During my first year of professional experience I began teaching a kindergarten class at a private daycare in Bedford-Stuyvesant neighborhood of Brooklyn. Although I was trained as an art teacher, I am teaching science, social studies, math, literacy, and art. Almost every aspect of my classroom includes an art component. I incorporate Visual Thinking Strategy and Reggio Emilia experiential learning approach into every subject. Also, the class is broken down into groups of three. Peer-to-peer learning is encouraged and critical thinking is the word of the day. This blog documents some of our projects.

Teaching philiosophy

The goal of art education is not to turn every student into an artist but to inspire every student to think like an artist. That process entails student engagement in creative activities that examine and state ideas or feelings about themselves and the worlds in which they live, speculate about the future, and examine the accepted notions of morality. Also, by interpreting the meanings of works by others in terms of themes, subjects, and ideas students will understand the significance of their own works in the larger context. My hope is that through the intellectually enriching reflective activities and critiques students will be able to change their purpose, and thus change the course of their lives.

Thursday, February 18, 2010

Saturday Art School at Pratt Institute: High School Portfolio Development: Ages 14 - 18

Lesson 1: Ink Self-Portraits"


This was a lesson my teaching partner, Caitlyn, and I conducted for the first class. It enabled us to create a fun studio atmosphere and at the same time informative about each individual student's abilities. Throughout the lesson, we provided a mix of jazz for inspiration.

At the start of the class, we and the students, sat in a large circle and introduced each other. After the introduction, students were shown a slide show that combined artworks of various artists, styles, and medium approaches. In addition, I demonstrated a very basic ink drawing technique, using black ink and water. We and the students also talked about ink blots and Rorschach tests. Caitlin also showed a couple of example paintings she made before class.

Upon completion of the demonstration, students were presented with various sizes of paper, ink in various colors, a variety of brushes, and white charcoal and conte pencils. Students were then asked to create self-portraits with an optional use of a mirror. They were also given a choice of "literal", psychological, and expressionistic approaches to self-portraits.

The results were impressive.

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