Summary of Main Points of Chapter 1: What will I teach?

I thought this chapter was perfect for all the questions I have. I loved how the book addressed that we need to have a solid knowledge base of our craft in order to teach with confidence in the classroom. This will give us the ability to better break down the knowledge in order to create scaffolding for our students. As we create scaffolding for our students it will create an atmosphere of deeper learning and more like an artists studio of investigative study.

I hadn't thought of it before but it mentions how teaching artists believe that they have to set aside their artists identity when entering into the classroom. I think that is completely untrue, our students need an artist who can show them what it is like to be an artist outside the classroom. To give the students real applicable knowledge for when they leave our classroom. We need teachers who are willing to guide students to make their work deeper, more interesting, and original.

I liked the idea in the book that talks about having a concrete idea about what you want to teach. And then you will be able to see how it relates to other disciplines. I love how it says other disciplines! Because that is what art is. Its about making connections to the outside world, and having the knowledge of other disciplines to better understand the materials. As we become concrete and gain deeper knowledge it will only expand our understanding and out capacity to teach.