Entry #12
April 30, 2020
#outofthecocoon
Ten things I’ve I want to include in my teaching philosophy:
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I want my students to leave my class Visual literacy
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I want to efficiently lead my students in guided inquiry
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I want my lessons to be complimented by the interpretation of art
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I want my students to learn critical analysis
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I want to be an inclusive teacher
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I want to nurture identity
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I want Social Justice to be a focus in my teaching
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I want to be a Culturally Responsive teacher
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I want to practice Integrating across disciplines
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I want to have Flexibility
Looking back at the ten things I listed at the beginning of the semester and what I listed now, I am happy to see growth as well as stasis in core values that did not change. Being a culturally responsive teacher is still important as well as cultivating identity and having flexibility. I am also happy to see that my ideas are much more defined and specific. This semester I was introduced to the idea of visual literacy, which seems so obvious for an art teacher, and yet it wasn’t a concept. Giving tours at the Gregory Allicar and guiding discussions and inquiry with students had a very profound impact and really made me see how important guiding students to make their own conclusions and observations instead of spewing information at them. Interpretation of art was also not something that was very present for me as a teacher. I was more focused on teaching skills and techniques, whereas now I see the value in introducing a wide variety of artists, historical and modern, to compliment and inform art making in the classroom. I strongly believe this will make more critical thinkers and well-rounded art makers that will continue to appreciate and create are throughout their life. A big take away this semester was also the concept of integration across disciplines and partnering with teachers in other subjects to incorporate science, math, literature, etc to create collaborative lessons. Along with EDUC 326 this semester, I also took an upper division art history class called Art and Science. Through fascinating lessons this semester in Art and Science, the instructor has reinforced time and time again that art and science (and all other disciplines such as math, literature, and music) should not be studied or created in isolation but in harmony with one another as they each enhance and complement the other. In this class I’ve also learned that art and science had never been separated until the industrial revolution when professions such as engineering and architecture became established, but since the time of the Greeks, art and science had grown together and only in more modern times was there a wedge that began to grow between them that there was differentiation. Taking this class paired beautifully with learning about integration of subjects and has motivated me to not lose this objective but strive to be a team member wherever I end up to work as a body of educators with one goal, to enrich our students’ lives and help them learn by making connections to real life through history and current experiences. My second list did not include making my projects and lessons personal or being supportive because the more I learn about art education, the more inherent I think this becomes as a part of my goals, though no less important, just a part of the fabric that is stitching me together as a teacher. I am surprised that I included flexibility in both lists. I did not remember I had even included it in my first list. Flexibility with myself is something I have always struggled with but am learning to manage this the more I learn. No other semester has proven the value of flexibility more than this semester. Transitioning to social distancing and online learning has required more flexibility than I thought I had, and it has been invaluable to my growth as an educator and as a human. We can always use more flexibility to appreciate the lessons we can learn on our detours. The art I have created throughout these journal entries illustrates and reflects my journey. I purposely stopped the illustrations before the butterfly takes flight. I’m not there yet, but so much closer than before, and I am so excited!
