The Artist Teacher

Abstract

This article explores the concept of teaching artistry and its potential for making teachers and classrooms more vital and appealing and, consequently, increasing the motivation and intellectual development of the learner. The teacher as artist chooses worthy aims and accomplishes these aims by utilizing creative invention as well as an impressive repertoire of technical skills. Informal experiments focusing on lessons as dramatic episodes, classroom atmosphere, and classroom staging suggest that the artistry of teachers can be heightened. But inspired teaching demands a greater reliance on imagination and intuition, attributes discouraged in the customary pre-service and in-service training of teachers.