Biography

My favorite quote is, “A good heart is better than all the heads in the world”. I find this interesting coming from myself because I have spent the majority of my life seeking and giving knowledge. I strive everyday to increase both my own and my students' knowledge and yet it means little if we do not have the heart to go with it. My two favorite words are integrity and wisdom and I will be striving my entire life to seek and keep both of them.  

Being an art teacher, I am a huge admirer of human ingenuity and the philosophy of Discipline-Based Art Education (DBAE). This type of curriculum is centered around the four fundamental elements of teaching aesthetics, art criticism, art history and art production.  All four of these areas form the foundation of my art curriculum. Differentiated Instruction also plays an important part in how I set up my classroom lessons and community. Standard Based Grading is key in having my students get feedback and be motivated to go to the next level. I believe art is perfect for providing students with many different avenues to learn and it is my job to develop ways for my students to learn effectively, regardless of differences in ability.   

My goal as an art teacher, is of course, to make my students into great artists, but I think there is more to it, than just being able to produce art.  I feel it is important for students to become literate in art. Bloom's Taxonomy of Learning Domains are always taken into account when I am planning my lessons. My students need to be able to talk, read, debate and write about the beauties of art just as much as they need be to able to produce it. Content literacy is huge in my class and can be seen immediately when one looks through a sketchbook or has a conversation with one of my students.