Emma Callicutt

Teaching Philosophy

Art is a subject of creativity, which can be a very subjective, personal, and vulnerable

endeavor for those whose majority of schoolwork exists within strict, quantifiable parameters.

Art provides students with crucial opportunities to find answers within themselves and their

surroundings rather than within a textbook. Research from the Cultural Learning Alliance

suggests that art education has been shown to heighten the probability that students will pursue

higher education, volunteer, attain sustainable employment, increase cognitive abilities, etc

(Cultural Learning Alliance, 2017-2018, p. 2). As a teacher, I want to shed a positive light on the

subject of art by making students feel welcomed and heard. I feel as though I can succeed at this

goal by creating a classroom setting that strongly encourages relativity and open-mindedness.

I believe that binary thinking can be a restrictive force on creativity. Therefore, I want to

build a teaching style that encourages students to naturally approach artistic subject matter and

materials with relativity. Elliot Eisner, late professor of Art Education at Stanford states in his

(2002) book, The Arts and the Creation of Mind, “The arts celebrate multiple PERSPECTIVES.

One of their large lessons is that there are many ways to SEE and INTERPRET the world”

(pp.70-92). This pinnacle of art education heavily promotes the idea that art can be one of the

most effective ways to teach relativity. I believe that Eisner’s statement can be directed not just

towards the world, but towards the self. I want my students to understand that through art, they

can not only discover the diverse perspectives of others, but can see themselves in a new light.

Sculptor and public speaker, vanessa german, stated during her keynote speech at the 2022
National Art Education Convention that “[art is a way] of inviting people into the power of their

own lives” (34:00). To create something that is completely original has the potential to show one

what they are truly capable of and hence, discover who they are within the context of a world

that is vastly diverse.

Students cannot achieve a relative approach to the interpretation and creation of artwork

within a setting that doesn’t emphasize open-mindedness. I want to cater my classroom

environment and coursework to make it so that students are unafraid to be honest. I intend to do

this by treating every student as a contributor rather than as “a passive consumer,” which scholar

Bell Hooks acknowledges in her (1994) book, “Teaching to Transcend,” is how students are

often addressed (p. 40). I want to invest in each student’s validity as an individual voice and

creator, as well as encourage and respond to their input. I want to assert my role not as an

authoritative figure, but as a mentor, and have intentions of practicing art alongside my students.

While there will inevitably be things I cannot change about the broader biases of our society, I

can show students from all classes, races, ethnicities, gender/sexuality identifications, abilities,

religious identities, etc. equal engagement. Both the teacher-student relationship and the

student-student relationship should express relativity and should not be boxed into binaries. This

cannot be achieved without equal treatment and the development of classroom community rather

than consumerist passivity (Hooks, 1994).

I believe strongly in the life changing potential that art has within society and within

individuals. Every child deserves the right to a system of learning that is not constrictive. I

believe that the art classroom can provide this system by promoting relativity and

open-mindedness. Not only can these concepts teach art, but they can establish a place where

students feel like they belong and are important.

References
Cultural Learning Alliance. (2017-2018). Briefing paper no. 4: The arts in schools, why the arts
matter in our education system. Retrieved from
https://www.culturallearningalliance.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/Arts-in-Schoo
ls-Briefing-A4.pdf

Hooks, B. (1994). Teaching to transcend: Educating women against violence. Routledge. (p. 40).

Eisner, E. W. (2002). The arts and the creation of mind. Yale University Press. (pp.70-92).

vanessa german (2022, March 16). NAEA keynote address. Retrieved from
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cnzvozpf6Ic (34:00)