Teaching Philosophy

 

I regard teaching as a service. I tell my students on the first day and throughout the semester that I am present to serve their educations, not dictate their progress. I see my role as a facilitator of knowledge and a participant in students' evolution as practicing artists.

​

I also view the educational experience as a type of ongoing narrative. The story of an education evolves from conversation between the instructor and student, providing the basis of the narrative. Clarity, understanding, and respect in that conversation
provide the learning environment – the framework in which the story develops.

As an teacher, I want to ensure foundational skills, giving students a solid baseline from which to vault their
imaginations. Invention happens by a thorough understanding of basic principles. I want to encourage that invention and
foster and facilitate a learning environment that helps students to be self-aware, to question, to make mistakes, to grow,
and to continue to learn beyond the denouement at the end of a class period, project, semester, or commencement.