Learning to Teach
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visual arts dance Heidi Miller music The Drama League Karla Robinson theatre TATIP Teaching Artist Training & Internship Program training Tanya Gupta Scott Lilly Artist Maps piano media arts Patti Chilsen Katie Rainey share trainees Multiple Intelligences Creative Elements public school poetryIt has been four days since our last Teaching Artist Training & Internship Program (TATIP) class, and I am still amazed by how much we have learned and how much I’ve been able to implement in my after school classes with Kindergarten - 2nd grade students. Last Saturday our six-week seminar came to a close, and it has been an experience I’ll never forget. Each seminar was extremely empowering, providing all of us with insight on how to work with children of various ages in a classroom setting. Learning such a variety of techniques, and skills through the seminars and field work has prepared me to become a more confident teaching artist.
Last month I started my internship with Community-Word Project’s 3rd grade poetry & visual arts class at PS 84 in Williamsburg. In the weeks to follow, I observed and grew to admire the hard work, creativity, and dedication of both Felipe Galindo and Phyllis Capello, the teaching artists I have been observing. Thus far the class has been learning about multiple different writing techniques for poems.
While learning about metaphors with the 3rd graders, I was intrigued by the creativity and imagination of the students. As I walked around observing the classroom, my attention was drawn to Phyllis as she was helping a student to pick a word or topic and a metaphor to go with it. She asked him if he had an idea. He replied “Aspen” but he couldn’t give an example of a metaphor to create about those mountains. Phyllis suggested an idea, painting the picture of a dangerous slope in the cold mountains. He responded right away with a “No! I got it actually” and continued to say his metaphor: “The Aspen slopes are milky rivers.”
The imagery the student created and his quick response has stuck with me the past few weeks, as it is a reminder of how creative the kids are if encouraged properly! I’ve been teaching classes for Kindergarten - 2nd grade while partaking in the TATIP seminars and internship and have been able to implement a lot of the teachings directly. All of these experiences combined have made me realize that children are much smarter than most people give them credit for, and I am truly excited to be continuing this journey with TATIP and as a teaching artist.
-Tanya Gupta, Visual Artist, TATIP Trainee
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