TEACHING PHILOSOPHY

Art and art education has played a crucial role in my journey through the public
education system. If it weren't for the art teachers that pushed me and encouraged me or the
projects that drew me in and consumed me, I dont think that I would be the successful student
and future educator that I am today.
The accepting atmosphere of my childhood art experiences ultimately influenced my
decision to become an art teacher. My goal as a future educator is to create a classroom that
inspires creativity, risk taking, problem solving, and a vulnerability to accept failure as a means
of learning. I desire to equip my future students with not only art projects and art skills but with
experiences that encourage them to utilize problem-solving skills in a manner that enhances not
only their academics but to further personal development outside the classroom. Through this
process, I hope that my students will understand and recognize their value within a community
and find a sense of accomplishment in their artwork.
I intend to teach my future students using a philosophy of art education that idealizes a
quote that I discovered while studying American artists. Grant Wood, the painter of American
Gothic, once stated that, "The aim of art education in the public schools is not to make more
professional artists but to teach people to live happier, fuller lives; to extract more out of their
experience, whatever that experience may be." The future of my students and the future world
they will take part in depends highly on the education that they are receiving as youths in the
public school systems. Therefore, education must focus on nurturing students to become active
participants in the world by equipping them with the skills to successfully navigate challenges in
a manner that leads to a fuller life.

Art education provides young students with the skills to take on interactive and valuable
roles within society by preparing students with higher order thinking skills, an appreciation and
respect for diversity, and a desire to pursue happiness through life experiences. Higher order
thinking skills that students obtain through art education courses involve problem solving skills,
the ability to offer constructive criticism, enhanced communication abilities, and decisionmaking skills. Art is a learning avenue that creates experiences that ask students to develop
personal reflection and to get to know themselves and the world around them.
Art education also allows the ability to create a community of diversity in ways of life,
viewpoints, and belief systems. It is the teachers role to instill values within students of social
interdependence, equality, and respect for each other and the cultures around us. Art education
directly enhances an appreciation for diversity by studying art in a global perspective and
reflecting on what artworks say about the culture they originate from. Art is a universal and
timeless mode of expression and reflection and offers the viewer or participant a medium to learn
about themselves and others. Therefore, art offers students the ability to practice critical thinking
skills and form relationships with cultures that they may or may not have been exposed to
Overall, I believe that teachers can make a difference in a students happiness by teaching
students how to discover their desires and offer them the skills and support to achieve them. Art
is a learning medium that provides opportunities for a variety of experiences that will provoke
higher thinking skills and self-reflection that contribute to well-rounded students. Art education
is crucial to a students growth and as a future educator I am determined to assist my students in
developing skills through art projects that enhance both their academic goals as well as their
personal goals.