Stephanie Smith

            Philosophy of Education

 

Art education is important in childhood development. Art education should not be viewed as a hobby or luxury but rather it provides the building blocks, reinforcement and application of knowledge, which is a vital component to the learning process. Research shows that the developmental benefits of art education include: motor skills, visual learning, cultural awareness, inventiveness, language development and decision making.

  

I want to teach art and be part of helping children develop and define themselves in an artistic format. I believe there is no greater joy than to see students apply the knowledge they have learned in a creative and expressive piece of artwork. I want to be an inspiration for these students and share my love of art with them. I will be a source of a different kind of knowledge for them and perhaps the one person who will let students express themselves without prejudice or fear of the wrong answer.

  

I have always been passionate about art. Whether it's exploring the meaning of it, learning its historical context, studying the person who made it or actually making my own art. Art has fascinated me in many different aspects. I want to teach student how to appreciate, interpret, conceptualize, value and create art. I want to create a classroom environment where students feel safe and free to be able to creatively express themselves without any judgment. My art classroom will be viewed as a safe haven. I intend to have a classroom that anyone could walk into at any time and notice a productive, creative, and inspirational learning environment. One of the goals of my classroom is to celebrate individuality while still creating a sense of community.

  

As an art teacher I want to teach students on how to not only create art but to be able to draw inspiration from others and the world we live in. I want to cultivate students to explore and learn with physical applications of academic subject matters. I believe students must be able to use their imaginations and explore their dreams and interests and I think art is the perfect format for students to do this. I plan on teaching and giving students the tools and methods to be able to creatively define themselves. I want to encourage individuality and creative thinking and will not be overbearing and interfere with my own aesthetic responses. I recognize that every student learns differently and will therefore consider many variations of teaching methods so that my students can comprehend and acquire knowledge. 

  

I want to bring a multicultural approach to my art lessons. I want my students to know about their own culture as well as others. I believe students need to be educated about the world and people we live with. I will expose my students to the diversity of the world including different races, religions, cultures and ethnicities which makes up our history and who we are as humans.

  

I believe it is integral part of art to integrate other subjects’ content into art lessons. I want to weave the content that students are learning in their other subjects into art. Physical application of student curriculum outside the art classroom will help reinforce and cement the acquired knowledge they have learned. When students engage in this physical artistic approach to other subject content areas, they are creating their own learning and deepening their level of understanding on a specific subject. This approach not only can boost academic achievement and also promotes self-confidence, creativity and school pride