VIRGINIA VASEY

Art is one of the only outlets students have to creatively express themselves and any emotions they may be feeling inside in a school setting. There is more opportunity for creative freedom in an art room than in any other class. Art helps students to develop identities, practice better time management skills, and to develop creative problem solving skills. I believe every student should have the opportunity to put any creative ideas they have into a piece of art, and to use art as an outlet to express emotion. Art has been an outlet in so many ways for me personally, and I can still clearly remember the moment I knew art was going to be one of the most important parts of my life. I was in 7th grade, and my art teacher pulled me aside to discuss a drawing I made when she had a sub. Her words about how I would make a great artist one day fueled a desire to prove her right, and that drawing is still framed on my wall at home.

            I consider myself an artist who teaches. I am confident in my own art making abilities. Making art for myself is as important to me as teaching it. I want to show my students that I take art making seriously by working on my own art outside of class time. I want to instill in my students not only knowledge about the fundamentals of art making by having them complete activities like value scales, color wheels, or exercises related to the elements and principles of design, but also confidence in their abilities as artists. One idea that I plan to implement in my future classroom is to include a poster for each student with thumbnails of each of their projects throughout a semester or year. I want them to be able to see the cumulative progress they make, as well as to be able to see the work of their classmates. This will be incentive for them to work hard and do well, but also a positive reflection on their progress that will help to boost their confidence in their abilities as artists.

            Ways that I will assess the work that my students turn in will vary. I plan to include a rubric with projects that assesses things like whether or not the student met size requirements, used the methods taught in demos in regards to manipulating certain mediums, the time/effort put in; things more technical in nature. I also will measure success by having students submit reflections about their work, peer reviewing, and through in class critiques or discussions. I feel like this way the artwork can be looked at both objectively and subjectively, making the grades students receive as fair as can be.

            In terms of goals for myself as a teacher, I always want to make it a priority to get to know my students on an individual level, and be aware that every student I have is different in some way from another. I believe that getting personal with a student on a professional level helps them feel much more comfortable in your classroom, and will in turn help them be more productive and successful. Another goal I have is to make sure my classroom has an open, creative environment. I envision a space where discussion among students is encouraged and frequent, as I believe students will learn from each other as well. I don’t want there to ever be limitations to any student’s abilities and ideas. I believe all of this will contribute to a very successful classroom.