Why Teach Art?
“If you teach, you know that you gain as much from the interchange as do your students [...] It gives you a role in shaping the next generation of art. It keeps you alive. Teaching is part of the process of being an artist.” —Art & Fear
Growing up, I was always told that creating art would always be just a hobby and that I ought to pursue something sensible. At eight years old I was already worried about having a “backup plan.” Eight-year-old me would be relieved to know that present day me finally exhaled the imaginary breath I had been holding for so many years and kept creating. I received a well- rounded arts education, and my greatest hope today is to do the same for the child that feels like they might be doomed to study accounting when all they really want to do is make things with their hands. If not for the young aspiring artist, I want to provide students with a period of creativity because I believe that creating can bring healing, catharsis, discipline, and comfort.
In my future classroom, I will provide a progressive learning environment, where students are allowed to ask questions and search for their own version of a solution. One of the many beauties of art is that there are no definitive answers, just ideas meeting fruition through physical form. No matter the medium, I want my students to learn how to work within their given parameters while also thinking outside the box. This can look like making use of the materials available to them to carry out a project they conceptualized. In providing my students with a creative outlet, I want to encourage them to express themselves to their fullest extent, and celebrate their individual strengths. In my classroom, I hope to learn from my students just as much as they learn from me—a symbiotic relationship. In Art & Fear, authors David Bayles and Ted Orland write, “learning is the natural reward of meetings with remarkable ideas, and remarkable people.” And I believe that the generations that follow mine are going to be truly remarkable.
As a teacher, it is my responsibility to make sure my students are challenged as well as nurtured and encouraged. It is my responsibility that they feel included and represented, which I will achieve through highlighting artists diverse in both medium and cultural background. It is my responsibility that when they leave my classroom, that they now know something they may not have known before. While I may not be raising a room solely comprised of aspiring painters and sculptors, my greatest hope is that each student develop an appreciation and deeper understanding of the arts. That it is just as valuable to be creative as it is to be a great mathematician, scientist, historian, or athlete. And that being creative does not start and end with being handy with a pencil or paintbrush. Exercising creativity can extend into all corners of their lives, in ways that they have yet to discover.
Growing up, I was always told that creating art would always be just a hobby and that I ought to pursue something sensible. At eight years old I was already worried about having a “backup plan.” Eight-year-old me would be relieved to know that present day me finally exhaled the imaginary breath I had been holding for so many years and kept creating. I received a well- rounded arts education, and my greatest hope today is to do the same for the child that feels like they might be doomed to study accounting when all they really want to do is make things with their hands. If not for the young aspiring artist, I want to provide students with a period of creativity because I believe that creating can bring healing, catharsis, discipline, and comfort.
In my future classroom, I will provide a progressive learning environment, where students are allowed to ask questions and search for their own version of a solution. One of the many beauties of art is that there are no definitive answers, just ideas meeting fruition through physical form. No matter the medium, I want my students to learn how to work within their given parameters while also thinking outside the box. This can look like making use of the materials available to them to carry out a project they conceptualized. In providing my students with a creative outlet, I want to encourage them to express themselves to their fullest extent, and celebrate their individual strengths. In my classroom, I hope to learn from my students just as much as they learn from me—a symbiotic relationship. In Art & Fear, authors David Bayles and Ted Orland write, “learning is the natural reward of meetings with remarkable ideas, and remarkable people.” And I believe that the generations that follow mine are going to be truly remarkable.
As a teacher, it is my responsibility to make sure my students are challenged as well as nurtured and encouraged. It is my responsibility that they feel included and represented, which I will achieve through highlighting artists diverse in both medium and cultural background. It is my responsibility that when they leave my classroom, that they now know something they may not have known before. While I may not be raising a room solely comprised of aspiring painters and sculptors, my greatest hope is that each student develop an appreciation and deeper understanding of the arts. That it is just as valuable to be creative as it is to be a great mathematician, scientist, historian, or athlete. And that being creative does not start and end with being handy with a pencil or paintbrush. Exercising creativity can extend into all corners of their lives, in ways that they have yet to discover.