The first workshop felt very igniting. There was something very affirming about being in a room of people who all had the same worries and concerns about the future of higher education as a business while at the same time all of us needing a job. As a non-British person is appreciated the timeline exercise as it gave me useful context around university fees and steppingstones within equality.
Since then, I started thinking about things I have read that have helped me shape what kind of educator I want to be. I will admit that I am not an avid reader and that most of my expertise has come from years of community organising and facilitating workshops within a queer context.
Here are some examples of books that I feel are very formative to my role as an educator and reflections on why:
The book Centering by M.C Richards (1989) is a meditative exploration of the human body, clay as a material, but also contains chapters with reflections about teaching. The main point of advice that I have taken to my own practice is that
“In order to teach, you must be able to listen. You must be able to hear what the person before you means. You cannot assume the meanings and be a teacher.” (Richards, 1989, p. 21)
Making Comics by Lynda Barry (2019) is another piece of writing that has been very influential in the way that I teach drawing as a subject. In the book she presents a series of exercises that always bring an element of silly to learning. I like creating a more relaxed and humorous environment with students when working practically and I am pretty sure this will come across in any observed learning and during the upcoming microteaching day.
My final point of reference for recent reading is Anna Anthropy, who teaches game design at DePaul University College of Computing and Digital Media (CDM). In 2012 she released the book Rise of the Videogame Zinesters, which works as a guidebook for LGBT people who want to get into game design while also using it as a tool to challenge the social norms of the heteronormative scene in commercial game industries.
I hope to spend some more time with these books, but after spending the day re-reading parts of these texts I have created a list of goals that I want to uphold as a teacher working within a HE context.
Here are my key points:
- Accessibility is important to me. I want to be able to challenge experienced students while also making sure my lesson plans are easy to grasp for students who might struggle whether it is reading, language or just confidence.
- I want to make sure that I have a good understanding of equality around gender, race and class so that I can stand up for my beliefs with more confidence.
- I want to put student welfare above all, and make sure students can think for themselves and set goals with their art practice before thinking about grades.
- I want to learn how to bring my community organising ethos into my university teaching practice more. I think art schools can learn a lot from a more non hierarchal education model.
Bibliography:
Richards, M, C. (1989) Centering: in Pottery, Poetry, and the Person. 2nd edn. Conneticut: Wesleyan University Press.
Barry, L. (2019) Making Comics. 1st edn. Quebec: Drawn & Quarterly.
Anthropy, A. (2012) Rise Of The Videogame Zinesters. 1st edn. New York: Seven Stories Press.