Teaching in the words of W. B. Yeats is not just about the filling of a pail, it is much much more. As teachers we are required to impart knowledge, to provide students with the tools to progress through the educational system but to also to do this in a meaningful way that stimulates their curiosity, provokes their creativity and lights a fire under their desire to understand and know more. 

It is my strong view  that the relationship between the teacher and student/s is a collaborative one that is student centred and inclusive.

The art classroom is a microcosm where investigation and exploration of topics, creative process and artistic endeavour are intertwined with cross curricular links to science, literature and history and the macrocosm of society.

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My methodologies combine teacher demonstration, relevant artist/designer support studies, group discussion/work and peer learning. I place a strong emphasis on discovery learning through experimentation with materials and processes and encourage students to reflect on their research to inform their creativity. 

Margaret Mead once said, “Children must be taught how to think, not what to think”. We can produce artists who are technically and theoretically competent and send them on their merry way to third level education or a world outside of the classroom, but we must never lose sight of how we have been charged with the responsibility for shaping young minds to think for themselves. An education in Art provides students with a creative channel that allows them to grow emotionally, spiritually and academically in a social setting that also allows them to express their individuality at the same time. They will ‘know’ themselves and this understanding will provide them with a catalyst to change their world.