Sydney Nekoroski

Both the brain and the heart stretch when people experience art. My teaching philosophy is centered around my desire to offer my students experiences with art that will assist them in becoming empathetic, curious, and culturally conscious human beings.

Observing art using thinking routines, experimenting with materials, developing ideas, and reflecting on these art experiences are top priorities in my classroom. I encourage my students to build their creative and critical thinking skills by thoughtfully engaging with and making art. I strive to incorporate joy, criticality, skill development, and intellectualism into every lesson, while also considering my students interests, perspectives, and needs.

I believe in working with my students to uncover content in a way that frames the information as possibilities to their own questions and curiosities. I consider my relationship with my students as a learning partnership in which my students have the opportunity to strengthen their abilities to advocate for themselves. My role is to guide my students down their own path to learning through art.

My art classroom is a safe space for students to genuinely express themselves, share their opinions, give each other thoughtful and constructive feedback, and have fun. I provide my students with respect and affirmation so that they know they are safe and seen within my art classroom. By creating this safe environment, my students will recognize that mistakes and failures are positive learning experiences that are not to be discouraged.

In my art classroom, I give my students permission to slow down. In a world filled with societal and technological pressure of immediacy and rapidity, I encourage my students to have an awareness of time and patience as a medium of learning. Taking the time to develop questions and ideas thoroughly, apply skills and creative problem solving when making art, and reflect on the art making process are important elements to my teaching philosophy.