Art Educator
About Me
My name is Julia Sanders and I’m a PreK-12 certified Art Educator in the state of Pennsylvania. I have spent the last few years as a substitute teacher for every type of classroom at all grade levels, including all levels of the art classroom. I discovered a passion for working with children and helping them grow as creative and curious people. I look forward to using my interest in an inquiry-based curriculum that combines the structure of the elements of a disciplined based art education with the freedom of a choice-based curriculum. My goal is to create an art classroom that is full of buzz and excitement as children create, collaborate and discuss the meaning in their art and how it can impact the world and communities around them.
My Teaching Philosophy
My teaching philosophy can be summed up in this quote by Gary Granville:
“Art should be as rigorous as a mathematical demonstration, as surprising as an ambush in the night and as elevated as a star."
My view of a comprehensive art curriculum is a combination of ideas and philosophies. It is student-centered, in that it considers the student’s skills and interests, including cultural background and identity, at the same time, it is grounded in a foundation based on the national visual arts standards (NVAS). In studio practice, students will be taught to use the dispositions that make up the eight “studio habits of mind”, developed by Harvard’s Project Zero, to cultivate creative thinking and problem-solving. Lessons that engage as many senses as possible is a philosophical approach that I use when building my plans. I believe it helps engage the whole person, create memories, and promote safety and emotional well-being in the art classroom.
I believe that art curriculum thrives in the contrast of structure and lack of structure, in planned and unplanned events, and in purpose and surprise. The kind of art curriculum that resonates with me is the kind that respects the past and where art education has come from, but the kind that also wants to embrace the future and contemporary ideas that shape our communities and promote social action through art. I use an inquiry-based curriculum that combines the structure of disciplined-based art education (DBAE) with the freedom of a choice-based curriculum.
By limiting and directing the habit of making craft I feel like richer and more in-depth experiences are possible with the appropriate problem-solving challenges for the age of the child. Choice can filter into the scaffolding of the curriculum where the big idea, concepts, theme or direction of the art assignment is created by the teacher, but more particular key concepts within the framework of the main idea can be altered such as a choice of materials, content, size or multicultural reference. I design lessons with choice built-in, and I modify instruction for diverse learners, including students with disabilities, and advanced art students. With advanced and older students, I implement less structure and more choice. I have found from my experience, that students can flounder without inspiration. It is up to the art teacher to encourage research, discovery and engagement with resources (print, internet, art shows, museums, exemplars) to inspire meaningful choices.
I plan to build my curriculum by considering an annual theme, big ideas, enduring understandings, or essential questions as points of inquiry. The scaffolded curriculum will lead students to an assignment that engages their thinking and creating about the ideas and questions that are posed while learning a particular art technique. I will guide the students through a variety of art media, as the class allows, and infuse contemporary artists, aesthetics, art criticism, and art history in the art curriculum to complement the inquiry and art technique.
