I am an artist, photographer, and educator. I have a bachelor of fine arts in photography, a master of education in art education and Illinois K-12 teaching license in visual art. I currently teach art at a Chicago high school, and previously taught art at an elementary school. I also teach photography in the summer at Marwen, the amazing art program for teens in Chicago.
Teaching Philosophy
I want to be the physics teacher of art. In my experience, physics teachers are incredibly smart yet idiosyncratic in how they interact with students. When I took physics in high school, my teacher Mr. Mac had us draw little diagrams to illustrate problem questions on quizzes. When he graded our quizzes, he drew little arrows with blood dripping out to “kill” our stick figures. Mr. Mac explained to us in detail about his theory that there was no possible way that planes could fly. This openness to play made the class fun, but it was also balanced by his passion for the subject matter.
As an art educator, I facilitate my students’ investigation of the world with creative inquiry. Like my physics teacher, I want to bring fun and passion into the classroom. Play is not always associated with rigor, but the kind of play I’m proposing is a process of challenging art materials, concepts, and one’s own abilities to find new ways of making and thinking. I believe that a strong foundation in art is important, and that it is also important to help my students move beyond the basics and make work that is personally relevant and challenging. Art is an exciting way to engage students in critical thinking and meaning making. By giving students open-ended assignments and time to experiment, a uniquely relevant curriculum begins to emerge.
To balance out the openness of play, I believe it is also important to give students assignments that help push themselves beyond what they might imagine on their own. An art curriculum that is too open denies students the opportunity to explore concepts and techniques they may not have thought to explore on their own.
The thought processes and skills that students use while engaging in artmaking are vital not just in art, but also throughout experiences in life. While making art, students creatively solve problems, and make connections in a web of complex human issues. They innovate while imagining a world open with possibilities. They gain motor skills useful in whatever kind of making they do later in life. They reflect on their creative process by writing and speaking to make meaning and do better. And sometimes they experience the joy of losing themselves in the flow of the creative process. As an art educator, I have the privilege of guiding students through artistic processes, and help them leave the classroom with a new way of seeing things.
As an art educator, I facilitate my students’ investigation of the world with creative inquiry. Like my physics teacher, I want to bring fun and passion into the classroom. Play is not always associated with rigor, but the kind of play I’m proposing is a process of challenging art materials, concepts, and one’s own abilities to find new ways of making and thinking. I believe that a strong foundation in art is important, and that it is also important to help my students move beyond the basics and make work that is personally relevant and challenging. Art is an exciting way to engage students in critical thinking and meaning making. By giving students open-ended assignments and time to experiment, a uniquely relevant curriculum begins to emerge.
To balance out the openness of play, I believe it is also important to give students assignments that help push themselves beyond what they might imagine on their own. An art curriculum that is too open denies students the opportunity to explore concepts and techniques they may not have thought to explore on their own.
The thought processes and skills that students use while engaging in artmaking are vital not just in art, but also throughout experiences in life. While making art, students creatively solve problems, and make connections in a web of complex human issues. They innovate while imagining a world open with possibilities. They gain motor skills useful in whatever kind of making they do later in life. They reflect on their creative process by writing and speaking to make meaning and do better. And sometimes they experience the joy of losing themselves in the flow of the creative process. As an art educator, I have the privilege of guiding students through artistic processes, and help them leave the classroom with a new way of seeing things.
