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Chelsea Thomas
Hey there, I am Mrs. Chelsea Thomas. I am a native to Manning, South Carolina and proud alumni of Manning High School. I have the experience of growing up amidst our Monarch family, as well as, personal experience of knowing what our students need in reference to an art teacher. I am also aware of what our students need in terms of accommodations, encouragement, and commitment in their lives as they are developing as individual students and artists. As an educator, I am dedicated to being there for all of m ... read morey students as well as offering them the guided touch that each and every one of them will need for their education and future.
In the year of 2014, following my graduation from Manning High School, I dedicated my life to receiving a higher education not only in art, but art education. I spent the first four years of my academic career receiving my bachelor’s degree in Visual Arts at Lander University. While I was there, I chose to take the necessary time needed to refine and hone my skills as an artist. Alongside my degree, I spent the majority of my electives being educated on Art History and achieving a minor in History. Following my graduation, I immediately applied to the University of South Carolina, where I was accepted into the Master of Arts in Teaching Art Education K-12 program. During my journey at the University of South Carolina, I had the opportunity to take additional art studio classes that not only taught me new forms of art, techniques and processes, but it also gave me further insight into a fresh perspective that enhanced my career as an artist, educator, and advocate.
As an art educator, I know that it is in my capability to guide my students through the world around them as they learn how to express who they are through their practice in creativity and the visual arts. As I navigate students through the lens of critical thinking and exploration, slowly they understand that “art is not what you see, but what you make others see” (Edgar Degas). Guiding my students along the path of reconceptualizing their abilities as a student and artist, they can cultivate their skills in self-confidence, self-understanding, and communication through visual representations. My students are able to recognize, develop, and communicate their own values, beliefs, and identities through a visual connection of what they already know and what they are willing to learn.
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