No tags yet.
Q: "What are five things that are really important that you hope your students learn from you as a teacher in this imagined teaching context in 2025?"
A: As a future educator I really hope I can be a great role model for my students, no matter what there age is. When asked to create a list of 5 important things that I hope my students learn from me, I found it really hard to narrow down. Here's what I got:
1. I want students to learn how to understnad themselves, and how to express that through whatever they do, whether that be inside or outside of the classroom.
2. I want my students to learn to be uncomfortable. Nobody makes any progress by staying where they are most comfort. Hopefully, students will realize that pushing their boundaries isn't as scary as it seems.
3. Art classrooms are a great place for students to speak their minds in a safe zone. If I can create an environment where opinions are heard and listened to without judgement, I think my students will be able to learn acceptance and take that characteristic with them for the rest of their lives.
4. A lot of times, it seems that art teachers get stuck in a rut and turn the class into a drag when still lives are constantly being assigned. I truly believe fundamentals are important in the art world, however in this situation what I think is more important that my students learn is how to look. I want to teach my students to be aware of their surroundings. This could be anything from seeing the shapes in objects and negative spaces to create better drawings and paintings, or to being aware of media and visual culture that is present in our daily lives.
5. Finally, I want my students to be comfortable with asking questions. I want them to ask me if they don't understand something or need help. I want them to collaborate with their peers and ask each other questions, and I want to be able to ask my students questions if they are creating something that I'm not familiar with.
Landmarks
Throughout my life I have always loved creating and working independently. Like many people would agree, it's an awesome feeling to work extremely hard, go through ups and downs, look at the outcome, and feel proud of yourself. The only thing I have found as I got older is that after that short feeling of accomplishment, I think to myself "I can do better."
My family has always been very supportive of my decisions, but definite landmarks in my life have been my dad and my uncle. They both have worked really hard throughout their lives, and have pushed me to try my best 100% of the time. They have taught me to be determined and independent, especially when it comes to my work ethic.
Another landmark in my life would have to be one of my art teachers. I would always go to her house on Friday afternoons after school and stay for about an hour or two. Tonye was a private art teacher who taught me a lot of fundamentals that weren't being taught in the classroom. Before she retired, she was an art teacher in a local public school. I used to love hearing her stories of when she was teaching in her classroom and I was so amazed at how her classroom set up and teaching style was so different than what I was used to. Looking back, I think that was the point where I realized I wanted to be a teacher who taught my students, rather than being a teacher who simply assigned projects.
Animation Explanation
My animation was based off of one of my topics from my list of 5: Pushing your boundaries and going outside of your comfort zone. It seems that anymore kids are being taught simply how to get the right answer, especially with all of the standardized testing. I showed how adding a little mess and creativity to the daily school ritual can create better thinkers, versus the students who do not know how to go through the process and actually using their brains to find the answers for themselves. I think it's extremely important that students can be independent critical thinkers. All it takes is someone to be an example and show them how.