TEACHING PHILOSOPHY

Diversity is the sum of all parts which make each person an individual. As an art educator I strive for flexibility and non-traditional artmaking. Gude argues, “new school art styles can be developed that skillfully and creatively utilize available materials, tools, technologies, critical theories and contexts to introduce students to a wide range of developmentally appropriate aesthetic practices” (Gude, 2013, p. 7). Inclusion must live at the heart of a diverse, critical pedagogy. Often, “our choices are determinate and influential. They give voice to some and silence to others. Our choices reveal while at the same time they promote bias” (Taylor, 2006, p. 76). As an educator, it is my job to ensure I am determining what is the best option for students. I strive for a curriculum that will provide a voice to my students that are often marginalized. In wake of a global crisis, the need for an inclusive, flexible pedagogy is more important than ever. Therefore, what affects a student’s needs in school has now been amplified as students and teachers navigate the realm of digital learning while working with the confines a home may present.

Personally, I am very interested in understanding how art and environmental education can be tied together by using a place-based pedagogy to create connections that grow from local to global. By looking at art and creating an equal relationship to art and environmental science, I believe there is opportunity to give students the ability to take ownership and pride for where they live. Additionally, empathy for the environment, neighbors, people and overall community is fostered through this a critical and diverse curriculum. By teaching in the environment, students are able to participate in their community and foster a personal relationship with it. Students are to be a part of environmental activism and that starts by creating an awareness and interest in our community’s environment (Inwood, 2008). During these uncertain times, the term environment reaches to include our homes and the digital environment which we use to communicate daily.

Artmaking becomes part of a socially responsive process of reflection, critical thinking, and transformation, blurring the boundaries between making, social critique, scientific inquiry, and activism. Students that are involved in their community, especially the arts, garner many opportunities to learn from others and showcase their work because they have investment in knowing about where they live. Students can be given a curriculum that is written with flexibility to accommodate their needs by shifting the focus to what they can access via digital technology like various social media applications. It is imperative to understand the way students are connecting and accessing information as these are the new contemporary issues and practices informing their artmaking.

It is my goal as an educator to be aware of the needs of my students especially in times of uncertainty. Patterson addresses the need for brave, compassionate educators by emphasizing a “willing[ness] to try and learn new things alongside students. Instead of saying “I don’t know how”, a better retort is to say, “I can learn how” (Patterson, 2016, p. 23). Being a teacher means being a support for students even when it is impossible to be in a share physical space. I can provide a creative outlet for the students that need reprieve or act as a mentor that students can talk to during tough situations. As an educator, my highest priority is to be brave and willing to act as source of comfort and stability for each student during unpredictable and chaotic times.

References

Gude, O. (2013). New school art styles: The project of art education. Art Education, 66(1), 6–15.

Inwood, H. (2008). Mapping eco-art education. Canadian Review of Art Education: Research and Issues, 35, 57-73.

Patterson, J. A. (2016). Brave art & teens: A primer for the future high school art teacher (2nd ed.). A High Streets Publication.

Taylor, P. G. (2006). Chapter 6: A call to "face up" to cultural diversity. In Interdisciplinary Approaches to Teaching Art in High School. National Art Education Association.