Teaching Philosophy
My pedagogical approach is rooted in a lineage of innovative, interdisciplinary art education that treats diversity, equity, and inclusion as foundational values. As an undergraduate at the California Institute of the Arts (CalArts) in the 1980s and later as a graduate at the University of California, Berkeley (UCB), I entered the field during a vital pivot point of institutional critique and the shift from second-wave to third-wave feminism. While at CalArts, I interned at the Women’s Building in Los Angeles, working within the legacy of the Feminist Studio Workshop. This experience provided a direct counter-narrative, demonstrating how art education can operate as a reciprocal, communal endeavor. Immersing myself in critical theory, queer theory, and social practice taught me that traditional art studio education has historically functioned as an exclusionary space. I learned to view the classroom as a democratic ecosystem from studying with two distinct artists and mentors. Michael Asher (CalArts) taught me the significance of non-hierarchical, open-ended inquiry, while Kevin Radley (UCB) modeled generative, exploratory risk-taking. My role is to serve as a facilitator and guide, carefully navigating and deconstructing traditional hierarchies to ensure that students from a full spectrum of intersectional backgrounds realize autonomous creative agency.
During critiques, this collaborative model allows me to meet students where they are, helping them discover the disparity between their declared intention and material output. Drawing from Paulo Freire’s Pedagogy of the Oppressed, I cultivate a dialogical classroom environment where knowledge is co-created, explicitly recognizing that students enter higher education with vastly different levels of institutional privilege, prior arts exposure, and cultural capital. Here, the work of an art educator mirrors the artistic process itself: it is an ongoing interrogation of purpose. Inspired by Francis Bacon’s existential inquiry, "What are you trying to record?,” I challenge my students to closely examine what they are trying to capture and communicate. To decode and articulate the visceral energy of their creative impulses, I integrate critical reading and formal visual analysis into studio practice. Source material for this approach is showcased in Sylvan Barnet’s A Short Guide to Writing about Art and Mashey Bernstein and George Yatchisin’s Writing for the Visual Arts, which I often use to generate class lessons and discussion. By sharing these textual resources and collectively analyzing examples of diverse contemporary artists, I coach student-artists to identify their unique perspectives and gain the confidence to express their ideas both verbally and in writing. My goal is to validate their lived experiences within the context of current art discourse.
To ensure this rigorous inquiry is accessible, I design my courses around Universal Design for Learning (UDL) frameworks and participatory methodologies. Influenced by Dr. Nancy Chick's principles of feminist pedagogy, my classroom relies on iterative reflection, continuous revision, and relational feedback loops between teacher and learner. I look beyond a one-size-fits-all, “sage on the stage” approach to lecturing; instead, I align with Robert Greenleaf’s concept of servant leadership, using my role to elevate student voice by shifting the authority of meaning-making directly to the student-artists themselves. While this decentered approach can initially disorient students accustomed to traditional, top-down instruction, I deliberately scaffold this transition by guiding them to see that true growth requires internal self-examination rather than extrinsic replication. By applying Howard Gardner’s theory of multiple intelligences and Laurie Richlin’s course design blueprints, I build flexible, multi-sensory lessons that accommodate diverse learning modalities. Because of my training with the National Council for Mental Wellbeing, I understand how a flexible class structure can better support neurodivergent students or those managing trauma and systemic exhaustion. I purposely incorporate student-initiated rest breaks, maintain a low-stress environment, and, as appropriate, integrate physical movement activities into the lesson plan to sustain focus and support cognitive well-being.
In line with these values, my responsibility to higher education art students extends beyond the classroom; I aim to prepare them for sustainable, lifelong productive careers while actively addressing socioeconomic equity. I approach this by balancing conceptual experimentation with highly practical, effective strategies, introducing students to Twyla Tharp’s concepts of the "creative habit,” which treats routines, research, and ritual as essential tools. Equally important, I depart from the assumption that all students possess the economic privilege to navigate the art world intuitively; they must be equipped to confront its economic realities if they are to survive and thrive as self-directed working artists. By integrating into the curriculum free and low-cost professional development materials like Karen Atkinson’s GYST-Ink resource platform, I prepare students to navigate business aspects of the creative sector. Giving students access to legal templates, proposal mechanics, and strategic career planning guides ensures that marginalized students leave my classroom not only with a refined visual language, but also with a functional toolkit that increases their chances of successfully achieving economic independence in the dynamic art industry.
Bibliography
Atkinson, Karen. Getting Your Sh*t Together (GYST-Ink). Los Angeles, CA. https://www.gyst-ink.com/.
Baers, Michael. “Michael Asher (1943–2012): Parting Words and Unfinished Work.” e-flux Journal, no. 39 (November 2012). https://www.e-flux.com/journal/39/60293/michael-asher-1943-2012-parting-words-and-unfinished-work.
Chick, Nancy, ed. Feminist Pedagogy: Course Handbook of Principles, Theory & Applications. Nashville, TN: Vanderbilt University, 2015. https://library.cod.edu/guide_feministpedagogy/
Freire, Paulo. Pedagogy of the Oppressed. Translated by Myra Bergman Ramos. 50th Anniversary ed. New York: Bloomsbury Academic, 2018.
Greenleaf, Robert K. Servant Leadership: A Journey into the Nature of Legitimate Power and Greatness. Edited by Larry C. Spears. 25th Anniversary ed. Mahwah, NJ: Paulist Press, 2002.
Gardner, Howard. Multiple Intelligences: New Horizons. New York: Basic Books, 2006.
Radley, Kevin. “Artist Kevin Radley on Punk, Dada, and Trusting Your Instincts.” Interview by The Free Art School. YouTube, February 6, 2026. Video, 1:17:30. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4OrsLHkISAI.
Richlin, Laurie. Blueprint for Learning: Constructing College Courses to Facilitate, Assess, and Document Learning. Sterling, VA: Stylus Publishing, 2006
Tharp, Twyla. The Creative Habit: Learn It and Use It for Life. With Mark Reiter. New York: Simon & Schuster, 2003.
Walker, Rebecca. “Becoming the Third Wave.” Ms. Magazine, January/February 1992, 39–41.
© 2026 The Author, Janet Silk.
During critiques, this collaborative model allows me to meet students where they are, helping them discover the disparity between their declared intention and material output. Drawing from Paulo Freire’s Pedagogy of the Oppressed, I cultivate a dialogical classroom environment where knowledge is co-created, explicitly recognizing that students enter higher education with vastly different levels of institutional privilege, prior arts exposure, and cultural capital. Here, the work of an art educator mirrors the artistic process itself: it is an ongoing interrogation of purpose. Inspired by Francis Bacon’s existential inquiry, "What are you trying to record?,” I challenge my students to closely examine what they are trying to capture and communicate. To decode and articulate the visceral energy of their creative impulses, I integrate critical reading and formal visual analysis into studio practice. Source material for this approach is showcased in Sylvan Barnet’s A Short Guide to Writing about Art and Mashey Bernstein and George Yatchisin’s Writing for the Visual Arts, which I often use to generate class lessons and discussion. By sharing these textual resources and collectively analyzing examples of diverse contemporary artists, I coach student-artists to identify their unique perspectives and gain the confidence to express their ideas both verbally and in writing. My goal is to validate their lived experiences within the context of current art discourse.
To ensure this rigorous inquiry is accessible, I design my courses around Universal Design for Learning (UDL) frameworks and participatory methodologies. Influenced by Dr. Nancy Chick's principles of feminist pedagogy, my classroom relies on iterative reflection, continuous revision, and relational feedback loops between teacher and learner. I look beyond a one-size-fits-all, “sage on the stage” approach to lecturing; instead, I align with Robert Greenleaf’s concept of servant leadership, using my role to elevate student voice by shifting the authority of meaning-making directly to the student-artists themselves. While this decentered approach can initially disorient students accustomed to traditional, top-down instruction, I deliberately scaffold this transition by guiding them to see that true growth requires internal self-examination rather than extrinsic replication. By applying Howard Gardner’s theory of multiple intelligences and Laurie Richlin’s course design blueprints, I build flexible, multi-sensory lessons that accommodate diverse learning modalities. Because of my training with the National Council for Mental Wellbeing, I understand how a flexible class structure can better support neurodivergent students or those managing trauma and systemic exhaustion. I purposely incorporate student-initiated rest breaks, maintain a low-stress environment, and, as appropriate, integrate physical movement activities into the lesson plan to sustain focus and support cognitive well-being.
In line with these values, my responsibility to higher education art students extends beyond the classroom; I aim to prepare them for sustainable, lifelong productive careers while actively addressing socioeconomic equity. I approach this by balancing conceptual experimentation with highly practical, effective strategies, introducing students to Twyla Tharp’s concepts of the "creative habit,” which treats routines, research, and ritual as essential tools. Equally important, I depart from the assumption that all students possess the economic privilege to navigate the art world intuitively; they must be equipped to confront its economic realities if they are to survive and thrive as self-directed working artists. By integrating into the curriculum free and low-cost professional development materials like Karen Atkinson’s GYST-Ink resource platform, I prepare students to navigate business aspects of the creative sector. Giving students access to legal templates, proposal mechanics, and strategic career planning guides ensures that marginalized students leave my classroom not only with a refined visual language, but also with a functional toolkit that increases their chances of successfully achieving economic independence in the dynamic art industry.
Bibliography
Atkinson, Karen. Getting Your Sh*t Together (GYST-Ink). Los Angeles, CA. https://www.gyst-ink.com/.
Baers, Michael. “Michael Asher (1943–2012): Parting Words and Unfinished Work.” e-flux Journal, no. 39 (November 2012). https://www.e-flux.com/journal/39/60293/michael-asher-1943-2012-parting-words-and-unfinished-work.
Chick, Nancy, ed. Feminist Pedagogy: Course Handbook of Principles, Theory & Applications. Nashville, TN: Vanderbilt University, 2015. https://library.cod.edu/guide_feministpedagogy/
Freire, Paulo. Pedagogy of the Oppressed. Translated by Myra Bergman Ramos. 50th Anniversary ed. New York: Bloomsbury Academic, 2018.
Greenleaf, Robert K. Servant Leadership: A Journey into the Nature of Legitimate Power and Greatness. Edited by Larry C. Spears. 25th Anniversary ed. Mahwah, NJ: Paulist Press, 2002.
Gardner, Howard. Multiple Intelligences: New Horizons. New York: Basic Books, 2006.
Radley, Kevin. “Artist Kevin Radley on Punk, Dada, and Trusting Your Instincts.” Interview by The Free Art School. YouTube, February 6, 2026. Video, 1:17:30. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4OrsLHkISAI.
Richlin, Laurie. Blueprint for Learning: Constructing College Courses to Facilitate, Assess, and Document Learning. Sterling, VA: Stylus Publishing, 2006
Tharp, Twyla. The Creative Habit: Learn It and Use It for Life. With Mark Reiter. New York: Simon & Schuster, 2003.
Walker, Rebecca. “Becoming the Third Wave.” Ms. Magazine, January/February 1992, 39–41.
© 2026 The Author, Janet Silk.
Some thank you notes from my students.
