The intellectual educator

In Fall 2015, Elizabeth read Lois Hetland’s Studio Thinking 2 while earning her B.S. in Arts Education at Kutztown University. Hetland’s book outlined eight studio habits of mind:

understand art worlds, reflect, observe, envision, engage and persist, express, stretch and explore, and develop craft.

After reflecting upon this framework, she saw a connection between her studio habits as an artist and her teaching method.

If these  habits were for artists in the studio then these studio habits had to be an integral part of my own art process. And since teaching is a work of art, these habits had to align with my teaching philosophy.

Thus the idea of an Intellectual Educator was born.

Learning to teach / teaching to learn

“Our care of the child should be governed, not by the desire to make him learn things, but by the endeavor always to keep burning within him that light which is called intelligence.”
— Maria Montessori
Envision
Develop Craft
Reflect
Observe
Express
Stretch & Explore
Engage & Persist
Understand Art Worlds

Intellectual Educator Philosophy

Student-Teacher Relationship

Teacher-self Relationship

I will assist students in better understanding the world by sharing writings and works from a variety of people and disciplines.

I will continue to gather new materials and resources to inspire my own work and the work students produce to better understand the world.

I will provide ample time for reflection  by utilizing sketch-journals with intrapersonal and interpersonal prompts.

I will continue to reflect on my life by maintaining a personal and professional journal.

I will demonstrate observational skills by observing the needs and wants of students and incorporating those into the curriculum.       

 I will observe the changing world and maintain flexibility in my own ideals and philosophy.

I will offer students time to envision their ideas and share their visions with others to generate productive conversation.                  

I will continue to envision my future as an educator and pursue my personal and professional goals I have set for myself and continue to set for myself.

I will encourage students to engage and persist by using inspiring and  helpful feedback.                

I will engage and persist to integrate my art into my professional life despite the many obstacles.

I will create a safe space for students to express themselves by setting standards for students to interact with themselves and others.                 

I will express myself honestly and respectfully to others.

I will respect students’ perspectives and ideas to maintain a space where they will respect others as they stretch and explore outside of themselves.       

I will find new experiences and communicate with new people to stretch and explore my perspective on life, art and education.

I will demonstrate the importance of developing craft by keeping their work safe and supporting them so they in turn take care of their work.                  

I will continue to develop the craft of utilizing these objectives inside and outside of my teaching environment.


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Art Process