“Education is not the filling of a pail, but the lighting of a fire” - William Bulter Yeats

 

My philosophical approach to education is both art-focused and student-centred. Providing the learner with a space within which it is safe to experiment, to fail and to learn is an imperative component of my pedagogy. I strive to create a safe and inclusive learning environment where students can grow, feel emboldened to take risks, critically analyse the world around them and ultimately, enjoy the process.

 

“The role of a creative leader is not to have all the ideas, it’s to create a culture where everyone can have ideas and feel that they’re valued.”  - Ken Robinson

 

Delivering a meaningful art education for life underpins my teaching philosophy. Presenting oneself as an artist and researcher, as well as a teacher, demonstrates the potential any one individual has to be an artist, an active learner and an inquirer, both inside and outside of the classroom. I believe that my primary role in the classroom is to be a facilitator of student-centred learning. This involves assisting students to develop their critical, contextual, and creative skills to support and enrich their own artwork and guiding them through the identification and pursuit of their motivations as artists. I believe in a pedagogy that asks students to solve problems, question assumptions about the world around them, and grow confidence in their ability to think and act. I challenge students to develop their own methodologies, to be the decision-maker in their own work, to exercise personal responsibility and to take pleasure in their self-directed research to strengthen their ability to express themselves and communicate in a meaningful and authentic manner.

 

Learning is a collaborative effort where the experiences of the teacher and student are valued. I aim to stimulate self-discovery and personal learning in the classroom so that students have a desire to explore their interests and their expressive inclinations through art. I believe that education should be experiential and rooted in the lives of the students. An important component of my classroom is ensuring that my students have the encouragement to seek out, and the freedom to bring in, the diversity of influences that they have in their individual lives. As a teacher, my role is to discover where their individual passions are and give each student the support and confidence to pursue them. The projects which I design for the classroom give students the opportunity to interpret, document, manifest and perform their individual experiences and issues of personal importance and provide a means for students to educate others on these experiences. My goal is for students to develop a respect for other people and other ideas, while being articulate and confident about expressing their unique individual perspectives. My philosophy of teaching is anchored by a personal goal to be a lifelong learner. As an artist, teacher and researcher, I seek every opportunity to improve and evolve my pedagogy by being an ongoing participant in the art community. This, coupled with my openness to new ideas and concepts, fuels my excitement about art and inspires me to transcend these ideas back to my students. With an evolving knowledge base, I can assure my students are receiving the best possible education I can offer.

 

“The arts, it has been said, cannot change the world, but they may change human beings who might change the world” – Maxiene Greene

 

Creating a learning environment where students experience a broad range of knowledge that reflects an understanding of the world in which we live is important to me. I believe that art education has the power to instil an attitude of stewardship towards our communities and the environment. I believe in empowering the student to become a lifelong learner and a productive and engaged member of contemporary society. Embedded within my practice is the teaching of transferable skills such as creativity, collaboration, research, critical thinking, and creative problem solving to support students to successfully navigate their place within a wider society as well as grow and develop as whole individuals, both intellectually and emotionally.