Philosophy of Art Education

I believe in art education as the path to self-discovery and awareness.

 

My personal philosophy of art education is a holistic one. My ultimate goal is to educate children to respect themselves, others, and property; to inspire them to exercise good judgment, and to instill a lifelong love for the arts by respecting the important role it plays in the development of all human beings. Creating a safe environment where students can access their authentic self is my priority. In order for children to feel uninhibited experimenting with the materials and expressing their innermost thoughts artistically, they must feel comfortable enough to do so first. I accommodate diverse learning styles and engage each student to be invested, participate, and encourage motivation for building the skillful means and playful discovery needed to bring their ideas, vision, and goals into form. My role is to encourage students to reflect inward by implementing a personally meaningful, imaginative, innovative, interdisciplinary, design-oriented, and multicultural curriculum that each child can connect with. When connected and invested in their work, students experience increased engagement and the skills needed to more clearly express their thoughts and ideas will follow. Students gain ownership over the knowledge and skills they discover and develop on their own from exploring with the materials through creative thinking and problem solving. Through this holistic approach, and the multicultural and imaginative art curriculum I have developed, students are able to create more meaningful connections between themselves, their artwork, and the world. In order to understand others we must be able to imagine, and it is through our imagination that we are able to experience empathy, and understanding and respect toward others and ourselves on a deeper level.