WHY TEACH? WHY ART? WHY IN SCHOOL?

I chose to become a teacher because I believe in empowering young people to contribute their unique strengths and diverse dreams to the enrichment of the collective story of humanity in our common pursuit of knowledge and wisdom through the arts and sciences.

I chose to teach art because, as an artist, I am passionate about art’s power to promote empathy in both its creation and appreciation to meet the challenges of our multicultural, post-industrial, information age.

I chose to teach art within the community of a school because school at its most ideal is egalitarian and supportive: an intentional community dedicated to the success of each individual student, no matter their background or means, supported by peers and mentors within a proven and accessible infrastructure.

AS AN IMMIGRANT OF COLOR AND AN ARTIST WITH AN ACTIVE ART PRACTICE, WHAT DO I BRING TO THE TEACHING PROFESSION?

To the profession I bring my trans-oceanic experiences as a first-generation Filipino-American immigrant as well as the compassionate heart and the playful mind of an artist with an infectious enthusiasm for art.

Having moved to the United States just months before I began high school, not only have I lived a significant chunk of my life in a sociocultural context foreign to most in American society, but I am particularly sensitive to the challenges of being an outsider in a social context that seems to demand conformity.

As more children enter our schools who are immigrants of color like myself, my identity puts me in the unique position to be a visible role model to young people finding their place in the exciting diversity of American society.

I hope that my personal pursuits for excellence in the art world as an artist dedicated to my craft will inspire my students to be the best they can be in whatever discipline they choose to become their life’s passion. 

HOW DO I ENVISION MY RESPONSIBILITY, MY TEACHING, AND MY CLASSROOM?

I will use my particular capacity as an art teacher to advocate for all my students, empowering them to understand others and helping them find the voice to be understood, especially where language or social differences might otherwise impose barriers, as art transcends languages and cultures, inviting voices of many colors and providing the means to feel for each other more deeply in our shared humanity.

I will enter my role as a teacher with humility, emphasizing the pursuit of art not as a pursuit of absolute answers that a master might possess, but an exploration of questions posed by a community of learners, including myself as teacher, that drives our lives ever forward and ever more harmonious with the rich diversity of experiences that beautify our world.

Finally, the doors of my classroom will not only be open to invite students into a safe space for a nurturing community to flourish within, but open to invite students out into the world to apply their explorations to contexts outside the classroom, to converse in thoughtful sincerity with differing points of view, and to consider their unique contributions to the evolving story of humanity as a whole.