Entering the Classroom

My internship and credential program experience took place at Burlingame Intermediate School in Burlingame, California, where I worked as a middle school visual arts teacher for 6th, 7th, and 8th grade students. During this experience, I taught digital art, world building, STEAM-based visual arts curriculum, and yearbook production while developing classroom management strategies, inclusive lesson planning practices, and reflective teaching systems. Working directly with diverse middle school learners allowed me to refine my teaching philosophy around connection, adaptability, accessibility, and student-centered learning.

 

My student teaching and credential experience pushed me to grow faster than I expected, both professionally and personally. Coming from a background in digital art, traditional painting, and the entertainment industry, I entered education with a strong technical and creative foundation, but quickly realized that teaching is far more than delivering content. It is about relationships, adaptability, communication, structure, and understanding students as individuals.

One of the biggest realizations I had during this experience was that students engage more deeply when they feel understood and supported. Many students enter the classroom carrying stress, insecurity, emotional challenges, or learning barriers that are not immediately visible. Because of this, I began shifting my teaching philosophy toward building trust and connection first, then developing instruction around student needs from there.

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Developing My Teaching Philosophy

 

Throughout my credential program and internship experiences, I refined my philosophy around compassion, adaptability, and variability in instruction. I learned that a single teaching strategy does not work for every student, especially within middle school visual arts classrooms where students have a wide range of skill levels, interests, language abilities, and emotional needs.

This led me to focus heavily on Universal Design for Learning (UDL), Social Emotional Learning (SEL), and reflective teaching practices. Rather than grading students purely on technical skill, I began emphasizing process, revision, critical thinking, and growth. My lessons became more scaffolded and flexible, allowing students multiple entry points into projects while still maintaining meaningful expectations.

I also learned the importance of balancing structure with student autonomy. Students benefit from clear systems and expectations, but they also thrive when they are given opportunities for voice, choice, and personal connection within their work.

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Challenges and Growth

One of the greatest challenges during student teaching was learning how to manage the emotional and behavioral complexity of a classroom while maintaining patience and consistency. Middle school students are still developing emotionally, socially, and academically, and I had to learn how to respond with understanding while still maintaining structure and accountability.

There were moments where students resisted projects, disengaged from work, or struggled to regulate emotions appropriately in the classroom. Initially, I found myself focusing too heavily on compliance and task completion. Over time, I realized that many behaviors were connected to frustration, insecurity, lack of confidence, or students not understanding how to move forward.

This realization became a major influence on my capstone project and reflective teaching practices. I began exploring ways to help students become more aware of their thinking process, identify obstacles in their work, and make intentional revisions instead of shutting down or giving up.

Another challenge was balancing the workload of teaching, graduate school, lesson planning, classroom management, CalTPA requirements, and capstone development simultaneously. Through this process, I developed stronger organizational skills, flexibility, and resilience under pressure.

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What I Am Most Proud Of

One of the things I am most proud of is the classroom environment I have been able to cultivate. I worked hard to create a classroom where students feel comfortable expressing themselves, asking questions, experimenting creatively, and making mistakes without fear of embarrassment.

I am also proud of the growth I have seen in students who initially believed they were “bad at art” or incapable of improving. Some of the most meaningful moments came from watching students become excited about their progress, proudly showing their work to peers, teachers, and family members after completing exercises they initially thought were impossible.

Another area I am proud of is the development of my Tiered Reflection Cycle (TRC) framework through my capstone project. This process emerged directly from my experiences in the classroom and my observations of how students approached challenges, reflection, and revision. Seeing students begin to analyze their own work, make intentional changes, and communicate their thinking process has been one of the most rewarding parts of my teaching journey so far.

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Moving Forward as an Educator

My internship and credential experiences reinforced that teaching is not a static profession. It requires constant reflection, adaptation, and growth. Moving forward, I want to continue refining instructional systems that make learning more accessible, engaging, and meaningful for students with diverse backgrounds and needs.

I hope to continue developing curriculum that balances technical skill development with creativity, emotional growth, and critical thinking. I also want to continue exploring reflective practices that help students build confidence, problem-solving skills, and ownership over their learning process.

Most importantly, I want students to leave my classroom feeling capable, valued, and more confident in their ability to grow creatively and personally.