I’m a queer multidisciplinary artist based in New York. I pursued my bachelor’s degree in animation and my master's degree in art education at the School of Visual Arts. Learning about and pursuing a degree in education has left me with a great appreciation of the pivotal role that educators have in our society. Teaching is a profession of constant learning, reflection, and growth, and watching students’ passion for art has left me inspired and motivated to continue in the education field.

Art has always been important to me, it’s how I learned to express myself and how I learned about the world around me. As such, I believe that art education is pivotal to student growth. The art room is a space where students can learn to express themselves and cultivate life skills like community building, storytelling, artistic exploration, independence, and autonomy.

TEACHING PHILOSPHY

"The teacher is of course an artist, but being an artist does not mean that he or she can make the profile, can shape the students. What the educator does in teaching is to make it possible for the students to become themselves." -Paulo Freire, We Make the Road by Walking (p. 181)

I believe that the purpose of education is to uplift students, their histories, and their identities. Education is the cornerstone for societal awareness surrounding important issues, and the classroom is a crucial setting to preserve people’s histories, cultural contributions, language, and identities.

In a particularly challenging time of book bans and the systematic erasure of history, education has become a critical tool to not only combat the censorship of others’ lived experiences but to celebrate the multitudes of culture and heritage. It is the responsibility of educators to provide students with access to different perspectives and knowledge of the world outside of their own sphere, as diversity of ideas expands the way they approach art, history, and knowledge. Everyone has different ways of doing things, and through these diverse perspectives, students can discover different aspects of themselves, and in turn, their art can inspire others to do the same. 

As an arts educator, I will use the practical applications of art but also the greater context of how, when, and why art is created at the core of my approach and recognize students’ backgrounds in religion, culture, race, gender, and learning abilities to create curricula that interest, challenge, and celebrate students. I will value collaborative processes with my students as an effort to guide instruction and foster trust within the classroom, as I believe that, as much as students can learn from me, I can learn from them to continually evolve and improve as an instructor.

My framework for instructional strategies allows my teaching philosophy to be deeply explored and practiced. As my teaching philosophy is rooted in student-centered learning, interdisciplinary connections, and a positive and affirming environment, my priorities for instructional strategies include the following:

• Physical Space 

To me, it is crucial to create a physical space in my classroom that encourages student learning, artistic behavior, and interdisciplinary art making. Tables will be arranged so that students can face each other and have easy access to collaborative art making. My classroom will transform students' energy and attention into opportunities for positive interaction and freedom of expression, and discussion. 

For classroom accessibility, I will create a “sensory nook” designed to give students experiencing stress an opportunity to de-escalate their emotions and process discomfort before returning to their desks. This is in an effort to create a classroom environment where all students, including neurodivergent students, can be accommodated. Additionally, I will make every effort to utilize the classroom space and floor plan to create open pathways for ease of movement and accessibility. 

• Behavioral Systems

Behavioral systems are crucial for creating and maintaining a healthy classroom environment. I believe that establishing classroom routines, boundaries, and expectations at the beginning of the school year will help foster student learning and growth for the rest of the academic cycle. I am also an advocate for restorative practices in the classroom. Restorative practices will aid students in conflict resolution through reflection and self-assessment of past mistakes in a safe and nurturing environment.

• Teaching Practices

I am inspired by Paulo Freire’s educational philosophies, where teaching is a conversation between the students and the educator. Both are still learners, and each can gain new knowledge from the other.

Knowledge is built through shared experiences, and in my classroom, this will be achieved through student-centered learning, exploration, collaboration, interdisciplinary connections, and multimodal and scaffolded instruction. Student-centered learning is crucial to building engagement, interest, and personal expression. My goal is for students to gain skills and knowledge while providing opportunities for self-expression through choice.

• Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion

One of my core beliefs as an educator is that representation matters. It is important for students to see themselves represented and be celebrated in the classroom, and I believe that including the diverse perspectives of marginalized voices into curricula is crucial to fostering empathy, community building, and the exploration of self. 

• Use of Technology

As technology has become widely integrated into our society, it is important to provide students with the knowledge and tools that they need to succeed. However, it is also important to acknowledge that technology is not fully accessible to everyone due to socioeconomic inequities in our society. For this reason, my lessons incorporate technology like Photopea, iMovie, FlipaClip, and other drawing tools that can be accessed without a paywall and that showcase tools similar to industry-standard applications. Through the use of technology, students will develop digital literacy skills that will further enhance their learning and exploration in the classroom.