Philosophy of Teaching Art My philosophy of teaching is simple: I feel it is a privilege to teach.

I hope to convey this message to my students, their parents and my peers by showing that I care, promoting fairness and respect and in my enthusiasm for learning and subject matter. I have spent my entire life feeling more fulfilled when nurturing and have always had tremendous enthusiasm for art. I need to express that enthusiasm by creating relevant learning experiences. I am excited to share my knowledge, but I do not believe that what I know is the changeless, absolute truth. I will not try to force others to adopt my views. Instead, I will encourage critical thinking by asking important questions. Most important, I know that ALL children can learn to make art and respond to it in effective ways. In my classroom, the word, talent will not be used; talent is an idea that I believe will hurt students instead of encourage them. If a student has never been labeled as talented, they may never believe that they can create art. Instead, I believe that it will be important to start each class with acknowledgement that all students have varied experiences and each of us will be learning and developing in different ways. I will make sure they know I believe in all of them. I will also reassure students that there are no mistakes in art-making; surely something will be learned from each experience. I will offer many ways for my students to be successful in the lessons I design. Learning is in the experience, not the product. The purpose of education is to help children reach their full potential, for themselves and for the society they are part of. This quote by Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. says it all. We must remember that intelligence is not enough. Intelligence plus character-that is the goal of true education. The complete education gives one not only power of concentration, but worthy objectives upon which to concentrate. Critical thinking will be stressed equally as well as imagination in my classroom and experimenting will be encouraged. I will motivate students by creating a classroom environment that is inclusive and stimulating. Many of the lesson plans I have written are based on relevant social issues such as, immigration, recycling, technology, values and recession. I will offer options in art making. For instance, in my lesson for creating art from recycled materials, the student has a choice of subject matter, 2-d or sculpture, or options they would present to me before starting. My presentation for this lesson would probably be power point with text, along with verbal presentation, video, examples of actual work that can be seen and touched,

art history books to refer to, and a visit from an actual artist that uses recycled materials in their work. My expectations will be made clear verbally and in writing at the beginning of each lesson. Mainly, everyone will be expected to make an attempt. I will provide different ways for my students to be successful. Making art creates self-confidence and allows all students the ability to be expressive. In addition to actual art making there are other activities in the art room. Some projects will allow for small group work, in which some students will naturally take different levels of responsibility. We will have critiques for every project, allowing outgoing and verbal students to shine. We will be researching art history which will allow students more comfortable with writing to be successful. There will also be opportunities for those with leadership skills when we organize and display our work. With the flexibility of different subject matter and forms of art students may try new things and discover unknown talents; for some students this will be their success story. I will encourage all students to use all of their senses. Inclusion will be very important in my classroom. I will undoubtedly have many students with exceptionalities in my classroom. One of the most important things I have learned is to KNOW my students. Not knowing about learning disabilities, gifted students and students backgrounds could be disastrous. It will be very important to collaborate with other teachers, physical therapists and special educators. I will be involved in the Individualized Education Program, ask to be part of the meetings for my students and implement the IEP goals. I will begin by having a discussion with my students about multiple intelligences, the way we all learn differently and excel in different ways. Most of my lessons are started with information about an artist or an art movement in history, allowing me to often include artists with disabilities and subject matter/work about being exceptional. In my research I found that there are many resources for art teachers to include all students. There are helpful programs, organizations and materials/tools that maximize independence. I will be resourceful and make adaptations to my lessons and the classroom set up. There may be students who do not enjoy making art, but after being in my class they will certainly appreciate it. Art history will be incorporated into all of our projects and I believe strongly in integrating other subjects. Art education is certainly unique, in that it promotes creative thinking! Hopefully, my students will begin to notice things like the color of the sky and realize how music makes them feel. Art connects to everything in our lives and it is a powerful teaching tool.