Shari LaVera Simon

Throughout the stages of my education, art has followed and assisted me in understanding different subjects and cultural issues. As I have learned to teach, I have enjoyed what art education can do for students. It can strengthen a student’s connection to their academic lessons as well as to their community. Art allows students to seek truths and look for answers for themselves about their society. A good foundation of art education and it’s unique vocabulary can help students form opinions and help them facilitate reactions towards issues that matter to them. I feel that I have strong ideas and standards for art education that will benefit the school and the community around it.

I believe that art education is a critical part of a school’s curriculum. Art is a great connecting point for all of the other subjects taught in school. It is important for an art educator to collaborate with other teachers and with the community to understand their students better and make more meaningful connections in learning. In order to connect with your students, you must first understand their lives outside of your classroom. You need to understand their prior knowledge and experiences so you can build your lessons from what they already know. Art can be manipulated to facilitate many educational goals that you, your fellow teachers, and your community have for your students.

As an art educator, I should always make connections with my students’ diverse cultures. It is important to educate on traditions, histories, and art making from many different areas around the world. Through books, media presentations, actual art objects, and Internet research, I can give my students a rich cultural history to enrich my different projects. Tying your lessons with your students’ cultural backgrounds gives relevance, value and meaning for them. They will feel a stronger relationship with what they are learning and, in turn, retain more knowledge.
It is important to me that an art classroom is a friendly environment for all students. I am a strong believer in inclusion and facilitating all of my students’ individual needs. Through collaboration and augmentations of my own teaching and delivery, any student can successfully complete art projects in my classroom. It is important to me that I not only understand all of my students’ needs, but also do my best to accommodate them. Every student has the right to an equal education and the feeling of success inside my classroom.

To assess my students as well as myself, I think it is important to set high goals and expectations at the beginning of lessons. This way I can evaluate the students’ work as well as my teaching process at the end of my lessons. It is important not only to evaluate my students’ successes and struggles, but my own as well. It is crucial to assess how the students respond to my teaching style, my presentation of the lesson, and my solutions for problems along the way. This way I can augment and strengthen my lessons. It is important that I don’t repeat my mistakes, but learn from them.

I feel an art educator should be flexible and adapt to the needs of the group and the individual. It is important to relate your lessons to their lives and to what they find relevant. From there you can build from what they already know and understand. It is an art educator’s job to open up students’ critical eyes and give them an outlet to express their opinions and reactions to events and issues going on around them.