Attending this conference really gave a better insight on teaching and that I am not alone as a teacher nor will I ever be alone. During the conference I was amazed on how many art educators there were in this state, possibly even more considering those who could not attend. I created new connections not only with other attendees, but with some speakers as well. While attending the Maker’s Market I was approached by a speaker and we discussed how amazing the conference is as well as how beneficial being an art educator is. The abilities I was able to gain from attending was just making sure your students are comfortable with you and the classroom. If they are comfortable, they will blossom and flourish in the class. Another ability I was able to gain was being okay with making mistakes, every speaker talked about their mistakes and it just made me realize that I am allowed to make mistakes as a teacher. Not only did I gain abilities, I gained confidence. Seeing how many people there were, how many sessions were there just about art education boosted my confidence that I have so many resources and people to go to for help. This also increased my passion for teaching, the sessions I attended inspired me to be the best art teacher I can be and applying what I’ve learned in these sessions in my future classroom. Attending this conference made me a happy camper because in the university I transferred from, there were not many resources for art educators. We were just pushed together with all the education majors and expected to figure things out. It made me very grateful to be given this opportunity that I recommend other art education majors to take as well.
Elsbeth Bandli's Conference Experience
I feel beyond fortunate to have been chosen to attend the WAEA Conference this fall. During the conference, I gained knowledge that will make a life-long impact on my personal teaching philosophy, pedagogy, and practice as an art educator. The sessions that I attended and the conversations that I had with others in the field provided me with a unique and new perspective of how I can best continue to learn and grow as a pre-service art educator. The amount of helpful information and resources that I left the conference was overwhelming… in a good way! I am excited to implement some new protocols and practices at Children’s Art Club, during practicum and student teaching, and eventually in my future classroom. I truly believe that continuous learning is an essential part of being an educator and staying involved with WAEA is an important part of that learning experience which is why I want to continue my participation in NAEA even after graduation. In addition to the educational benefits that I received as a result of attending the conference, I also felt that my well-being was enriched as a result of attending the conference. Interacting with other professionals in the field gave me more confidence to continue on my path toward becoming an art educator because it made me feel supported and cared about in this profession. This support encourages me to stay committed to art education despite the challenges that come with being an educator. Not only did I feel supported by experienced educators, but I also felt supported by other art ed students. Sharing my experience with other pre-service educators from other schools helped me to expand my connections in the art education community. As Tiffany Beltz, one of the Conference Co-Chairs stated in a pre-service session, “WAEA is your tribe, your people.” I could not agree more. Being surrounded by art educators for a whole two days made me feel empowered by my decision to become an art educator, and I cannot wait to spend my life learning alongside my fellow teachers and future students.
Lauren Dillinger's Conference Experience
There were many benefits to attending the WAEA conference in Manitowoc, WI, and I am grateful that I got the opportunity to attend. The benefits specifically to my art teaching knowledge include learning about new mediums to use within the classroom such as chocolate, tips on how to successfully manage a classroom, and how to utilize protocols. After learning about these things, my confidence definitely grew because I am excited and ready to try these new techniques in hopes of them being successful.
My desire and commitment to become an art teacher continues to grow, and I know that it grew even more while being a part of this conference because I am even more aware of the community and collaboration that this career holds in store. By being surrounded by this inspiring group of fellow art teachers, it was hard not to be happy with where I am today and I hope that other future art educators also take advantage of this experience. Building these relationships with other people that I have so much in common with is an experience that I will never forget because they have influenced me so much to continue on the path that I am on, and I overall am thankful to be a part of such an amazing program that helps me be the most successful art educator that I can be.
Olivia Bonlander's Conference Experience
Having the opportunity to attend the WAEA conference allows me to interact with my colleagues, meet other educators, and gain vital information for my future classroom. There is a plethora of information offered throughout the sessions at this conference and I chose to select a wide variety of sessions in order to further my own education in other pedagogies and teaching philosophies. This included information on T.A.B., arts integration, and adaptive art classrooms. Attending these sessions as well as the many pre-service teacher targeted sessions has really increased my confidence in my progress in the Art Education program here at Stout. The ability to build connections between other art educators makes the challenges of the workload and creates a necessary support system. While attending the last two WAEA conferences I have been able to recognize more and more faces throughout my sessions, which I feel has made the experiences more impactful for me. These connections and support systems are what create lasting teachers especially as the percentage of first year teachers staying in the field continues to stay low. While the information is vital for continued professional development the interactions, I have had throughout the work I have done for Art Education is what truly makes me happy and motivated to continue working in the field. Having this opportunity to be in an encouraging, welcoming, and supportive place really represents my reasoning for choosing this major. My want to help others follows very closely in my long term goals by my need to have support and trust in what I am accomplishing and I was able to feel this at the WAEA conference.
Nicole Seidler's Conference Experience
Throughout my time here at Stout, I have attended two National Art Education Association Conferences that took place in Seattle, Washington and Boston, Massachusetts. I have also attended two of the Wisconsin Art Education Association Conferences. On October 17th and 18th I attended the Wisconsin Art Education Association Conference for the second year. This year, the conference was held in Manitowoc, Wisconsin at the Holy Family College. The conference consists of almost all art educators from around Wisconsin who come together to learn how to better their students. As a pre-service educator (still in college), I like to take advantage of these conferences to get a jump start to bettering my students. Many of the sessions that are given at these conferences give out information that is not necessarily talked about in any class that is offered at Stout. From my time at the WAEA conference, I have been impacted in many different ways:
Art teaching knowledge and abilities
My future students will benefit from my experiences at these conferences because I will be able to bring in this new information that I was able to learn at the conferences. As a college student, I think these benefits both my students and I a little more because I will be able to bring more information and skills that not every brand-new teacher will. Along with learning new skills, I was able to attend a few workshops that were hands-on. I was able to experiment with trying out the project that was being demonstrated. I hope to bring a few of these projects into my classroom someday. Along with art making skills, I learned many different protocols and classroom management knowledge that I plan to bring into my future classroom.
Confidence and passion for teaching
Every year that I attend one of these conferences, I always get goose bumps at least once throughout my time there because I realize that I am in the correct field of work. My dream is to be an art educator and I am reminded of that every year when attending the conference. The conferences show me that I am where I need to be, and I am more than excited to begin teaching soon.
Desire and Commitment to be an art teacher
Throughout our lives, we are repeatedly asked the same question, “What do you want to be when you grow up”? As children, the common answers include astronaut, rock star, prince or princess, or even a football player. When I was a younger, my answer to the question was artist. As I grew older and made it to middle school, I was asked the same question and still had the same answer, artist. I found myself not being the best at art throughout middle school and when it came to high school, I found that art kept getting more difficult, but I know I still wanted to be an artist. I worked so hard in high school to improve my skills as an artist by constantly working on projects, asking questions, and working with my teacher. My high school teacher is the person who changed my life as an artist. She had so much passion, dedication, kindness, and knowledge that really changed my mind to become an art educator. This is one of the main reasons that I chose to become an art educator. I am a dedicated and passionate art educator who seeks the opportunity to share and promote the aspects of art as well as find the creative minds of each and every student who will learn to appreciate art forever. My goal is to teach and develop the creative minds in every student through an accepting, respectful, and encouraging learning environment.
Overall happiness, mood, and well-being
Every time I attend these conferences, I always leave feeling happy and excited knowing that I am getting closer to graduation so that I can have my dream job. Art has always played a huge role in my life and sharing that passion with my students will be the best feeling.
Relationships with other ArtEd students and networking with ArtEd professionals
I always enjoy going to these conferences with other art education students because they are people who share the same dedication, passion, and mindset as me. We are all there to better our students, learn from others, and build a strong art educator community. Sharing this experience with other art education students is truly an awesome experience because we are all at the same points in our art education journey. As for networking with other art educators, I met many educators that I was able to learn a lot from and hear about their experiences as teachers.
Conference Blog Compilation
The conference blog allows us to compile the participants reflections and experiences into a shared resource. These beneficial conferences allow for growth, networking, and sharing of resources.