About Mrs. E,My Rationale, and Philosophy on Art Education

- About Mrs. E In and Outside of School

I am very privileged to be in a school like Harbins. What a beautiful facility and what outstanding support your children are receiving from some of the most amazing people I’ve met in the field of Education. Your child’s future is nothing to play around about and here at Harbins we have a lot of fun but we get into the business of learning.

Coming into my nineth year of education, my second at Harbins. I am amped and ready for an amazing year with new faces and soon to be new friends. I have added lots of new ideas and some new materials to our art room and so look forward to using those to add to the fun learning environment I feel I have to offer at Harbins for the up and coming school year.

I can say I have GCPS to thank for my love of education. I was born and raised in the Grayson cluster of Gwinnett County. I graduated from South Gwinnett in May of 1999. My husband, also a born and breed Gwinnett and graduate from the Dacula Cluster in 1996. He and I were wed in October 1999 shortly after my high school graduation. I even started college in Gwinnet at Georgia Perimeter, where I acquired my Associates in Education while working in state government. I had used Gwinnett to it's fullest, as far as education and had to transfer to the good ole red and black out in Athens to finish my four year degree. I commuted year round to Athens and worked locally with Gwinnett County Government until graduation in December of 2005 when I acquired a BFA in Photography. I was convinced early in my move to UGA to reconsider my interest in Education, after all that is what I started out to do. I researched the Art Education major and fell in love instantly with the program and the opportunities it presented. It was the best of both worlds that I loved and in my heart knew that was what I should be doing. So my love of Art and Art making and Education collided into a wonderfully surprising career choice. May of 2006 I graduated with a second degree in Art Education. Many ask if I will go back to school for a Masters…as my husband says, “She’s as smart as we want and need to afford right now.” However, now that our family is complete, it could be considered in the future if Mrs. Everett will forever and always be an elementary art teacher.

Marty and I celebrate fifteen years this year, but have been together for nineteen years! We live in Bethlehem. We have three children in our home. Our eldest son is a miniature poodle that thinks he is our human child; his name is Kacy and came to our family fourteen years ago. Our son was born in February of 2008 his name is Skyler and he attends Harbins as a first grader. Our Madisyn, is our three year old daughter. My husband and I spend most of our time together. We enjoy dinner dates with family and friends; we watch allot of movies, we have played on several sports teams together including volleyball and flag football in Gwinnett Rec. leagues. We love working in the yard and spending cool evenings in the park with a BBQ. I continue to use my first bachelor’s degree in photography to do side jobs when I get the itch. I still love taking artsy photos but find myself taking more and more portraits as my in home studio continues to grow. Marty has been in various rock bands over the last twelve years as a guitar player and sometimes takes the drum throne; I have photographed their shows. Skyler and Madisyn have now added a whole new lists of things that we enjoy doing...playing in the park, reading the same book over and over and finding new ways to make it more interesting, Any Super hero are his favorite things, and loves to dress up and use his imagination and Madisyn wants to do whatever it is that he is doing but is taking on Ballet as well. Madisyn is well on her way to four years old and growing up through doing things by herself. Blessed and enjoying family is how I spend my time outside of school.

How to think, not what to think! - My Rationale-

Somewhere along the way we have allowed the idea of perfection to be the expectation and as a result this idea is predominant in the minds of our children. This unfortunately contributes greatly to the lack of “thinking outside of the box” that we are beginning to see, students are more fearful now than ever of not getting the “right” answer. I take each opportunity possible to show students that mistakes and/or accidents are often much more fun and promote new ideas that may have not been otherwise. Often these “mistakes” are more effective for the child to learn a lifelong lesson versus creating a visually pleasing artwork that is “perfect” on the first try. I feel this lesson is one that begins to instill confidence in them when they make mistakes and push them to find a way to make a correction that looks like it was meant to be all along. This struggle to achieve perfection often times overwhelms young students but when they realize that success can be accomplished and have nothing to do with the final product, it is amazing at the ideas they share with each other, the work they can create and be proud of and the knowledge they take away as a result. A method of teaching “how to think."

I have enjoyed the lessons that called for me to work collaboratively with classroom teachers. While these lessons have become fewer and fewer with the demands of classroom teachers, I have begun to plan many lessons in my classroom in conjunction with AKS taught in the general classroom. I have an opportunity to use educational tools and information not usually used in the art room to promote a higher level of thinking and a realization for the students that art is all around us and is a vital part or our lives, just as the information in the general classroom. I am able to introduce them to the idea that math isn’t just important during math class. For example; They can use the skills of measuring to mix paint or guide them in where to place something in there artwork or use a grid to recreate a work of art or a portrait of themselves or others. I am able to show them that knowing the history of a person, a place, a time, or a piece of art is important to develop an understanding of why things are the way they are in present day and how decisions are made as a direct result of history. Those and many other writing and reading opportunities allow for the students to connect their general classroom education to the arts and ultimately, when they “get it,” to make connections in the world. This is our goal as educators, to provide them with a knowledge base that promotes their intellect and their social skills in order “to get it”, when it is time to enter the real world. The best way to start that is with little steps, one at a time, in the elementary school classroom.

Simplicity is the only way to be sure the light bulb clicks into the “on” position. For example, I introduce the idea of simplifying more complex shapes such as animals, people, and anything else they might want to draw, color, or paint instead of aiming for the exact representation, we look for shapes we recognize and are able to draw to make it look more like what are were hoping for. I then can quickly see their minds take on more and more ideas and their confidence grows with every line they place on the paper when they start to see it coming to life on their paper. After the initial drawings are complete, they want to add more. “Can I draw my hamster’s wheel? Can I put a Frisbee in my dog’s mouth?” “Can I draw my boat as a pirate’s ship?” “Can I add the roller coaster behind my family?” students begin to realize they can do it and they are ready to create as much as they can, as a result of this confidence. The student’s confidence builds and they are ready to move onto the next step needed in completing their masterpieces. In the end there is a look of delight on their faces, they are pleased to see what they created and don’t want to discard any part of their work because they are so excited to show it to their teachers, classmates, and families. The students are often shocked to see their finished works and share their success and failures with others. In the end, most students walk away having learned the “big idea” whether their hamster, boat, dog, or roller coaster looks like the real thing. They have learned the tools necessary to practice the skill and only get better with time.

My rationale and goal for any lesson is to promote confidence in the students by providing them with techniques to build to their arsenal of skills and show them they can do it on their own and especially how to be proud of their work and look at all parts of it as a success rather than only seeing the finished product as such. This is teaching them “how to think” for themselves, and not telling them “ what to think” all the time.



Philosophy of ART Education

We, as a society are putting more emphasis on teaching our children what to think rather than guiding them through how to think. As an educator I will strive to generate opportunities that promote a good work ethic through persistence in creative problem solving. I feel this and many of the skills that students are exposed to in the Art classroom can be beneficial to students in many aspects of their lives both in and outside of the classroom. Students must first learn who they are and become comfortable with that, they can then in turn begin to understand the responsibility that comes with this, to themselves and to others. I want to guide them in using this knowledge to have a confident voice not only in art, but in all aspects of their lives. I will achieve this through exposing students to the importance of knowing their limits and pushing themselves to exceed them. My mission as an art educator is to show students methods and techniques that promote experimentation and adaptations to establish their own understanding. By building my classroom on this premise, I will be opening learners to the importance of trial and error, an essential aspect of life, as well as art and how essential it can be for success. Helping them to realize their limits and gain the motivation and dedication they need to exceed those, to be successful is a goal I have as an educator. In the art classroom, there can be several solutions to a given problem and most of the time no one answer is the “right” one. This not only helps to promote problem solving through creative means but provides an occasion for students to gain confidence in themselves and their abilities. This will allow them to evaluate themselves and make the necessary adjustments to be more successful in the future. This also assists in generating a comforting and welcoming environment that supports a less competitive edge and focuses on a community of cooperative learners.

By taking the competitive edge out of the classroom and by allowing students to learn their limits, I expect to promote self -awareness and increase self esteem. I believe that confidence and acceptance of one’s self is the most important skill that one can be exposed to, and even more so, taught to use. I will show students the importance of working as a team but how it is essential that we can also think independently of one another. I will concentrate on making art an even playing field for all to have an equal opportunity to learn and excel. Most of the projects within my classroom will be focused on individuality, community and the relationships between the two. Through these lessons students will grow to be aware and confident of their strengths and the strengths of others. I believe that once students are confident in themselves, they also become aware of others and their need to be confident. This will promote respect and empathy for others.

I believe that the most important skills we teach our students are those that can be applied to other aspects of their lives. As an educator, I intend on building my career goals around the concepts of self and community. I plan to teach students the importance of knowing yourself and knowing where you fit in your community. What better way to do this than to teach the necessary skills for self-awareness and self-confidence and how those relate to everyone around them? All classrooms, not just art, should in my opinion be built on the understanding that we, as individuals, work together as a whole to make a difference. I hope to build a community of strong, independent thinkers who are confident in and aware of, those that surround them, through developing lessons that not only cover art curriculum but general classroom subjects and most importantly character education. I hope to always guide them to strive for their best and to look for the best in others.