Why I teach Art Online
One of my goals this year, was to fully show up.
A big part of showing up, means that I tell people what I do and why I do it. I’ve realized that a lot of people, maybe even you, don’t really know what I do. Part of this is because I have several jobs and the other part is that I often don’t tell people.
I was out with my husband, someone stopped me to tell me how much they loved my scarf, I said thank you, and practically ran away from them. My husband, was like, what are you doing? Did you even tell that person that you made your scarf, let alone that you design them, make them, and sell them?
I’m not going to talk about all of the things that I do today, but I do want to talk about being an Art Teacher. Teaching art was my first career goal and it’s the thing that everything else has branched off of. When I try to sum up everything that I do, it’s about empowerment through education.
I started teaching AP Art because it was a class listed on the schedule that was handed to me and I’m always up for a challenge.
I signed up and went to 5 days of training with the College Board and started pouring my time into researching and writing lesson plans. ( I kind of love writing lesson plans… don’t judge)
After teaching a few AP courses, I realized that I LOVED IT. And while I resigned from my 9-12 grade art teaching job, I decided to continue teaching AP art and Art History courses online.
AP Art classes are about making art and I believe that art matters and makes a positive difference in our world. I also believe that art is about learning to think in new and interesting ways. It’s about learning to ask questions and find answers. AND it’s about expressing yourself, which is such an important part of being a teenager.
One of my biggest frustrations, maybe it’s yours too, is when art gets pushed to the side, like it’s extra. Art is language that we all understand ( at different levels, yes). But we can all grasp basic emotions from works of art.
“Visual literacy is the ability to interpret, negotiate, and make meaning from information presented in the form of an image, extending the meaning of literacy, which commonly signifies interpretation of a written or printed text.” ~wikipedia
I teach AP art and Art History, and keep teaching it, because I see students finding their voice. I see students learning how to solve problems and think in creative ways that will help them, no matter their path in life.
Creative thinking can’t be automated
Registration for the 2020-2021 school year is now open.
PS: If you’re interested in art and creativity, but aren’t ready for AP, stayed tuned, I have some new shorter online courses and resources coming your way.