Back
to Portfolio
Well, not much has changed since that art project. I'm still a little man and I still want to be a teacher. This elementary school art project represents in many ways my philosophy of education. Education and learning is an artistic experience. The classroom is the canvas and the brush is the instruction. And as an artist and a Social Studies teacher, I hope to create the ideal American citizen, in the same way the painters and sculptors of the renaissance attempted to create the ideal human. And like a renaissance artist I will persist in my efforts to create the ideal human, both in myself, and my students.
As an educator I will use a variety of colors in my classroom. These colors will match the learning styles of my students. I will use these colors to create a warm and caring learning environment, one that encourages curiosity and exploration. By varying my brush strokes, I will be able to reach both the traditional and the non-traditional learner. And like a painter, I will focus on the process of painting, teaching my students to master the different styles and methods of thinking. But in my classroom, the student will actively participate in the painting, learning by doing, watching their masterpiece spring to life. Like a master painter I will monitor the progress of my students as we create our fresco, directing the work and adding the fine details.
As a teacher, I am truly an artist. Like an artist I have a vision, a finished product in mind. And the student is the solid block of marble. Slowly, and carefully, I will chip away at the marble, taking something raw and transforming it into an object of beauty and form. To the artist, the blank canvas or the naked marble block is full of potential. And in my mind, every student has the potential to grow and learn. In my classroom, it will be the students who are my masterpiece.
Michael Fantauzzo/mikef@frontiernet.net
