Learning
is a life long process. I believe that learning takes place when a person
is faced with a challenge. It is when that challenge is overcome that the
individual has learned something. As a teacher we need to educate our students
on how to accept the challenge and learn something from it. Teaching our
students critical thinking skills and problem solving will not only help
them in school but elsewhere through life. I believe that the students
need to know how to dissect a problem and approach it from many different
ways. Students are like a piece of clay that needs to be continually molded.
I believe it is very important to instill authenticity in learning. We
need to not only make learning exciting but also make it meaningful to
the student. If the student sees how the lesson being taught relates to
other aspects in his or her life it will promote better learning.
Teachers are students
themselves. As a teacher I believe I need to remember that I will always
be learning. That I am not perfect and accept my mistakes and learn from
them. As a teacher I strongly believe that I need to respect my students.
To let them know that I am human. I believe that we will not get respect
from our students if we don’t respect them back. A good teacher establishes
rapport with all students by demonstrating, patience, acceptance, empathy
and interest. Another important quality I believe a good teacher must show
is enthusiasm for the content and learning. A good teacher creates a climate
that encourages participation. I believe we need to get students involved
by promoting questions. Questioning stimulates students’ thinking and communicates
what is to be learned. We need to respond to the students answers to this
questioning or failure to answer. A good teacher establishes and maintains
a physical environment that is safe and responsive to learning through
appropriate classroom management.
As an art teacher I believe
that we need to have the ability to offer new perceptual and aesthetic
experiences that increase students awareness and creativity. Also
be confident in our knowledge of the subject matter. I believe that in
teaching art we need to build our students confidence as well. This can
be done with closure experiences in art, where the student is allowed to
get familiar with a new medium being introduced. Reassurance is key to
building the student’s confidence. I believe that every student must be
continually reassured and praised along the way. Another way to build upon
their confidence is to demonstrate, show them how it can be done. Being
a role model is a very important task for all teachers. As Thomas R. McDaniel
states, “values are caught, not taught.”
I believe that an effective
curriculum is an important key to unlocking the teacher and students success
in learning. The curriculum validates what teachers believe to be appropriate
practices and use them within their classrooms. It provides a focus to
the environment the teacher continually changes and enriches to support
learning and creativity within the children. I believe the art curriculum
should be managed in a way to promote learning to a higher level through
the proper sequencing of art experiences. Each experience a student has
in art should build upon the previous experience. The idea of a curriculum
helps the teacher teach students to see themselves as capable learners
and individuals in society. This helps pave the way for students to make
sense of the world and succeed in it.
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