I KNEW I WANTED TO BE A TEACHER WHEN...

I knew I wanted to be a teacher when… I would help my mom from time to time in her classroom when I was in high school and into college. I had always thought being a teacher would be rewarding but it wasn’t until a few years ago that I realized the talent she had as an art teacher, I wanted to have that too. I have also heard stories from my mom over the years that have lent to me wanting to be a teacher. One thing in particular that I have witnessed over the years my mom has taught is the letters she has received from students. All of them have made mention to the impact she had on them as artists, how she made them feel about art, or how fun she made the learning experience. One student thanked my mom for going out of her way to pay attention to him. These letters may not come within the first few years of teaching and maybe not at all but I want to be a teacher to make a difference and impact the way kids view art. You might not be able to “save” or “change” a child’s life but you can at least try and make a difference. Watching my mom strive to do this in her every day of teaching is what has made me want to become a teacher and I hope I can do the same.

In the first part of our reading from In The Making it talks about how artists are "unencumbered by methods, rules, and requirements" and when you think about this in comparison to a teacher they are actually very similar. Teachers have to think of ideas of how to work around some of the requirements that have been instilled to make things interesting. Teachers don't let the rules and methods restrict them to getting through to their kids. Laramee used her fathers discoveries and notes to construct an exhibit her past served as inspiration for her art. I think we can all use past experiences as teachers and as artists to teach us something new. You can construct a story with things of the past just like I have used my past experiences watching my mom as an art teacher to create my story of why I want to be a teacher.

USING YOUR TALENT IN THE CLASSROOM...

I think my artistic qualities will be useful in the classroom in many different ways. The fact that creativity is usually a strong characteristic of an artistic person will help immensely in the classroom. Creativity allows you to think of new innovative ideas that others might not have been able to come up with. Along with creativity comes being able to think out of the box, for example like some of the lessons in the reading using simple objects most people wouldn't think of for an art project. Artistic people view things differently and I think that would have a major influence on lessons and how you present certain ideas in the classroom. In art you have to be willing to look at all the possibilities and make sure you have considered a range of ideas and this relates to how you have to work with students and respect that fact that everyone has different views and interests. Considering all the ideas to be good ones is something teachers have to be accepting of.

I want to use my artwork as inspiration in the classroom. Depending on the lesson you are teaching you might have something of your own that relates to that particular lesson. Using your own artwork as an example shows your credibility and I think students would see that as a strong point. Most likely you would be able to show more insight to why and how you created your piece of work compared to something you might not know as well. I believe that continuing to practice art while you teach is very important because it keeps you fresh and up on the material as well as an outlet for stresses or just plain expression.

Vieth seems to have a strong belief that you were an artist before you were a teacher so it is important to practice your art while teaching. Allowing them to mingle is very important to be a good artist and teacher. I will balance the teaching of technical skills and still allowing for creativity by including the teaching of the skills during there creation of there own project. Allowing your students to have input is always important, as long as they still feel a part of their own project while you teach the technical skills I believe there can be a happy medium.

A LITTLE ABOUT ME...

My favorite classes to attend in high school were my art classes, especially ceramics and AP art where I was free to create whatever. I looked forward to them and was always excited for the next assignment. In most situations once students reach high school they have a choice of what specials they would like to take. I believe this means that students enrolled in your class want to be there and enjoy some aspect of art. High school was important to me at the time, always wanting to do the right things and fit in. Now that I look back on my four years in high school I realize that all that "stuff" was really not that important in the whole scheme of things. I think it is important to put yourself in the shoes of the high school student or think back to when you were in high school and you might find some things easier to relate to. That is what I believe anyway. I have a cousin that is a junior in high school and sometimes when I am around students her age I think of her and what she enjoys to give me some idea of what I am dealing with. I was very involved in high school... sports, student council, and different clubs. It allowed me to broaden who I was as a person and I also met a lot of different people.

When I think about working with high school students I cringe just a little bit. I always told myself that high school was not for me. The thing that gets me is the fact that I am not that much older than they are and how will I be able to teach them, plus the "attitude" has kicked in. I think I need to throw myself into the setting to realize that their really is a big difference in age and knowledge, which might make me feel a little better. I think we can all learn from each other no matter the age gap. High school students are interested in a lot of things we may not know about that we can learn, which in the long run will help us to close the gap. We will never truly be able to understand why they do some of the things they do but we can at least try to put our arms around it.

I am really excited to start practicing and teaching some of the things I enjoy after a hiatus from the art world. It will be neat to see the ideas that these high school students come up with. I am looking forward to bouncing ideas around and really letting creativity run wild. This semester should be exciting and I can't wait to meet our students.