Artful Living

Vision Statement

Children need to be taught to be whole human beings who will be able to grow up and contribute positively to society. So many of these little people experience hardship, trial, and life experience beyond their years. Many experience neglect, abuse, and rejection. They undergo bullying, loneliness, unrealistic expectations, challenging physical limitations and/or learning disabilities.

As I choose to send my own children off to school instead of homeschooling, I do so intentionally, hoping they will learn from knowledgeable adults who can teach them things that I as their parent cannot and knowing they will face unkind words, isolation, loneliness, exclusion, and failure. 

School is place for learning not just academics, but to gain the valuable education of social and life skills. When nurtured and mentored, school can be a place to learn how to get up again, how to stand up for a friend, and what to do when all you want to do is quit. There is so much more to getting an education than testing into an ALL program or getting an ACT score in the 30s. A true education will change the life of a child and in the words of WB Yeats, “Education is not the filling of a pail, but the lighting of a fire.”

As I envision my classroom, I picture a warm, welcoming, safe, orderly, creative, light, professional environment. I hope I will take the time for the small but important things such as a smile and greeting at the door when students enter the classroom, specific praise and recognition for a job well done, and implementing creative ways to teach ideas and concepts. I hope that I will use screens to teach and enrich and not to entertain or occupy. I hope that I will make the time for read-alouds, visiting with each child, and playing games outside with them. 

I want each child to feel seen, understood, and heard. I want them to know that they can trust me to accept them for who they are, to push them to what they are capable of, and to utilize effective teaching practices as I teach them various subjects. I want them to enter my classroom knowing that they are capable human beings with great potential and I want them to leave my classroom knowing that they are equipped with everything they need to succeed in life.