Teaching Philosophy
Art had a profound impact on my life, and the teachers who introduced the practice of art into my life encouraged me to pursue a career doing the same. I originally went back to school to pursue math education and even started an algebra tutoring business, but I realized the anxieties and obstacles my students were experiencing when trying to solve math problems was translating into many other areas of their lives. My research into these issues facing modern students and the far-reaching impact of my budding art practice in my life coalesced in me changing my life trajectory to follow my newly discovered calling: Art Education.
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The skills that help reduce these anxieties are the skills which are a natural part of visual arts education and are the base skills necessary for twenty first century innovative thinking. Now, I know not every student wants to be an artist (or knows yet they want to be an artist!) However, I believe the research is clear; there is still much to be gained from having an art practice for every person, especially young people in their education. When twenty first century students face their unique pressures and anxieties in school, their artistic process provides a necessary opportunity for students to practice persevering when they are falling short of their goals, to finish anyways. An art classroom may be the only place and time where a student’s process is more important than the outcome. Arts education teaches students to make qualitative judgements and draw qualitative relationships because there is often more than one solution to a problem and more than one correct answer to a question. This ability to make judgments about their own work and process and the work of others in a constructive way helps students make realistic goals and self manage to achieve them- a skill which will serve them in every area of their lives. Students learn the ability and willingness to adapt when problems arise- a skill which is easily bridged to the rest of their academic careers and personal goals (Eisner, 2002). Through the artist process, students begin to separate their sense of self esteem and self efficacy from their ability to produce a “perfect” product, paper, or test. This can help students reduce their level of anxiety when it comes to going out on a limb and trying in their other studies. However, these skills do not magically transfer to the other areas of students' learning and greater lives, it takes the skilled work of an art educator to help students bridge those skills (2016).
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In my role as a teacher, I believe it is my duty to be a facilitator, motivator, and coach who teaches the whole child. In my classroom, there will be clear, objective expectations. However, I will implement democratic principles and individualized learning to facilitate student responsibility and self advocacy in an environment which feels safe for risk taking. This risk taking will allow room for subjective, student-created goals which promote creativity and self expression. My teaching methods will include direct instruction on relevant art history and methods, short term skill building exercises, and long term individual projects. In this framework, I hope to encourage group discussions, authentic exploration, academic choices, cooperative learning, and processes requiring decision making. This I hope will balance the value of academic instruction of traditional artistic methods with respect for and preservation of each student's innate artistic voice. I also hope to develop students’ qualitative judgement skills through self grading rubrics, self critiques, and the critiquing of work by other artists. I hope to enact a Responsive Classroom system of classroom management and integrate other subject areas into instruction to help build the connection between those subjects and the students’ art skills. I believe in the importance of art not just as a support system for the other academic subjects but as the means of creating a cohesive school culture which communicates to students that they are valued as individuals just as they are while we, the faculty and staff, support them to become who they want to be.
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I also believe the role of the student can be distilled down to one ultimate principle: to show up for themselves and try. They do not have to necessarily leave all their troubles at the door, but they can take whatever kind of day they are having and make the decision to show up for themselves in our class knowing that, in art, they will always get out exactly what they put in. The art room can be a low stakes environment for them to try even if they have not tried at all yet that day, I hope my students, regardless of their initial interest in art, leave my classroom knowing they showed up for themselves and tried their best, having started to learn how to advocate for themselves, having learned about themselves in active and passive ways, and taking skills from art that can help them feel like no subject is a burden. My goal is to support students and show them they are capable of more than they think, to lead by example but also give students the freedom to make mistakes and learn from those mistakes. Practicing these skills has had a profound impact on my life which I hope, in my classroom, I can pass on to my students.
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-Catherine Hickey
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Eisner, E. (2002). The arts and the creation of mind, In Chapter 4, What the arts teach
and how it shows. (pp. 70-92). Yale University Press.
National Art Educators Association. (2016). Learning in a visual age. Art Educators.