The path to becoming a teacher is paved with both theory and practice. While I’ve spent countless hours studying pedagogical approaches and child development, it's the real-world experience within a classroom that has fostered some of my deepest learning . My student teaching journey has been an invaluable opportunity to bridge this experiential gap, transforming my theoretical knowledge into practical application and solidifying my passion for art education.

The program offered a rich tapestry of experiences, exposing me to diverse teaching styles across four practicum placements. Each classroom presented a unique learning environment, showcasing how educators translate effective teaching practices into action. This exposure instilled in me a valuable understanding that even the same strategy can adapt to different needs and settings. Beyond my assigned placements, I actively sought opportunities to observe classrooms outside the program. These experiences broadened my perspective on classroom management, curriculum design, and student engagement strategies. Witnessing classrooms that embraced choice and student autonomy, even outside of explicitly choice-based spaces, further solidified my desire to cultivate a similar learning environment in my future classroom.

However, navigating a classroom environment requires more than just instructional strategies. My student teaching experience revealed the crucial importance of recognizing and responding to the nuanced dynamics within a class. I learned to adapt my approach based on the students' needs. Some classes thrived with frequent explicit instruction and guidance, while others functioned more autonomously, requiring me to act as a facilitator rather than a leader. This adaptability is an essential skill for any educator, and I honed it through constant reflection and adjustments throughout my placements.

One of the most significant challenges I have been working to solve has been expanding my use of formative assessment. While I implemented various assessment methods, I recognized the need to expand my skill set. To address this, I am actively exploring resources such as Harvard's Project Zero Thinking toolkit. This comprehensive approach, with its emphasis on established and research based routines and effective use cases, aligns perfectly with my vision for a choice-based classroom.

An important goal for me going forward is to develop a deeper understanding of trauma-informed teaching. The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, alongside my personal awareness of trauma's effect on learning, fueled my desire to cultivate a safe and affirming space for students. Exploring resources like webinars will equip me with the knowledge and skills to integrate trauma-informed practices seamlessly into my teaching philosophy. The most profound shift in my perspective resulted from the immersive experience of student teaching itself. Textbooks and research papers can only prepare you so much. Building relationships with students on a daily basis, witnessing their individual personalities and learning styles, was an invaluable lesson. The realities of classroom management, student behavior, and the balance between extending kindness and the benefit of the doubt and holding my high expectations were aspects I could never have fully grasped from theory alone. This immersion highlighted the crucial role teachers play in modeling appropriate boundaries and interpersonal relationships, acting as a model for how a safe adult interacts with a child for my students. It was an unexpected, yet rewarding, aspect of my experience

Throughout my placements, I had the privilege of building relationships with numerous students, interacting with hundreds of individuals. While I had countless experiences that left a lasting impression, I’d like to highlight two which had a profound impact on me. During my elementary teaching one student, who had become known for disruptive behavior in his classes, found his artistic voice through a clay project. I watched as he sat uncharacteristically quietly during instruction, wholly focused on watching my hands manipulate clay into a small pinch pot before engaging with gusto in the process himself, and then spontaneously exploring coil-building which I had only barely touched on during my demonstration. In that moment, I was immensely proud of this student, and had a very sudden sense of just how impactful the work of an art educator can be. At my secondary teaching site, I encountered a student who was initially apprehensive and distrusting of student teachers. At the end of my student teaching experience that same student expressed in my presence the personal challenges she was facing which were impacting her school life. I was surprised in the moment and yet honored that despite her past experiences, she demonstrated that she saw me as a safe and trustworthy adult in her life. I'm told she later expressed to another trusted staff member that she had appreciated that my projects let students express serious emotions, and more so that I had respected her desire to keep distance from student teachers at the beginning of our interactions.

Student teaching has been a period of intense growth for me, while also being a big confidence booster in my own abilities as a teacher. I’ve seen just a small portion of what teaching can entail, and yet I’m more excited than ever to learn and grow even further. I started my journey eager to provide a safe and affirming educational environment for students in my care, and all throughout I’ve found my enthusiasm and passion matched tenfold by my peers and mentors. It is a joy and a pleasure to take my next step and keep learning to be the best teacher I can be, and I don’t want to miss a thing!