Teaching Philosophy
​Practicing Empathy in the Classroom
My main goal as a teacher is to display empathy to my students and to facilitate their practicing of this invaluable skill with each other. To practice empathy means to practice walking in someone else’s shoes; it paves a way for students to have a personal connection with their peers, their authority figures, and their future colleagues. Artists use empathy all the time to convey meaning to their audiences. They use empathy to first understand the subjects of their works, then to paint their subjects in a new light, and, ultimately, to create a visual, shared language that will help viewers understand and connect to those subjects. By studying these artists and their practical applications of empathy in my classroom, I will help students build a safe place to unwind, recognize, and practice serving others’ needs instead of their own. I also, importantly, want my classroom to be completely devoid of bullying. Rather than bullying, having students openly voice their hurts and miscommunications with one another better allows their peers to understand their hurt and encourages their peers to change their behaviors.
Cultivating Curiosity
Creating a space for students in which to shamelessly explore their imagination and artistic interests is vital to my teaching philosophy. I want students to be excited about art and realize the power of their own ideas and creative faculties. Even if they presently feel stripped of their power because of the color of their skin, their heritage, their gender—I want them to realize that their imagination is untouchable. I want to show my students that art is a powerful medium in which to investigate and respond to their surroundings, their community, their heritage, and certainly the broader subjects of literature, science, culture, and history. More than that, I want to show that by creating art, they are able to personally connect with these subjects, and connect with other people, too. Furthermore, realizing that not every student will operate or think the same way, I will provide ample opportunity for my students to have a say in both what they learn and how they create their artwork. I want to allow for art investigations and aesthetic experimentation by setting up various art stations full of different methods and materials of which to make art.
Setting Expectations & Routine for Everyone
While I want to allow for choice in topics and the artistic methods my students employ, I feel strongly about establishing routine and following directions. On the first day of class, I will set rigid expectations for everyone in the classroom; yet I will also give everyone in the classroom the opportunity to voice concerns and discuss what expectations they would like to have implemented. I fundamentally believe that if I uphold expectations for my students, then they also will hold expectations of me as their teacher. And as their teacher, I want to actively recognize those needs and effectively model empathy to my students by meeting them. All students in my classroom will understand that materials are to be used and put away gently in an organized fashion; that we practice empathy over bullying; that we respect each others ideas, art, and explorations; and that we are all creators researching topics and subjects we care about, and most importantly, having fun.