I felt the spark of teaching during my own high school career as an “art kid.” During high school, I was mostly concerned with making images relating to the emotional experience of being human. Luckily, I was the first class to graduate with an AP Art class and so there was much freedom in my high school projects. I recall loving the open-ended assignments and inserting my voice. Now, as an educator, I find myself longing to embed the same flexible curriculum to make way for student’s voices and to support them in their journey to make meaningful, personal, and purposeful art.
Since becoming an art educator, I have explored different modes and pedagogical languages. I learned that despite the ages of students, all of these pedagogies can be adapted to fit the lesson and the student body at hand. I learned how to document growth through the Reggio Emilia approach with my pre-K students; how to pace skills so that students can sculpt, draw the sculpture, then write an insightful reflection; cultivate a safe learning space for students to discuss their work, give feedback, and help each other grow and develop as artists. My interest in discovery and process stems from my work as a visual arts teacher at The Berkeley Carroll School and as attending Montessori School as a young child. As a child at Montessori school, we were encouraged to discover, play and learn through process. At the middle school level, I put emphasis on project-based learning and what it takes to be a change-maker. I like to introduce the idea of a change-maker into the classroom by looking at our contemporaries and figures of the past who shaped what art has become now. I love to show Art:21 clips of contemporary artists who employ materials in surprising yet effective ways to demonstrate visual communication. During my work with high school students, I saw how vital it was to lay foundational visual principles for students. One of my greatest challenges was delivering the building blocks of how to conduct a successful critique to tenth graders!
During my student teaching experience, I sought to embed the strategies of formative and summative assessment through timely written feedback and probing questions. I learned how to write meaningful feedback to students using a student-driven rubric with learner centered outcomes. In the nature of rubrics, most of the learning is emphasized by product not process which can be tricky for art teachers as the process of art-making is often just as important as the final product. Therefore, I want to re-instill discovery and process as learning outcome goals as well as a beautifully-crafted finished piece. I feel as an educator, it is our responsibility to set clear expectations and learning outcomes.
What continues to inspire me most are the students. My heart swells with pride when I hear and observe them using their flexible thinking skills (better yet, their imaginations!)-and when they don’t get caught up on making things “right.” They do what they want to do and what feels “right” to them. They make art to their own level of satisfaction and do not compare skills as frequently. This attitude makes for great discussions and allows students to trust their voice. Being a teacher is a privilege, and I enjoy the company of fellow art-makers immensely!
Jamie Fontaine 