Leading Class As An Artist and A Teacher

I believe that everyone learns differently, in any subject. For instance, I have found that in drawing, it was beneficial for me to see my instructor do an example piece of whatever exercise we were doing for the day. After I would see an example, I could practice and work on what needed to be improved. However, in my oil painting class, I valued my instructors style of teaching. We were allowed to develop our own approach to oil painting, were allowed to choose projects based on what inspired us, and just her enthusiasm alone for our freedom, our art, our inspirations was a lesson that I hope to carry into my classroom. What I am saying is that, when I am teaching a lesson to my students I want to remember not as a teacher, but as an artist, that I learn different techniques in different ways and need to allow my students the opportunity to do the same. Artists have the desire to want to practice with a medium that inspires them....to keep creating pieces based on a theme or subject that inspires them....to keep improving on what they have already accomplished. Just as an artist would not say,"Well, that painting went well, glad I don't have to ever paint again.", as a teacher you are not going to say, "Well that lesson went well/ didn't go well, I guess I'm done now." As a teacher, you are going to want your students to succeed, to enjoy their time in your classroom, to connect with a piece they have created, a medium that they enjoy. You will not simply give up after one shot at it. You will continue to work on your methods of teaching, to perfect how you connect and inspire your students, etc. I will incorporate my artwork into my teaching by sharing with them what inspires me. I think that sometimes that can be a very personal thing. Questions arise about what exactly inspired you, what you felt while you created a certain piece, etc. And if you can share that with your students it allows them to be able to invest that sort of personal connection into their own art, and hopefully be able to share it with you.

High School Perceptions

I think that when I was in high school, I was oblivious at the time to the amount that my teachers did for my peers and I. I was grateful and respectful to my teachers and had built strong relationships with some of them over my four years. But it was not until I began practicing to become a teacher, that I fully realized all of the things they had to endure....patience with our attitudes, our desire to get anywhere but Camanche High, our tardiness, etc. I went to school with a good group of kids...they all had potential and the motivation to pursue a life after high school, but did not always want to actually be IN school. I remember one of my friends referring to high school as a four year prison sentence. I think that most high school students feel that they are ready to be done, ready to go on to the next step, ready for freedom....and as stated perfectly by one of the students I will be working with this semester, "High school students think of themselves as adults already." This is true, I remember thinking that I wanted to get a move on with it all, didn't want to be trapped in high school. Now I realize that I had a lot of growing up left to do, but this is what is to be expected when working with high school students, or at least what I expect. I was fortunate, however, to have a great group of teachers who made our classes enjoyable, inspired us for what was to come after high school. I hope that I am able to inspire the same sort of emotions for my students. I hope that they will be able to enjoy their time in high school, or at least find solace in the art room. I am excited to learn as much from my students as I hope to teach them, and I look forward to find out what inspires them and to create lessons that they will enjoy.

Introduction

Hello,

My name is Alison. I am from Camanche, Iowa, and am a senior at the University of Iowa. I originally came to U of I wanted to pursue a career in nursing. I realized early on, however, that a degree in Art Education was the right choice for me. I have enjoyed my experiences thus far in the program and am excited to start working with the students this semester.