Ten things I plan to add to my teaching philosophy are the following:
1. Keeping a growth mindset is important.
2. Persist in the creative process.
3. There are no mistakes in art making.
4. It is crucial to have time to experiment with new mediums.
5. Reflection after assignments is crucial to learning.
6. Everyone is an artist.
7. Student's need to participate in viewing, making and experiencing art in order to be a participant in the visual art world.
8. Visual art is a means of communication.
9. Innovate from failure.
10. There is no such thing as "bad art".
When I look at the list above and compare it to the list I created in the beginning of the semester I see many similarities and differences. The list I made at the beginning of the semester was the following:
1. No mistakes in art making.
2. Respect and support each other.
3. Participate.
4. Turn assignments in on time.
5. Learn from your past.
6. Make art that is personal to you.
7. Keep an open mind/growth mindset.
8. Ask questions.
9. Support each other.
10. Continue to create.
When I look at the list I just created compared to my old list I notice there are a few key concepts that I have carried over such as no mistakes in art making and keeping an open mind/growth mindset. These ideas have stayed the same because despite all the new things I have learned this semester these two concepts I believe are still very important. Having a growth mindset when learning new art mediums is crucial in order for artists to not be discouraged when a medium doesn't do the thing they wanted/expected it to do. The other concept that there are no mistakes in art making is also a concept I still think is important. Student's need to understand that art is an open process without a right or wrong way to create.
The major differences I see between these is that in my first list I was stating generalized class expectations such as, turn assignments in on time and respect/support each other. In my revision of list 1 instead of listing generalized classroom expectations I am specifically talking about elements that make up a successful artist and art classroom. I think that these changes were made as my understanding of what makes a classroom and students successful has changed. I have come to the realization that it is more important for my philosophy to emphasize the idea that students will take away life skills such as innovating from failure, than it is to emphasize the importance of participating.
As I have gained even more experience within the classroom my perspective has changed as a result of seeing what works within a classroom. For example the idea that it is crucial for students to have time to experiment with new mediums was an idea I had as a result of giving my 1st grade students time to experiment before our projects. I noticed that the final artwork was much more developed when my students had time to experiment with what the medium could do before having to make final works of art. The idea of innovating from failure is a concept I observed in the high school class I assistant teach in. One of my students was throwing a pot when the entire top got caught on his tool and ripped the top half of the pot off. Instead of calling this moment a failure and scraping the remains of the pot, my student made the decision to turn the remaining bottom half of the pot into a small bowl. Watching my student make this artistic choice to turn his "failure" into a new work of art made me realize how crucial it is for artists to be adaptable and innovative in the face of "failure".
In the artwork I created above I illustrated the how my teaching philosophy has grown from what my original perceptions were. I illustrated this growth of old into new by depicting a flower budding off of an already bloomed flower. The budding flower is growing off of the already established flower to represent new ideas forming from old philosophies/ideas.
Comments