Teaching Philosphy

I have known the maxim "knowledge is power" and known its truth my whole life. As an educator, I seek to empower my students and provide them with an education that will advance their opportunities to lead effective, and informed lives. In my practice, I am guided by the values of literacy, efficacy, and participation.

Art has the ability the reach people and develop their literacy, therefore empower them through knowledge, communication, and agency.The ideology of Paulo Freire as he outlines in Pedagogy of the Oppressed envisions a libratory education and has inspired me greatly as a student and future teacher. On the importance of education to the achievement of a more progressive society and liberated people, Freire said: "This pedagogy makes oppression and its causes objects of reflection by the oppressed, and from that reflection will come their necessary engagement in the struggle for their liberation."₁ In his practice as an educator and activist, Freire's adult literacy program and the popular culture movement put on popular festivals, performances, and arts in poor areas. Furthermore, a pupil of Freire, an educator, and activist in her own right, Ana Mae Barbosa, used art to teach literacy to children. In my own life living in Dakar, Senegal and New Delhi, India, I have witnessed how public murals serve as educational devices for the illiterate. The ability of art to communicate effectively and teach literacy is one I seek to highlight in my practice. Visual mediums are highly engaging and I believe that they are a powerful gateway for students to be in dialogue with the world. In my practice, I want to use visual art as a component of literacy so that my students, whether young, illiterate, or disabled, are empowered to be present in dialogue, both as listeners and creators. One way I seek to do this is by employing non-aural senses like kinesthetic movement, visuals, and occupation of the space to engage student literacy on a level relevant to them, their existing comprehension, and energy. Another means I intend to connect, communicate, and understand with my students is with media. For example, comics and zines are accessible mediums students may be familiar with that they can use to express themselves and develop their written comprehension skills alongside their creativity and art skills.

It is my belief that a sense of progression and feeling of achievement are necessary to generate in students, and that the role of a teacher is to guide, not corral, students to these conclusions and the acquisition of knowledge & experiences. In Bill Ayers book To Teach: The Journey, in Comics, he writes that "I might more honestly and joyfully think of myself as an explorer on a journey with my students, a voyage of discovery and surprise" as opposed to a "master and commander…poised with complete confidence, in charge and in control".₂ I too relate to the role Ayers assumes, in that I see my role as a leader and educator being a supportive one, not a controlling one. Amidst the age of AI, a multitude of discussions are taking place about AI in the hands of educators and students, and its effect. As researched by MIT₃, AI-generated and AI-assisted student work is associated with lower ownership on the part of the students. Students and teachers alike increasingly outsource their thinking to AI, the repercussions of which are beginning to manifest in the sentiments of alienation, laziness, and displacement. To speak to my own experience, completing a project, especially creative ones, has given me a sense of accomplishment and autonomy. It is this feeling that I believe should be experienced in classrooms everywhere as young people learn, gain their footing, and mold their lives. Because I seek to recognize the autonomy and ability of students, I believe that the tenets of a Reggio Emilia classroom can be implemented to serve this need. Reggio Emilia classrooms showcase the visual output, progress, and thinking of students in the physical space they inhabit. This manifests a sense of ownership, accomplishment, and ability to recognize their own progression in students. Additionally, standards of perfectionism, which can be detrimental when forced upon kids, corrode the ability to explore. As a teacher, I would like for students to own their thinking and production without anxiety for consequences. As such, I would implore students to brainstorm by giving them one prompt at a time and then (after a set amount of time) move on to the next item. This can also look like allowing students to observe an artwork on its own without commentary and context, allowing them to develop their skills of analysis and interpretation. Students should be made to feel that they posses efficacy, and that they are empowered to make change for the better.

Art objects have the capacity to deal with generative themes. As an educator, I hope to involve these themes into my classroom. Generative themes are a participatory way to investigate change in society via what is pertinent to the community and achieve fulfillment through what is explored in an educational setting. They are apart of Paulo Freire's ideology in Pedagogy of the Oppressed. When dialogue centers generative themes, participants are empowered to investigate the theme, and therefore, themselves and their capacity for progress. Art and project can respond to a prompt or generative theme, providing the opportunity for open dialogue where the art is a vehicle for investigation, and therefore participation and change. The creation and viewership of art objects is central to the art classroom and I believe that interacting with art in a meaningful way can increase the consciousness of students, including to themselves, their community & surroundings, and the world. In my classroom, I aspire to ignite students curiosity and participation by beginning class with a question or presentation (without commanding instructions), which sparks thought, discussion, and student-oriented analysis. It's important to me that this is done with minimal direction, so that the output of the students best represents them. Representation is very important to me as a teacher and I hope that an additional mode I can empower my students is by showcasing artists and activities that relate to their lives. I believe that my study of art history and involvement in local art scenes and places is a background that's well suited to probing into meaning in a way that's relevant to students' lives. My goal as an art teacher is to connect students with art at institutes at the VMFA and open their eyes the the possibilities of creative expression, including as a means to gain knowledge and make the world a better place.

Ultimately, I aspire for my classroom to be space where students are empowered through what knowledge they learn, as well as how and where they learn. I believe that by creating an environment prioritizing literacy, autonomy, and representation vests power and important skills in the hands of students for them to achieve great things and their own betterment.

1. Freire, P. (2014). Pedegogy of the Oppressed: 30th Anniversary Edition (M. Berman Ramos, Trans.). Continuum International Publishing Group Inc. (1970)
2. Ayers, B. (2010). To Teach: The Journey, In Comics. Teachers College Press.
3. Kos’myna, N (n.d). Your Brain on ChatGPT: Accumulation of Cognitive Debt when Using an AI Assistant for Essay Writing Task. MIT Media Lab. Retrieved December 5, 2025, from https://www.media.mit.edu/publications/your-brain-on-chatgpt/