Growing up, I watched my father, a college professor, speak to diverse audiences.  He was an engaging teacher, knowledgeable and enthusiastic about his subject.  His example showed me that good teaching was a complex skill involving: humor, delivery, metaphor and analogy, as well as mastery of a subject.  I strive to incorporate these qualities in my own teaching.

 

I failed both second and third grade.  I am a dyslexic.  This experience has made me a better teacher; I empathize with the challenges that many of my student’s face.  I create assignments that encourage the student’s critical and imaginative capabilities while also developing their facility with tools and materials.  These exercises resemble games. They are designed to elicit a sense of creative play.  The classroom should be an interactive environment that challenges and provokes students to reach beyond their expectations.

 

I use many of these game exercises in my own studio to generate ideas and momentum.  Watching my students play these games often gives me new ideas.  Working alone, or with other mature artists and teaching all feed each other in an ongoing process of experimentation and discovery.  I believe all good teaching is collaborative.