Pedagogical Philosophy
As a visual arts educator I hope to inspire students, create an atmosphere of meaningful learning, and encourage self-confidence through the arts. My objective is not to create aspiring artists, although that would be ideal; the art classroom should be an environment free of judgment where students feel validated. Above all, I wish to motivate students to take agency in their lives and realize their actions can achieve astounding measures – and I will be willing to help them in any way I can. In high school I began referring to my leadership methods as being an ‘inspirationalist’ (not a word, although it should be), a leader who activates advocacy in others through their positive actions.
In order to achieve these goals I choose to be an optimistic educator; not raising unrealistic hopes within students, but giving them inspiration to achieve what seems unrealistic to them through positivity and encouragement. I will connect lessons to their lives in order to create a meaningful learning experience. I believe discussion, often thought of as informal instruction, appeals to a student more than a lecture; discussions between students and educators eliminate the invisible, fictional barrier between them. Educators are leaders who should be respected as mentors, a respect only achieved by giving the same respect to students. The rhetoric of words and phrases such as ‘superior’ and ‘in charge’ reflect meanings of negative words like ‘tyrant’; if educators emulate this form of negative rhetoric students will receive them negatively.
I believe the primary assessment to be made in the visual arts regards cognitive and active effort. If a student shows they are self-motivated and taking chances to create a project the grade will reflect that. At a certain point in visual arts education the focus should transition from tactile skill to conceptual skill. It is great if a student can successfully paint a still life, but what meaning does that still life have? To achieve such a level of conceptual skill I enjoy the thought of “technique labs,” which are small exercises students would execute to learn about different materials effectively. By teaching technique through such activities students would be able to transition from ‘practice’ as artistic rehearsal to ‘practice’ as artistic execution efficiently.
Take a look at any standardized test from the Ohio Achievement Assessments (OAA) to the General Record Examinations (GRE) and what do they ask students to do? Solve problems. Rather than testing students’ knowledge based on facts (which are readily available via the internet) educators should test students abilities to solve problems. Examinations in my classroom would ask students to solve a problem. For example, I would present the student(s) with a prompt to execute in the best way they see fit and then assess their solution, as well as the path they took to arrive there. A prompt could be specific “An old lady lived in a shoe” or vague “orange,” depending on grade level. This is an active approach to testing – it encourages students to think rather than recall.
Overall, being a visual arts educator is important to me because there are no limitations to art. Art is everywhere, it is expressive, it is active, it is meaningful, and it is fun. One of my favorite mottos is: “The earth without art is just ‘eh’.” The earth without learning remains still and stagnant. As human beings we have a desire to discover, to create, and to learn. These desires are central to our humanity, and through a visual arts education they can be grasped.