Entry #2
February 2, 2020
#learningtoteach
1. What events/moments/personal experiences change or refine my past perspective to look at art teaching and learning now?
I recently had the opportunity to tour a school in an Expeditionary Learning school in Poudre School District. Their philosophy is that students learn more through adventure experiences, risk taking and the world around them, very much like the Reggio Emilia philosophy of the environment as a third teacher. It is a school that also greatly focuses on communication skills starting from kindergarten and values communication between teachers, students and parents. The idea of developing 21st century ready learners with 21st century skills, that often, we do not ourselves possess but should have the flexibility and willingness to learn and lay down the building blocks for dynamic, growing and changing learning is an exciting concept, and one I am thrilled to live by. The tour at this school had a great impact on me because it reinforced in real life practice what I have been learning at CSU since my first semester- Fall 2018. Up until this point I had never seen risk taking and making mistakes as a part of my learning experience. In EDUC 340, learning about the development of the brain in adolescents, understanding that the brain physically grows when we make mistakes was a complete revelation. Risk taking- one of the main philosophies at this expeditionary school, involves being “vulnerable” to making mistakes, which is not at all how I was schooled, mistakes were penalized and were supposed to be avoided. Communication skills from an early age were not the focus during my schooling either, passing state tests and earning credits to graduate were. One of the main focuses during Art 325 was the importance of exploration and repetition, neither of which I had much experience with during my schooling. The more I learn about art education, the more I realize that, while words to communicate are limited by their language, art can communicate across language, time, culture, age or space. Even if I end up working at a school where communication and 21st century skills are not the focus, I have the opportunity in my practice to teach effective communication through art, risk taking, exploration, and the opportunity eradicate the stigma (at least in my classroom) that mistakes help us grow and learn.
2. What current learning or art education theories do I learn related to this change or revision?
Malaguzzi’s philosophy on communication and acknowledging that students are capable of making connections and developing their own learning with support from teacher has been of great impact in my teaching philosophy. The teacher should not be the one doing all the critical thinking and then instructing the students through lectures/lessons, but rather, the teacher should be providing guidance to help the student come to the conclusions and learning through their own creative thinking/process/and creating. Teaching for artistic behavior has also made me realize how teachers can provide freedom for exploration while also providing structure to help the creative process thrive and not become stagnant. Artistic behavior is not something that will come naturally without some guidance from teacher and the proper tools and modeling to learn these skills, but once these are established, they are skills that can follow students in other content areas.
3. How does my art piece (or the process of making this art piece) represent this change or revision?
Monarch butterflies are a recurring theme in a lot of the art I create. I use them because they symbolize immigration and it is important to me for my art to reflect and communicate who I am as a person. However, butterflies in general symbolize change and metamorphosis, which is how I view my learning and development as a teacher. Within every butterfly there is potential for new life, transformation and the repeating of the cycle of change. I hope to always be a teacher willing to grow and change, learn about new philosophies and have the flexibility to adapt. Monarch butterflies are also social creatures and need each other to thrive and survive, which is how I see myself and my personal learning network.
4. How does my current understanding influence my path of becoming an artist and educator?
My cultural roots have always been a priority, even before considering art education as a path. When I started this journey, I didn’t realize the philosophies and pedagogical practices I have been learning about in art and general education would align so perfectly with my own philosophies about using art to communicate who one is and what is important to one as an individuals. All of the ways I am growing as a student and eventually a teacher is not only impacting me as an individual, but will eventually impact developing humans. I have an incredible responsibility, while I am still learning, I am confident that the what I am learning will be put to good practice in my classroom and through my teaching philosophy.
