creative process. Inner exploration is developed through the use of sketchbook journals, a safe place for trying new things, capturing ideas, organizing thoughts, practicing skills, and reflecting on past work or experience. Sketchbooks also provide a powerful example of improvement over time with the flip of a few pages. Finally, the sketchbooks offer an ongoing view into the lives and development of my students, providing opportunities for me to connect content to their experiences and encourage students to make connections between their own experiences and feelings and the world around them.
I believe deeply in the power of the arts to confer widely applicable life skills and personal growth for the students through authentic project-based learning. I am committed equally to my craft and to its potential as a vehicle for opening unexpected worlds of possibility to young people, allowing them to discover and test their own strengths. In my theater design and production class, a group of first-time designers, managers and technicians must produce a successful piece of theater; in my sculpture class, a group of students from various backgrounds and various abilities must create a community totem to which each will contribute a symbol representing his or her personal beliefs. Along the way, they garner skills in collaboration, communication, cooperation, goal-setting, working with deadlines, drafting, building, sculptural technique, technology ranging from power tools to computers, and best of all, self-confidence. They work using both spoken and written language, learn to listen, to hear, and to respect each other, and to convey ideas visually and kinesthetically. The students’ satisfaction and sense of contribution is profound; the skills garnered are applicable to any subject or field; the students have experienced a template for life-long learning.
On a more theoretical level, art gives students the tools with which to engage in ideas that are uncomfortable, foreign, hard to understand, repugnant, confusing, overwhelming, or elusive. In subjects that are difficult to approach directly, the arts give students an entrée, a reason to open a conversation, to connect with the world at large using physicality, movement, gesture, sound, and visual composition. My job is to spark that conversation, to nurture it and encourage it, to give the students the tools with which to pry it open. Art is a way to explore both differences and similarities, encouraging conversation between people with different backgrounds, viewpoints or skills.
I believe my ethical responsibility is to give every student the opportunity, tools, and support to create successfully. It is very important to me to create a classroom environment in which students of any culture, experience or ability can both contribute to the conversation and develop their own communicative skills; art provides the ideal framework for achieving this. Teaching performing art allows me the opportunity to include students with a wide range of viewpoints, experiences, skills and challenges; there are so many aspects to the arts in which students may express their ideas in ways that utilize their strengths to engage with their peers and with the community. Arts are inherently inclusive: each piece of theater, each painting is unique, representing the different individual experiences and perspectives of the artists. As a communicative medium, art creates community, and I strive to nurture this in the classroom.
In working to inspire both dialogue and effective problem-solving, I cultivate collaboration in my classroom. Collaborative work and group projects allow both emotional safety for students to test ideas within a smaller peer group, and support for the ideas when they are pitched to a larger group. This encourages students to take risks, which often yield greater creativity or success than a single student might conceive on his or her own. Students share their individual points of view when they collaborate, developing appreciation and respect for those who may have different experiences or backgrounds; collaboration creates inroads for empathy. Collaborative student learning is active and observable, allowing me to assess individual progress and discovery as the students work.
I strive to afford choices in which students engage in designing their own education. This creates a deeper investment, casting the student as the captain in charting and navigating his or her own educational journey, a journey on which I am honored to embark.
My personal teaching philosophy incorporates many aspects of exploration: collaboration, responsibility to a group, risk, hard work, reaching out to new ideas and new people, generosity and kindness, indulging curiosity, making the best possible mistakes, deep research, developing ideas and gleaning information for a greater purpose.
The world bristles with problems to be solved, both inside the classroom and out, and I see the education process as the opportunity to practice problem solving through exploration; I work to inspire students to explore options creatively, allowing them to develop foundational skills to transition beyond the classroom. I believe that good education shows each of us that we fit into the world in a unique way; it gives students the tools to excavate exciting ideas and to make connections with what they already know of the world. In my classroom, I strive to highlight the inextricable connections between different subjects of study.
I teach art, but I also teach through art. The process of creation requires both inner and external exploration: an effective means for introducing students to ideas and encouraging them to develop skills to express these ideas, whether this involves research, conceptual development of ideas, or hands-on technique for actualization.
To accomplish this, I employ a variety of strategies, sculpted to meet the needs of all learners in my class. With the study and analysis of professional works of art, viewed through both virtual museum tours and out in the world, students explore how others have harnessed the visual or performing arts to communicate a message; this provides both instruction and inspiration as the students apply their observations in their own creative process. Inner exploration is developed through the use of sketchbook journals, a safe place for trying new things, capturing ideas, organizing thoughts, practicing skills, and reflecting on past work or experience. Sketchbooks also provide a powerful example of improvement over time with the flip of a few pages. Finally, the sketchbooks offer an ongoing view into the lives and development of my students, providing opportunities for me to connect content to their experiences and encourage students to make connections between their own experiences and feelings and the world around them.
I believe deeply in the power of the arts to confer widely applicable life skills and personal growth for the students through authentic project-based learning. I am committed equally to my craft and to its potential as a vehicle for opening unexpected worlds of possibility to young people, allowing them to discover and test their own strengths. In my theater design and production class, a group of first-time designers, managers and technicians must produce a successful piece of theater; in my sculpture class, a group of students from various backgrounds and various abilities must create a community totem to which each will contribute a symbol representing his or her personal beliefs. Along the way, they garner skills in collaboration, communication, cooperation, goal-setting, working with deadlines, drafting, building, sculptural technique, technology ranging from power tools to computers, and best of all, self-confidence. They work using both spoken and written language, learn to listen, to hear, and to respect each other, and to convey ideas visually and kinesthetically. The students’ satisfaction and sense of contribution is profound; the skills garnered are applicable to any subject or field; the students have experienced a template for life-long learning.
On a more theoretical level, art gives students the tools with which to engage in ideas that are uncomfortable, foreign, hard to understand, repugnant, confusing, overwhelming, or elusive. In subjects that are difficult to approach directly, the arts give students an entrée, a reason to open a conversation, to connect with the world at large using physicality, movement, gesture, sound, and visual composition. My job is to spark that conversation, to nurture it and encourage it, to give the students the tools with which to pry it open. Art is a way to explore both differences and similarities, encouraging conversation between people with different backgrounds, viewpoints or skills.
I believe my ethical responsibility is to give every student the opportunity, tools, and support to create successfully. It is very important to me to create a classroom environment in which students of any culture, experience or ability can both contribute to the conversation and develop their own communicative skills; art provides the ideal framework for achieving this. Teaching performing art allows me the opportunity to include students with a wide range of viewpoints, experiences, skills and challenges; there are so many aspects to the arts in which students may express their ideas in ways that utilize their strengths to engage with their peers and with the community. Arts are inherently inclusive: each piece of theater, each painting is unique, representing the different individual experiences and perspectives of the artists. As a communicative medium, art creates community, and I strive to nurture this in the classroom.
In working to inspire both dialogue and effective problem-solving, I cultivate collaboration in my classroom. Collaborative work and group projects allow both emotional safety for students to test ideas within a smaller peer group, and support for the ideas when they are pitched to a larger group. This encourages students to take risks, which often yield greater creativity or success than a single student might conceive on his or her own. Students share their individual points of view when they collaborate, developing appreciation and respect for those who may have different experiences or backgrounds; collaboration creates inroads for empathy. Collaborative student learning is active and observable, allowing me to assess individual progress and discovery as the students work.
I strive to afford choices in which students engage in designing their own education. This creates a deeper investment, casting the student as the captain in charting and navigating his or her own educational journey, a journey on which I am honored to embark.