“My approach as an educator is to meet children where they are and help them grow into a greater version of themselves. I believe each child is special and brings such a unique story to the art studio, so fostering their growth by using their talents and treasures to steer my curriculum is powerful for student engagement and empowerment. My curriculum is designed to be extremely inclusive of all students that I serve; celebrating their cultures, heritage, paying homage to their stories and lived experiences, inspiring voice and agency, challenging thought, and sparking a light within them to be art agents for change. Art projects are open-ended, infused with choice and challenge, inspired by the stories of artists, connected to culture, aligned with world events, integrated with technology, literacy-inspired, exploratory of materials, and grounded in learning techniques through the beautiful process of making. The art studio is draped in student thoughts about arts, art vocabulary words, career path information, photos of diverse artists, and student work. The space offers flexible seating options where students can create art in various locations in the studio with adaptive tools and material choices so every student feels supported. I have found these approaches to be very successful in helping students find their way and their voice in my class”
-Shani Perez-Anthony
