CARA EPSTEIN
ART EDUCATION PORTFOLIO
Teaching Philosophy
T E A C H I N G P H I L O S O P H Y
The foundation of learning starts with a solid bond formed between the students and teacher. That connection is made through respect, empathy, and "being fun" (according to my student, Mazin). The extraordinary educator, Rita Pierson, said it best:
When I teach, I embody Rita Pierson’s spirit. It is so important that students know that they have someone watching out for them. It’s once students know that they are safe, then they can truly step into their own, and create artwork that is powerful.
Making a safe space is one of my goals as a teacher. I want students to feel confident creating work without having that overarching fear that someone is judging them. I want my classroom to be like a vacuum, removing all sense of failure from their minds, and truly just giving them the materials they need to take a leap of faith, a risk, and just jump.
I value student choice projects, and projects that allow students to tell a narrative. All of my students enter the room as artists, but I want them to leave my class as confident artists. When students make work that is near and dear to their hearts, they put their full effort in.
Part of my philosophy is to tell my students that I am proud of them when I mean it. Positive affirmations build up a student’s confidence, and allow them to shine. My job as a teacher is to open doors of possibilities for my students, acting as a facilitator to help them bring their artistic dreams to reality. I never want to be that person who dims the creative light in a student. I am here to continue to build them up, so they can be the best artists they can be.
Teaching is not a one way street. My teaching philosophy doubles as a learning philosophy. I want my students to come to class, sharing information with me, and my goal is to share as much information as possible with them, teaching them art history, the principles and elements of design, and skills that they will hopefully carry with them for the rest of their lives. It is my job and my goal to not become stagnant, but to constantly be changing and altering my style of teaching. I want to be that champion that every student deserves.
It’s the connections. It’s the relationships. So teachers become great actors and great actresses, and we come to work when we don’t feel like it, and we’re listening to policy that doesn’t make sense, and we teach anyway. We teach anyway, because that’s what we do. Teaching and learning should bring joy. How powerful would our world be if we had kids who were not afraid to take risks, who were not afraid to think, and who had a champion? Every child deserves a champion, an adult who will never give up on them, who understands the power of connection, and insists that they become the best that they can possibly be.