Artistic "Freedoms" (Academic Environment)

My views of what makes a good teacher are closely tied to my thoughts on mutual respect.  The freedom and flexibility that will be allowed in my classroom will be based on whether or not my students exhibit respect for me, each other, the classroom equipment/materials, and the assignments given.  The more respect exhibited, the more freedom of choice my students will have.  This will not be difficult to do!  I am a fun and easy-going person, as well as patient and understanding.  I plan to strike a balance between seriousness and humor -- producing and discussing art should be pleasurable and informative.

My standards will be high, and I will expect my students to work hard to reach the goals I set.  As I have said before, my class will build on skills and information necessary to complete assignments.  Another way of putting this, and something that is probably obvious, is that the assignments at the end of the year will be considerably more challenging than the ones at the beginning.  This should not be intimidating.  Everything I expect of my students will be covered and understanding of the material will be achieved.

I guarantee that the students leaving my class at the end of the year will have a greater understanding of Art and Art History, a more highly defined technical skill, and the ability to analyze and critically discuss what they see.