ABOUT ME |
Philosophy of Education
“Be the change that you wish to see in the world.” (Mahatma Ghandi). As a practicing studio artist, I believe young learners should be encouraged to facilitate healthy learning techniques during their childhood and adolescence development, and that this can be obtained through the arts. My goal is to foster creativity inside the classroom with children, and give them the necessary skills and knowledge to apply these solutions anywhere in life including educational pursuits, and towards their future career training. I aim to create a positive influence through patience, active listening skills, and gentleness as kids begin their journey by employing traditional and contemporary techniques including 2D/3D, digital, and mixed media. As an artist, I believe being able to encourage creativity is beneficial. Through my volunteer experience with the Boys and Girls Club, I have learned how to write lesson plans primarily focused on visual arts, but the skill within itself can be applied to any discipline. Being able to use lesson plans in a face to face content allows me to understand what portion of the lesson plan didn’t account for as clarification may be needed while teaching the lesson plan. Through my experience in the arts, I have learned how to adapt what may not be working in a lesson plan for students as they begin to go through the activity presented to them. I believe I am an out of the box thinker, and I bring this ability with me when I teach. I encourage students to find solutions to problems they may encounter as well whether it be in or out of the classroom. Working with the Boys and Girls club allowed me to teach a diverse group of children, some I found needed more help understanding an assignment than others. For students who needed extra assistance I would come to their table and see what they were having trouble with and then provide a short demonstration at their table for what I was looking for from the assignment, or try to explain the project in a different manner. I find that diverse student groups better allow an educator to tailor their help individually to each student based on their needs and comprehension of the material as well as keep the learning environment full of positive challenges. Entering into 2020, I, like many other people, wasn't exactly sure what year would have in store for me other than being set to finish up my Bachelor’s degree. When May approached and the civil unrest and police brutality began, I had a revelation that I wanted to bring a positive change into the world and into youth lives’ and there is no better way than doing that through the arts. Over the summer of 2020, I discovered California State University Long Beach had a teaching credential program through an information session and believed this was the path I should be on. I discovered art acts as the great unifier and is able to bring people together in a way other disciplines may not. I want to be able to aid students in being comfortable listening to others’ unique perspectives, cultural backgrounds, and unite students together through art. I think as a society, we need to focus and celebrate our differences rather than hone in and fear them, moving forward I want to help the younger generations be able to do this through art as they move on to university and the rest of their lives. As a teacher I would hope to accomplish bringing a new perspective into my students’ lives that other classes may not have brought and instill out of the box thinking to anyone who passed through my classroom. I believe the youth is the future to a better society, and those who are able to think creatively despite their chosen job field will be able to benefit those around them. I will facilitate a learning environment by being supportive of not only students' creative endeavours, but all of their life goals. |