Art Teacher Aspirations

an art teacher

the coach of the cross country team at the school i teach for

to live in the same town as the school i teach at

It was so much fun! maybe before break is over I’ll email Mrs. E and see if i can come in for a day or two. maybe even stay through for a project from beginning to end! Id love do some stuff at the high school too… but I kind of burned my bridge with etter… cuz i dislike him. idk. he doesn’t hate me I’m sure but he would probably tread lightly around the idea of me helping him in the classroom. 

artgra:

This is a great watercolor idea I found on Artsonia. It uses coffee for the paint. There are so many fun possibilities!

I want to be an educator first and for most and an artist second. That is how I feel any teacher should view themselves in order to be successful and keep their mind in the classroom and not wandering about thinking of what a fabulous career they could have with all their knowledge in the field if they weren’t a teacher. I think that a lot of people become teachers for the wrong reasons and end up with chaotic classrooms because they aren’t invested in being there. 

first of all I want to encourage them to just do what they feel will work for their piece and not feel like they need to consult me on the parameters of the assignment. I’m going to tell them that they can change things and tweak the assignment to whatever fits best with their idea and their vision as long as they are still getting the key lessons behind me giving the assignment in the first place from doing the project. Example: if the assignment is to do a black and gray still life of an apple and the student wants to instead do the still life of the apple in color, that would be perfectly acceptable, because they would still be working with gradient and observation (the reasons and things to be learned and practiced in doing an apple still life, although i hope to god I’m not going to be so cliche of a teacher and make kids draw apples…) However if the student wanted to substitute the subject matter for… say a skateboard (i don’t know maybe to follow their interests a little more closely) i would have to say no simply because a skateboard lacks a rounded reflective surface to practice shading and gradients, however i would be willing to work with the student and maybe think of an angle from which the skateboard could be used for the project. basically. I want students to realize the assignments aren’t about adhering to my parameters and pleasing me with their rule following and exactness. Its about them, learning and growing as artists and practicing their skills. 

So, I know what most of you are thinking “if you’re serious about art, why don’t you become a college professor or an actual artist yourself?”. Well first of all to be terribly honest, I’m not especially serious about art. I’m serious about teaching art. Which means that while I myself am an artist I will be putting my work and myself as an artist aside in order to teach young people about how to develop themselves as artists and learn the basic skill of being able to communicate your thoughts visually through lines forms and colors. I swear I’m not psychic but I also know the second thing you’re going to say “high school teachers are just glorified babysitters, especially art teachers. you’re going to have a handful of talented students who will be serious about it and everyone else in your class will just be there to screw around”. Well, I’m not going to be a teacher just to pluck those talented few out of the crowd and make sure their portfolios are perfect and ignore everyone else. Art doesn’t have to be what you make your career for you to learn about it. Like i said, its a skill. Its therapeutic. Its just plain fun. I want my classroom to be for everyone. Whether you need someone to guide you in building your college portfolio for art school or if you’re just some burn out who needs a passing grade in an elective to keep from repeating a grade. I’m there to be a teacher, and a mentor even if its not in art, but you’d be surprised the amount of lessons you can convey through an art assignment. Well thats all i have for now on thoughts of how my classroom is going to be.