Teaching Philosophy

Art education involves much more than learning the tools of an art medium. Lessons that teach specific art skills are indispensable, however an art education syllabus must encourage thinking like an artist.

Thinking like an artist involves getting a sense of history, including the histories that exist outside mainstream narratives. For example, in animation this would mean looking at more than the contemporary cartoons and animated movies that students may already be familiar with. A holistic art education must involve exposing students to experimental, non-narrative, non-representational work- ways of making they may not have considered before because they may not have known about them. Teachers must also be proactive about ensuring their curriculum showcases artists from marginalized communities, international artists, scientists, activists- building a global, intersectional understanding of art and art history.

Part of learning to think like an artist means learning to talk about art. It means encouraging students to move beyond seeking approval, asking whether or not they “did it right”, or if it “looks good”. Instead students must practice asking themselves, “what did I intend to do?”, “did I achieve what I intended?”, “what did I learn?” and “what can I do differently next time?”. When looking at the work of other artists it means going beyond whether or not we “like” the work or not, but instead asking “what do you notice?”, “what does it make you think of?”, “how does it make you feel?” and “why?”. When we ask students to practice articulating the reasons for their opinions we affirm their unique perspective. When we require our students to listen to and understand each other we attest to the existence of and importance of alternative perspectives. This type of learning environment fosters empathy, builds community, and encourages collaboration.

An art syllabus should allow for students to begin identifying their personal interests and to practice applying these interests to creative work. Structure is important, as is encouraging students to be willing to try things that are difficult and outside of their comfort zone. Still, if students are able to connect lessons to their own passions they may be better able to see the value in working hard at something they don’t immediately connect with.

It all comes down to confidence. The world of art is inherently recondite. What makes a “successful” artwork? One artist may feel a personal urgency to depict their reality as closely as possible, while another may value the evocation of emotion over logical understanding, and still another may want to motivate people to act. Some artists want to prove a point, while others wish to call out ambiguity or raise questions. An instructor should not stress any one way of making, but rather provide students with the tools and support to feel confident in describing and defending their work.