After working at Far West for almost two semesters, I now feel like I am getting to know the school and the students. At first I felt like a visitor and now I feel like I am part of their community. One of the biggest challenges while at Far West has been getting the students to trust and like me. Working with the students at Far West has shown me that teaching art is more than just creating lesson plans and reciting information. Through interaction with the kids I have learned about their interests and I see how Tonia creates lessons surrounding subjects that engage the students.
I recently designed and taught my first lesson, with support from Tonia. I created a painting unit where each student was responsible for bringing in a picture that they would later transfer to a larger piece of paper and would paint. Initially the students were not too please with the slide show that I had created to excite them. I showed them examples of artwork from various artists such as Diebenkorn, Stella, Basquiat, Degas, and others. I loved the honesty the students gave me when I asked them what they thought of my presentation. Many thought it was very boring. However, once the students started painting it was pleasently surprising to see the students' curiosity surrounding the new medium they had been introduced to physically. Students who would not normally do their work did several paintings and fourished in this unit. It was nice to share the same kind of excitement for painting with the students at Far West.
Overall this semester has been an even larger learning experience for me because the students have started to let me in and allow me to get to know them.
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