In the fall of 2018, the TAP trainees began writing our Teaching Artist philosophies. Writing my teaching philosophy was perhaps one of the most difficult things I had to write. However, the process of creating it helped me regain my vision and focus as a teaching artist. The process also allowed me to face my own fears and worries about artistry and teaching practice. I made the decision to be a teaching artist years ago, but I lost sight of why and how I am teaching. A Teac

As soon as I walked into my classroom with my mentors at New Directions Secondary School, I was bombarded with whoops and hollers as if I were just named Worst Actress of the Year. Was this the Golden Raspberry Awards? Far from it. [if gte vml 1]><v:shapetype id="_x0000_t75" coordsize="21600,21600" o:spt="75" o:preferrelative="t" path="m@4@5l@4@11@9@11@9@5xe" filled="f" stroked="f"> <v:stroke joinstyle="miter"></v:stroke> <v:formulas> <v:f eqn="if lineDrawn pixelLineWid

Reacclimating to a classroom setting can be challenging, especially if you haven’t been in a classroom in a while. As a new Teaching Artist, my experience with children is limited to babysitting and the six months I spent as a teacher’s assistant at a Head Start program back in 2009. I haven’t formally been a student since 2014, and it’s been even longer since I was in the 6th grade. When I walked through the front doors at P.S./M.S. 279 in the Bronx for the first day of my T