Although this is still in development, I picture my classroom as a place where the students and myself work together to grow. I don’t want to be the sole keeper of knowledge but rather trust the students to aid in the discovery of knowledge as they trust me to offer a path to do so. I want to adapt to the students’ needs and grow alongside them.
Although creating art that has a similar outcome for every student has its place, I really want to emphasize the creation of unique and personally relevant works of art for each student. I believe growth and learning should be prioritized over achieving a fixed or perfect outcome. I believe in meeting the students where they are at. Students have so much to offer each other and sharing ideas leads to more ideas and strengthening of them, that is why I believe we need to embrace collaboration. Rather than being talked at, I think the students would benefit more from talking with partners or groups and as a class in every step of the process from initial ideation to critiques.
The key to all of this is adaptability, teamwork, and growth. What I hope to carry with me throughout my entire teaching career is the idea that I am not perfect and there is always room to grow, I will never be done, there is always space for the advancement of ideas and practices. I am open to criticism from everybody including my students because I have a mindset that I can always do better.