Being twenty is really kind of a weird thing. I mean, ten years ago I was only ten years old, and in ten years from now...
In 2025, I am just about to turn 31, entering into my eighth school year as an art teacher. I work at a small public special education school somewhere between Pennsylvania and Virginia. My hair is cut into a shaggy light brown bob with a little peek of a bright color showing through in a streak. I wear large plastic framed glasses with a faux-pearl necklace peeper-keeper chain. I usually come to work wearing a tea-length skirt or dress with some fun patterned stockings, usually with a sweater when the weather allows. My patterns never match but I still manage to avoid that “got dressed in the dark” look. My students have come to know me by my colorful array of craft aprons which I change regularly. I will often change my apron colors by season or by event, and the students love that I get just as into school spirit week, wacky hairdo day, and pajama day as they do.
My classroom is small, but not too small; there is still room for all my supplies and tables, as well as enough room to maneuver a wheelchair comfortably. My room is air conditioned (thank goodness) with a thermostat that I can change as needed. The tables in my room are specially designed to easily morph to accommodate each artist’s needs. It can move up and down to work while sitting, while in a wheelchair, or while standing. The tabletop can light up to serve as a tracing light box, swivel to an angle to become a drafting table, and, finally, small parts of the tabletop can be folded up and linked together to create an artists’ easel. My main priority is versatility in being able to anticipate and provide for the needs of my students.
There are four walls in my rectangular classroom. One of the large walls is completely covered in easily accessible shelves to hold relevant art supplies, and less accessible cabinets to hold the supplies which are not in use. The room has a fairly low ceiling to keep echoes to a minimum and to keep easily-overwhelmed students feeling cozy.
The far large wall is entirely windows to allow for natural light to come into the tiny studio. Some of my students will love the windows, and some will hate them, so there are also drapes and overhead lighting that can be used accordingly.
A third wall, situated in front of a small carpeted area, consists of an interactive touch screen. This touch screen is large and advanced enough to allow multiple students to use it at once to draw, play, or browse. I would use the screen to show demonstrations, allow the children to play around with some digital art making tools, and even to act as a speech-to-text medium for my students with hearing impairments.
The last far wall has some more storage and a door that leads to a clay room. I would have six throwing wheels arranged in a tight circle to ensure I have eyes on all of my students at once while they are throwing. There is a long table along the side of this room which is covered with canvas wedging fabric. Each class I will set out the appropriate tools as needed so as not to endanger any of the students who may not be ready to use that particular tool. At the back of this room next to the sinks is a closet with a ceramics kiln inside of it, accessible only to myself or my peers.
The floors of my classroom are sturdy, well-worn linoleum, with some stains and ghosts of art projects past. The colors are soft, not that gross, stereotypical, vomitous brownish-orange "doctors say kids need neutral tones in order to learn" color. I have to assume that students with all sorts of needs will be passing through my studio, and I need to be sensitive even to the needs of the students I haven’t had yet. Non-stressful colors are needed for the students with anxiety problems, but colors with interest are needed for the students who easily become restless and bored. My compromise is a nice, light, lavender-y grey color with a darker but very simple trim (not unlike the layout of this blog... I guess I have a style I gravitate towards).
My classes consist of students ranging from ages 3 to 21. Mostly the students are separated into classes of 5 but sometimes there can be 6 to a class. The classes are not separated by age but more by maturity and ability, as well as by disability. My students are diverse, not only in their race and gender, but also in their abilities and needs. My students have a range of disabilities, and each child must be treated as an individual. I understand where my students’ needs are, and I adhere to the student’s individualized learning goals in as many ways as possible during the course of the class.
As I see my students improve and grow older and become adults, I can only hope that I taught them something. I hope they learned to be confident, creative, and kind while in my classroom. The goal of my education pedagogy is student based, not book based or test based. I want the students to learn how it feels to make something and be proud of it. I want to give them the art making skills to expand on their communication both to others and to themselves.
My classroom is small, but not too small; there is still room for all my supplies and tables, as well as enough room to maneuver a wheelchair comfortably. My room is air conditioned (thank goodness) with a thermostat that I can change as needed. The tables in my room are specially designed to easily morph to accommodate each artist’s needs. It can move up and down to work while sitting, while in a wheelchair, or while standing. The tabletop can light up to serve as a tracing light box, swivel to an angle to become a drafting table, and, finally, small parts of the tabletop can be folded up and linked together to create an artists’ easel. My main priority is versatility in being able to anticipate and provide for the needs of my students.
There are four walls in my rectangular classroom. One of the large walls is completely covered in easily accessible shelves to hold relevant art supplies, and less accessible cabinets to hold the supplies which are not in use. The room has a fairly low ceiling to keep echoes to a minimum and to keep easily-overwhelmed students feeling cozy.
The far large wall is entirely windows to allow for natural light to come into the tiny studio. Some of my students will love the windows, and some will hate them, so there are also drapes and overhead lighting that can be used accordingly.
A third wall, situated in front of a small carpeted area, consists of an interactive touch screen. This touch screen is large and advanced enough to allow multiple students to use it at once to draw, play, or browse. I would use the screen to show demonstrations, allow the children to play around with some digital art making tools, and even to act as a speech-to-text medium for my students with hearing impairments.
The last far wall has some more storage and a door that leads to a clay room. I would have six throwing wheels arranged in a tight circle to ensure I have eyes on all of my students at once while they are throwing. There is a long table along the side of this room which is covered with canvas wedging fabric. Each class I will set out the appropriate tools as needed so as not to endanger any of the students who may not be ready to use that particular tool. At the back of this room next to the sinks is a closet with a ceramics kiln inside of it, accessible only to myself or my peers.
The floors of my classroom are sturdy, well-worn linoleum, with some stains and ghosts of art projects past. The colors are soft, not that gross, stereotypical, vomitous brownish-orange "doctors say kids need neutral tones in order to learn" color. I have to assume that students with all sorts of needs will be passing through my studio, and I need to be sensitive even to the needs of the students I haven’t had yet. Non-stressful colors are needed for the students with anxiety problems, but colors with interest are needed for the students who easily become restless and bored. My compromise is a nice, light, lavender-y grey color with a darker but very simple trim (not unlike the layout of this blog... I guess I have a style I gravitate towards).
My classes consist of students ranging from ages 3 to 21. Mostly the students are separated into classes of 5 but sometimes there can be 6 to a class. The classes are not separated by age but more by maturity and ability, as well as by disability. My students are diverse, not only in their race and gender, but also in their abilities and needs. My students have a range of disabilities, and each child must be treated as an individual. I understand where my students’ needs are, and I adhere to the student’s individualized learning goals in as many ways as possible during the course of the class.
As I see my students improve and grow older and become adults, I can only hope that I taught them something. I hope they learned to be confident, creative, and kind while in my classroom. The goal of my education pedagogy is student based, not book based or test based. I want the students to learn how it feels to make something and be proud of it. I want to give them the art making skills to expand on their communication both to others and to themselves.