Lori Galicia Hendersons Teaching Philosophy

My teaching philosophy draws inspiration from the childhood hardships I encountered

throughout grade school & high school (bullying). It is my desire as an educator to ensure a safe
environment that encourages student reflection, creativity, and empower the students emotionally
and physically with tools, knowledge, experiences, and opportunities within the class room. Most
importantly, maintain professionalism as the instructor within the class room setting. As an
educator, I know my role is vital to the success of the classroom. I see Art not as chore but as a
passion, therapy session, and self-empowerment opportunity. I want to discover my students
interests and equip the class by actively engaging their creativity, motivating modes of self-
expression, developing their personal style, helping them discover their confidence and give
them the platform to have a voice through their Art. It is my responsibility to actively adapt to
the needs of my class. I wholeheartedly appose retro-learning; a mode of instruction that forces
students to regurgitate whats being mentioned within the class room without any context or
thorough understanding on how it could relate to the student. In practice, I see myself as mixture
of a formalist, critical theorist, a postmodern activist within my class. It is not my goal as an
educator to force my students to adhere to my visual aesthetic. If the class produces works only
to receive my approval then I would feel like I failed as an instructor. Studio is a time for
students to draw inspiration from their peers and harness and develop their strengths and
weaknesses. There is no right or wrong way in making art-only self-exploration. I welcome
inquiry and a healthy challenge in redefining art within and outside of my classroom. Our culture
is constantly changing and redefining itself. Moreover, creating art goes through the same
rigorous process of exploring newer concepts and furthering these ideas out to fruition.

Studio time, is an activity where both the student and teacher can learn, mentor and teach one
another. No one is above the other with regard to the learning experience. I learn from my peers
as well as my students. It is of the utmost importance that my class feels confident and safe in the
class. A studio investigation process is a session that permits lecture, demonstration, application,
evaluation and critiques.

Class will always begin with a lecture on a specific element, technique or concept within the arts
because providing context for the students is necessary and vital. It is my job to provide the
cultural/historical context for the class. Following the lecture will be exercises, activities, and
studio time for each student to apply their acquired knowledge into action. Following each
activity will be an opportunity to review ones work, share their ideas to their peers, and provide
feedback on how the student can make their works stronger. As an instructor, it is my goal to
provide ample opportunities for my students to develop their vocabulary within the Arts. This is
my desire on what I look towards implementing into my classroom.