TEACHERS' DAY SPECIAL FEATURE

".. my journey as an art educator has been

     and will continue to be very rewarding..!"

Lowell Dean Farlow
Art & Design Department
ACS (Independent)

Life is a journey where we experience, observe, investigate, explore, and discover as we travel through the ever-changing landscape. In my case, this journey propelled me into a God-given calling, a calling to facilitate change, challenge, and transformation in others traveling a similar path. It is a calling to nurture creativity and critical thinking through teaching the visual arts. This journey so impacted, enriched, and changed my life as a young creative mind that it became a passion to facilitate, equip, and nurture other creative minds to engage with and respond to their surrounding stimuli. This passion to facilitate the unlocking of powerful new dimensions of learning and expression thereby enhancing the students’ journey from the familiar into unexplored territory continues to be enriched by the ongoing rich creative experiences of my own journey.

As a teacher, one of my most important mindsets is to see the potential in every student and facilitate his or her ability to realize that potential. It is crucial for me to believe in my students and challenge them to change their own status quo as they continue their journey of transformation. One aspect of my calling is to nurture and facilitate the creative process and its ability to transform the way the students think as each one navigates his or her own unique path.

The real key is what is happening while they journey. What are they exploring and discovering along the way? What kind of data/information is being collected and how are they responding to it? Are they aware of all the bits and pieces in context? Are they able to unplug these bits and pieces from their context and rethink possibilities? Do they understand how to select, integrate, and creatively use both mental and visual building blocks? Are these inquisitive, creative minds experiencing a new liberty to select, arrange, and assemble something fresh, different, unexpected, and new? Are they experiencing a new freedom to explore and to discover new relationships, new plug-ins, new connections that are now harnessed to “what if” personalities?

Core to my pedagogy is a strong belief that every student is capable of understanding and engaging in visual literacy and the creative process. Students must learn to take ownership of their creative processes and determine what route, what points of interest, and what destination will unlock new dimensions of vision and imagination as they journey. This approach to art education has been and continues to be a challenge, a challenge that I enjoy and one that is very enriching. After all these years, I am more determined than ever of its validity, centrality, practicality, and that I am on the right track. My call and my journey as an art educator has been and will continue to be very rewarding as I have the privilege to usher creative minds into a new world of possibilities in the 21st century here in Singapore and the world beyond. 

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