Community building, student centered learning, collaboration, and risk taking are essential to my teaching philosophy; and it is these ideas that inform the decisions I make both inside and outside of the classroom. 

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bell hooks writes, “Progressive education, as the practice of freedom, enables us to confront feelings of loss and restore our sense of connection. It teaches us how to create community.” (hooks, 2003). Building community is at the heart of my teaching philosophy: To facilitate connections between beings; to provide students with the tools to think critically; and to question the systems in place through critical pedagogy. The community I build in my classroom is one that is safe and supportive. Our classroom community is one that is joyful. Students have powerful voices, and the art classroom is a place where they are encouraged to use it. 

“The purpose of education is not to bolster our egos, but to ensure that students feel self-empowered, self-reliant, self-determined, and self-liberated.”(Muhammad, 2023) My pedagogy is student centered, and I see my role in the classroom as one that simply facilitates student growth; rather than dictating how things ‘should’ be done.

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I hold space for collaboration in the art classroom – but also beyond it. I use the guiding principles of Community Based Art Education, (CBAE) E.R.E.C.T – educational, reciprocal, empowering, collaborative , and transformational. Artmaking has the potential to be empowering for students, but also communities well beyond the traditional classroom, if done in a conscious way. “An empowering event becomes possible when stakeholders share stories of experience while collaborating on a creative project, planting the seed of arts-based learning that once nourished can grow and spread to the larger community promoting intergenerational understanding, empathy, and unity.” (Lawton.) As an educator, I am dedicated to engaging with the community within my teaching practice. This looks like developing bigger projects, engaging with community artists, and providing opportunities for my students to see and make artwork beyond just the classroom space.

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Artmaking is about so much more than just developing technical skills. It is about problem solving, taking risks, and making mistakes. Everyone is an artist, although they may not see themselves as such, I certainly do. I meet each student at their level of skill and encourage them to be the best version of themselves with the tools we have.