Teacher Identity

Personally, I believe art education sounds simple, especially when you are thinking about the surface idea of the term. It is the idea or process of educating someone about the arts. However, like an iceberg, there is so much more to “art education” when you go deeper. When someone asks me what I do for a living, I tell them I am an elementary art teacher. The following response is normally something along the lines of “Do you like it?” and I always smile and say “Of course! I get to make art with kids all day, I have the best job in the world!”. This is my small talk answer. Most times when having this exchange in a conversation, people do not really want to hear, or I do not have time to explain, that art educators do so much more. Some parents, teachers, and administration send their children to us knowing they may learn how to draw, or paint; but many do not realize that we are teaching our students how to look at something and see it enough to create an analysis. Art educators teach students how to think, and how to use their hands.

Art has been a wonderful outlet and tool for me. It is the one subject I can think of that has no right answer, and no straight path to the answer. Because of this, you can mess up, you can fix your mistakes, or you can start over with frustrations and lessons all along the way. I know this to be true about art, but I struggle with how to get these lessons across to my students. I am blessed enough to have come from a family where I was taken care of. I did not have to worry about what I was going to eat, or when, so I had the focus and ability to put into my passion. I often question my teaching process and if my students are learning through the lessons. They may learn what a silhouette is and the difference between positive and negative space, but how do I know that I am helping instill confidence and problem solving to children who may not have dinner when they get home. It is difficult for me, and I’m sure many art educators, how to assess the progress or growth in these areas.

I think a lot of art educators struggle with trying to teach important skills to students who do not operate the way we did when we were younger. I think there is a disparity in the way students learn today and how educators learned. In my opinion, the struggle is bridging the gap. My school district, like many, is pushing to integrate technology. I think one of the many struggles in art education is finding the balance between using technology and using experiences to learn from. I am speaking from personal experience and conversations I have had with others who teach art, but it seems that students need to be entertained to learn. If our students are not “entertained” they do not seem to have the drive to push themselves, unless they have a passion or interest in what is being taught. This falls into how we all have our own stories, and how those stories affect and mold who we are, and how we are in our relationships and behaviors. These issues within art education prove to be challenges I face in my classroom as well.

All of the articles we read reinforced the idea that stories are a way to learn through personally relevant material. The theme or idea is that through storytelling, we can learn so much about someone, use that knowledge to build relationships, see a portion of that narrator’s true self, and create lessons using that story to evoke a sense of ownership while building trust and support. I think the articles also bring to light the idea that it can be difficult to tell your own story, but for others it may be even more difficult to change your perspective to understand that story. With the insight of these articles, I’ve realized that storytelling is impactful and look forward to developing lessons with this as the big idea.

My story as an art teacher starts when I was young. My dad owned a graphic design/screen printing company and when with him at work I was often left to my own devices at his shop. I would spend hours going through clip art books, having them printed out into my own custom coloring sheet, and use sharpies and pens to design them. This love for art and creating followed me throughout my academic career. When I was in 8th grade, my dad knew how much I loved art and hired a private instructor, Tonye. I loved going to my lessons and learning how to paint. I loved the one on one instruction and the time I had to learn and develop a skill. Tonye, taught me so much of what I know today when it comes to my artwork. I wanted to be able to give other students what Tonye was able to give to me. I know that art, especially at the elementary level, is often about process instead of the outcome, but I loved the sense of power, confidence, and ability I had when finishing a piece. I believe it’s important to enjoy the process, but I also believe as an educator, it is important to teach art skills as well so students will be able to pull them together and create a piece that I hope gives them that same sense of ownership that I had.

I don’t think there’s one theory or artist who has made my art or my teaching practices the way that they are. However, I do appreciate quality artwork, and enjoy listening to theories and practices. When this question is asked, I find my memories going back to my first art class in 8th grade. My teacher had books of famous artwork, and I was always drawn to the work of Rene Magritte. I loved the oddity and sense of wonder his artwork gave me. Magritte pushed the boundaries, his artwork didn’t make any sense, and he was good at it. I loved looking at his pieces and thinking “Maybe if I stare at this long enough, I can figure out what is going on, or why it is going on. Maybe there is a deeper meaning here that I just don’t see yet.” I loved the process of making art but looking at his pieces made me fall in love with art as a whole. It seemed like you could get away with anything, and it was art. I didn’t have to make picturesque scenes of Thomas Kinkade inspired landscapes. I could paint a pipe, say it wasn’t a pipe and be an artist. That was so cool for my 8th grade self to realize.

Taking my experience into account, I want to be a teacher who supports my students, while also pushing them because I know they can make great things. I want my students to find a love for the arts because they know the don’t have to be good at painting or drawing to be an artist. I’ve only been teaching for 2 years, but in that time, I think I have become good at thinking on my toes, and not being afraid to go off course of my plan. If a lesson isn’t going how I planned, I try to find a way to redirect it and redirect my students. There have been times when my students were all asking the same questions, so I had everyone stop, I re-explained the idea or process, and then start again.

Ultimately with the help of this program, I want to learn how to make stronger connections to my students through my lessons and practices. I want to make my community stronger and I think that is possible with my profession. Through readings, participation, application of knowledge and theories, and asking many questions, I believe it is possible for me to become a more informed citizen, and a stronger educator.