‘Why teach art?’ is a question I am asked on a regular basis. When art is something you love, something you are passionate and enthusiastic about would it not be a sin to pass up an opportunity to really embrace the passion and skill set you have maintained by teaching art and inspiring students? There is a constant need for not just good teachers but great teachers in the world we live in. Someone to foster the needs of the children and the values and beliefs we want them to live by. We want to equip young people to be able to assess the values and beliefs of society and therefore make informed choices. Our students need nurturing and guidance in order for them to get the most out of life.
The Arts are fundamental resources through which the world is viewed, meaning is created, and the mind developed. To neglect the contribution of the Arts in education, either through inadequate time, resources, or poorly trained teachers, is to deny children access to one of the most stunning aspects of their culture and one of the most potent means for developing their minds. (Elliot W. Eisner)
As an art educator I am constantly trying to learn and develop through my actions. My own artistic practice helps to instill passion and enthusiasm for the arts amongst my students. As a result I am in touch with current art trends, movements and visual culture and this information is often passed on to my students. Subject knowledge and pedagogical skills are areas that I am constantly trying to work on and develop. The element of choice is something that I like to incorporate into my lessons. Although, choice can often be made up of things that are not fully understood so I like to demonstrate learning outcomes from various choices so that students are aware and understand the choices they are making. I have a keen interest in digital media and the digital arts and because of the ever changing world we live in, I try to emphasise this in the classroom.
A constructivist approach is evident in my classroom. Students existing knowledge serves as an important foundation for new learning. This approach to teaching and learning requires that teachers take the time to get to know students in depth, and to integrate what they learn about students into their instruction. A constructivist approach is one that is particularly valuable when it comes to facilitating the learning of students from diverse backgrounds. It is important to be adaptable when you are a teacher. One size will not fit all. Instruction must be sufficiently open ended to support all backgrounds and learning styles as no student is the same and each student learns in his/her own way. Problem-based learning is also evident in my classroom. A site-specific public art project with a second year class proved that it is beneficial to challenge students.
I foster a liberal-progressive approach to curriculum in my classroom. A liberal progressive approach is one that promotes the purpose of education being concerned with enabling each person to develop their own talents. These talents must be found and nurtured. Students will be invited to learn, examine, explore, and create art in relation to visual culture. They will experience and learn a wide range of skills and techniques from ceramics, to painting, printmaking, textiles and sculpture. Students are invited to figure things out for themselves and explore their own world in whatever dimension interests them. Students are encouraged to think for themselves about what is right and wrong, rather than relying on rules. In order to open their faculties they should be excited to think for themselves; and this can only be done by mixing a number of children together, and making them jointly pursue the same objects.(Mary Wollstonecraft)
I have a holistic approach to teaching where the developmental areas are integrated around a unifying theme to which all of the activities are connected. It is a horizontal approach with no hierarchy in difficulty or complexity. My teaching philosophy is concerned with a student/learner centred approach to the art and design curriculum. Herbert Read refers to learner-centred education as ‘originating activity’, generally concerned with facilitating creative expression or ‘procedural knowledge’ i.e. ‘knowing how…’(Richard Hickman)