My Philosophy of Elementary Education

To make up for a lack of actual experience teaching art to children ages 4-12, I have been researching different schools of thought on the subject. In my research, I have found that a child-centered approach produces positive results. My studies have led me to look at the Reggio Emilia Approach, the work of Lois Lord from the Bank Street College of Education in New York, and the book “The Art of Teaching Art to Children: at School and at Home” by Nancy Beal. The children guide the learning by the teacher listening to them and watching them while they explore various 2-dimensional and 3-dimensional art media.

My classroom at this age level will be an art laboratory. The focus of my teaching will be media exploration, not theory. Children of this age are fearless, want to explore, and are able to express themselves easily – I do not want to disturb any of that by creating an environment where there are absolute rights and wrongs. The more the children are able to explore the media, the more comfortable with it they will be, and the more developed their work will be later in their secondary-school career. I do not expect my students to be artists when they grow up, but I do want them to learn to enjoy art and use it as an outlet if they so choose when they grow older. Knowing and understanding one’s own creativity can be of great value in all realms of adult life - there is a confidence that comes from the ability to know and use one’s own creativity that can give one engineer, say, the edge over another.

While interacting with the children as they work, I will be conscious of using the vocabulary of art (elements and principles of design, for example), but I will not quiz them on these ideas – that is reserved for the older children. They should be familiar with the words, but the development of the right side of their brain is much more important in this stage of their life. I also suspect that when they hear these terms, they will question what they mean. I will also listen to what they say to pick up on what interests them so that I may implement those ideas in future projects. Art is a way for them to explore other subjects in a more hands-on way. They will remember a mask they made in 2nd grade that was based on the Hopi Tribe, or a wire drawing based on the Cave Paintings of Lascaux.

My curriculum framework is based directly on the work of Nancy Beal in “The Art of Teaching Art to Children: at School and at Home.” Media exploration will be done by creating work in six art areas – collage, drawing, painting, clay, construction, and printmaking. We will move back and forth with all areas. As the children get restless with one area, we will go to another, then, come back to each at a later date. Subject matter for ages 5-7 will be based on their lives and environment. Starting at age 8, they can begin to explore the histories of their location, and children ages 9 to 12 are able to explore far distant lands and cultures. This is where integrating Social Studies comes into play. I will consult with my colleagues to find out what lessons they are teaching to help solidify the concepts for the children.