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Personal Summary
Aspiring to greatness, being a lifelong learner
Art is the tool, the brush that paints the picture in a student's mind that he can aspire toward greatness in any field of life. I am merely the facilitator of that realization.
My Education Portfolio is merely a glimpse into the beginning of my experiences as a teacher. It displays my Theory of Teaching and Resume, and reflects my current ability in writing a Unit Plan, Lessons, and fair Assessment procedures. This Portfolio also reflects the quality of student work produced under my guidance and shows a video in which I creatively engage a sixth grade class through a culmination lesson on pattern, overlap, contour drawing, and positive and negative space. I thought this lesson was particularly successful in my student teaching experiences to show my development as a teacher so far as well as representing a good aim at the ideal lesson for achieving student receptivity in my future growth as an educator.
Why do I want to be a teacher?
If I were to be asked what the most important job is in the whole world besides being a parent, I would say being a teacher. Every other job and role one plays in society must first begin with a teacher, someone to teach and give knowledge for others to learn and establish their own role in civilization. The teacher is a model citizen, a moving force for the evolution of our families, communities, nation, and world. Teachers are the guides, the most patient and compassionate for learning; they are the masters of their individual branches of knowledge. Teachers impact lives. Teachers make change. It is the teacher who embodies total knowledge and it is his/her name you remember and tell your kids about. Teachers make you think and inspire you, but of course give you trouble. They send you to the principal's office, write referrals, and catch you calling students names in the hallway. But you learn, and it's because they love you. I want to inspire, elevate, and evolve students to live out their passions. I want to be remembered, and I want to learn from them.
Why teach Art?
Art is the ultimate means for self-expression, reflection, and realization. The Arts make people laugh, cry, and stir up emotions never seen. Art can sometimes cause controversy, but in many times, resolve conflict. Art evolves and inspires. It uplifts and moves us. Art surrounds us. It's the music we here, the clothes we wear, the architecture we live and work in. Art is on the billboards as we're driving down the highway. Art jumps out at us at the store and says buy me. It's in the landscaping in our yards and parks and in the movies or concerts we camp out to see.
The artist is in touch with himself. His actions come from deep within. His creations and expressions reflect the most awesome of all experiences possible. The artist is thinking ahead, familiar with the past, and constantly perceiving and digesting his environment. A true Artist lives the fullness of life and through his work can give others a taste of that happiness.
Ever since I was a boy I have been an artist, an actor, a musician, a lover of perfection and the beauties of life. Everything I take on I try to lead to further development and mastery over the self. It is here where playing my drums for example, everything around me dissolves. The sound of each beat comes from somewhere deep inside and exits so quickly and easily I don't have time to fathom its depth. I just play and at the point of departure from my fingers, the noise disappears and I find myself, I see myself, playing in the silence and using the silence to the audience's anticipation. That feeling is the best feeling I have in life.
As a teacher I want to give students the opportunity to have these same experiences and teach them the value of Art in their lives. I don't necessarily expect them to become artists, but I'd like to be a facilitator and use Art as a tool for the students to find their passion in life and become life long learners where they have a continued desire for further growth and development in their lives.
Maharishi, founder of Maharishi University of Management once said,
The purpose of education is to cultivate the mind of a man so that he can accomplish all his aims in life. Education to justify itself should enable a man to use the full potential of his body, mind, and spirit. It should also develop in him the ability to make the best use of his personality, surroundings, and circumstances so that he may accomplish the maximum in life for himself and for others.
My personal and professional goals in life all revolve around a few simple quotes by Maharishi that I've learned in college that include:
- "Enjoy and accomplish more."
- "The nature of life is to grow."
- "The purpose of life is the expansion of happiness."
Whether it be refining my artistic or musical skills, raising a family, or writing a lesson plan, these themes are present is my awareness and assist me in reaching my fullest potential while I facilitate students to achieve theirs.
More concrete goals include:
- Keeping up on the latest literature and research in the field of Art
- Becoming more familiar with an array of technological tools and programs that I can impliment in the classroom
- Developing a greater understanding for the characteristics of students in different grades, the developmental stages, and students' abilities, all with regard to Art
Some of the central questions I'm currently asking and plan to continue asking myself as an Art Teacher include:
- How do I inspire and make an impact on the students who don't have any interest or talent in the Arts?
- How do I develop fair assessment procedures that aren't so focused on technique and product, but take into consideration students' lack of talent or abilities and focus more on the development of the student or the process of creating?
- In making a lesson or unit, what is the purpose of this? What is the value to the students' lives?
As an Art Teacher I want to break free from any ideas that my class is easy, a "blow off class," its not challenging, or it's an academic recess for some students. I hope to challenge students with questions and skills they've never tried before. I'd like to develop students' receptivity and make them think critically and reflectively. I hope to enhance their creativity with an example like, recycle household materials to make instruments. This idea could have spawned from giving students the opportunity to bring forth as many ideas for the uses of a particular item like a bottle or a can.
I'm also trying to develop ideas that will be interdisciplinary. For example, I could work with the Physics Teacher and we could do a unit on roller coasters. In Physics the students could be discussing the dynamics of roller coasters while in Art I could have the students creating 3D models, logos for the theme of the roller coaster, or advertisements about the new coaster in town.
In general, all of my ideas, themes, lessons, and units are all trying to aim at one main goal and that is to create life long learners. As I mentioned earlier, Art is the tool, the brush that paints the picture in a student's mind that he can aspire toward greatness in any field of life and I am merely the facilitator of that realization.