Confessions of a Choice-Based Art Teacher.

I must admit, it has been 365 days since my last confession (blog post). I am writing today to update you about some of the changes that have been going on with my teaching and philosophy. The last year has certainly brought about lots of change both theoretically and physically in my classroom. I was lucky enough to attend the NAEA conference in March. It was there that I learned about the TAB (teaching artistic behavior) art culture. There are many art teachers out there that follow a TAB frame of mind when approaching art. I immediately knew that the minute I stepped foot back into my classroom everything would be different. I went to as many sessions as I could about this choice-based art philosophy. Where teachers were merely facilitators of the artistic process and the students were the designers. I became fascinated with this idea. I immediately began to read enough information about this philosophy so that I had a ground to stand on.

My first attempts with TAB came directly after the conference. I transparently announced to my students about my intentions. They thought it sounded amazing. With their blessing I began to transform the classroom from teacher directed lessons to student choice art. Each day began with a short demonstration and everyday until the end of the year we tried different techniques and tools all while students designed and created artwork that met our standards.

Tomorrow embarks the first day of this year's TAB journey. I will keep you informed and updated on how things are going and epiphanies that occur with such a paradigm shift.