Teaching Philosophy
My objectives as an educator:
Provide students with a sense of professional identity If a student can be made to understand that, upon choosing a field of study, she has started down a path to becoming a professional with an identity and a place of respect in society, she will, hopefully, begin to behave accordingly. Of course it must also be stressed that this identity carries with it certain obligations such as professional behavior, attitudes and work ethic. My goal is to reinforce the idea that a professional identity is available to anyone who is willing to earn it and subsequently maintain it through hard work, commitment, and integrity. Foster critical thinking and problem solving skills Amongst human beings creativity is not rare. In fact, it is quite common place. The less creative members of our species fell by the way side many thousands of years ago. What is rare, however, is the individual who is dedicated to creativity as a craft and who hones her problem solving skills and critical thinking to a fine edge and can apply them effectively in almost any situation. This is the mark of a true creative professional. My goal is to create situations and assignments that force my students to apply their creativity and intellect in ways they have never been called upon to do before. Create a community of life long learners It's not enough to simply get good grades. The whole point of a college level education is to introduce students to the idea that there is so much to be learned in any given field of study that true mastery must be sought over the course of an entire lifetime. My goal is to constantly find ways to tie the craft that I teach into other fields of study. For example, no artist can truly master life drawing without also acquiring a deep understanding of human anatomy. If done correctly, examples like these lead students to understand that all knowledge is connected and that the true master of a craft doesn't simply devote herself to that field of study but to the pursuit of knowledge and wisdom in all it's myriad forms.My methods:
Teach by demonstration If I'm teaching a drawing class my primary approach will be to draw for my students. If I'm teaching a 3D modeling course I sculpt for them. Of course there's theory involved as well. In fact, it's about a fifty-fifty split in most cases. To succeed at one's craft an individual must not only move like an artist but think like one as well. In my classes, I refer to this melding of mind and body as workflow. Workflow encompasses everything from how an artist imagines a compelling narrative to how she holds her charcoal stick when sketching a figure in a life drawing class. Every artist develops her own workflow that is specific to each type of work that she does. It's a big part of becoming comfortable with working in a particular style or discipline of art. When I demonstrate a technique, be it on a computer or on paper, I make sure to emphasize not only the physical motion of my arm or the particular menu I'm accessing, but also the thought process behind it. Sometimes that means referencing medical anatomy or an online tutorial. Other times that means referencing a specific difficulty I have had in the past when I was struggling to learn a technique. By pointing out the problems I've had in acquiring mastery my goal is to provide a framework by which my students can prepare themselves for similar challenges they will face when trying to develop their own workflow. If done correctly the student should be educated on the proper use of the tools and techniques being demonstrated while, at the same time, being prepared to employ her own critical thinking to overcome the difficulties she is bound to encounter while practicing her craft. Emphasize the fundamentals To have good workflow an individual must possess a solid understanding of the fundamental skills required for her field. This means that it's my job as an educator to instill a profound respect for the most basic knowledge in my students. My students often tell me how eager they are to learn but, in the same breath, they will tell me they are unwilling to let that education influence their personal style which they have worked so hard to establish. In most cases, what a young artist perceives to be a unique style is actually a meticulous imitation of the methods and mistakes of another artist whom she idolizes. What this means is, instead of employing her own perceptions to render a human figure, she merely parrots the perceptions of her idol by drawing the person exactly the way she would. The problem with this approach is that, rather than putting her own philosophy on the page, the student is merely repeating the thoughts and actions of another person. And since the point of an education is to get a good job, I always ask the offending student whom she would hire first, the artist with whom the style originated or the artist who manages a reasonable facsimile? The answer is almost always the same. Once I've established that understanding, however, I'm quick to point out that the means the favored artist employed to develop the style the student envies so much, are also available to her. I point out that by studying the foundations of artistic expression such as perspective drawing, anatomy and color theory the student can learn to render the world around her in a realistic and accurate fashion. Of course, in so doing, she will also make her own mistakes and her own philosophy and values will influence her work in ways too subtle for her to perceive. Once successful her work may still bear some resemblance to that of her idol but she will have found her own voice and her own workflow which will, most likely, be envied by another aspiring young artist and the cycle will begin all over again. Encourage students to find their own way The key to developing one's own unique workflow lies in the individual pursuit of one's craft. Merely imitating my workflow will turn a student into a poor copy of me. In order to develop a unique style and techniques a student must strike off on her own and make mistakes and achieve victories that are hers alone. That is why, once I've demonstrated my own workflow, I encourage my students to seek their own techniques and to use what I have taught them as merely a jumping off point for their own visions. If I've done my job well, the end result that my students achieve should be every bit as successful as my own but be completely unique to them as individuals in every other way.Measuring my effectiveness:
Assess myself publicly When I don't think I'm performing to my full potential I'll often point it out to my students. They usually jump at the chance to critique the person who critiques them constantly. If they agree with me, they are also usually quite honest and will point out something I've done or said in the past that was more successful and/or engaging for them in hopes that I'll employ the same techniques again. Create professional environments for my students By running projects in my spare time for my more motivated students that are focused on producing a professional level product I can witness, first hand, whether or not my instruction is having the desired effect. These projects exist outside of the traditional academic environment and are purely voluntary. The projects provide students with a professional environment where they can learn how to function as a team working towards a common goal. Within the projects students are much more engaged in critiques and design discussions because they have a stake in the final product being produced (their names will be in the credits along with everyone else). Within this meritocracy students tend to gravitate towards the areas of the production that they feel are their strengths. In some cases, they may find that they cannot produce work at the level they had hoped for and must reassess their skill set. When this occurs, the dedicated student, with the help of his peers on the production team along with myself and other instructors involved, must find other areas within the production where she can contribute and flourish as an artist or redouble her efforts in the area she has chosen. This process also allows me to gain a clearer picture of my students strengths, weaknesses and level of dedication to their chosen field. By observing this process I can also gain a clearer understanding of what areas I need to address more assertively in the classroom.Why I teach:
Humans traffic in information. It is what nourishes us, protects us, and elevates us above our fellow mammals. Instinctively we seek it out and our thirst for it is insatiable. Education provides human beings with a means to interpret, contextualize, and utilize information in ways that are essential to the continued survival of our species. Because of this fact, we are all forced to function as educators to some degree. Whether we're training our offspring to fend for themselves or providing driving directions to a lost motorist, the conveyance of information is an unavoidable part of human existence. Individuals who become educators take part in a sacred tradition that traces it's roots back to the very dawn of our existence. Educators act as a hedge against the blight of ignorance, intolerance, and violence that always waits at the edges of our fragile society. Those of us who choose to make it our profession simply make a much more conscious effort to succeed at our obligated task. We take the occupation to heart and we seek to spread the light of knowledge in ways that are far more efficient and successful than those of our fellow human beings. In so doing we accomplish two things. The first, is that we secure our own existence by earning a living wage. The second, is that, through teaching, we find our own purpose, our own identity, and our own means of contributing to the continued success or our society and, more importantly, our species.