|
|
Jen Neidig
Nothing makes me enjoy my job more than watching a silly 12, 13, or 14 year old actually be proud of their artwork. Middle school is such a tough age. Our job is to essentially take a young kid from elementary school and spit them out into high school in a matter of two years. My job is to facilitate a comfortable atmosphere where these young teenagers can express themselves while learning about the creative process.
I teach a "Choice-Based" art program through a method of art education called, "TAB ... read more" which stands for "Teaching for Artistic Behaviors." A TAB art program is different than traditional art education. The focus is more about the process in which the art was created rather than the focus being on a beautiful finished product. My students delve deeply into their imagination as they solve problems creatively. They follow the "Studio Habits of Mind" which is a group of eight habits that are developed in the art room. Researchers at Harvard's Project Zero noticed that all artists share the same eight habits. My students are developing these eight habits so they can not only apply them in their art course, but they can apply them in their other subjects as well. Someday, they will apply these habits in a job. The eight Studio Habits of Mind are: 1- Develop Craft, 2- Engage and Persist, 3- Envision, 4- Express, 5- Observe, 6- Reflect, 7- Stretch and Explore, 8- Understand Art World.
I'm fortunate to have had a diverse teaching background prior to coming to Moorestown. I'm from the Pittsburgh area (Uniontown, PA to be exact), went to college at West Virginia Wesleyan College and although I started out as a nursing major, I pursued my passion and graduated with a BA in Studio Art with a concentration in painting. I was also fortunate enough to have studied abroad for a semester, studying art in London, England. After working a few jobs that didn't have anything to do with my major (I delivered auto parts and worked in an office, among other things), I decided to get my teaching degree. I graduated with a Post-Baccalaureate in Art Education from Washington and Jefferson College. I taught art at the Pittsburgh Center for the Arts for a few years until I landed my first public school teaching job... in Las Vegas!
While in Las Vegas, I taught elementary art in low-income/at-risk schools for 5 years and loved every minute of it. I met the best friends I could ever have (they're all still there) and I grew up really fast. After 9/11, I didn't want to be too far from my family, and ultimately was able to find a teaching job near Baltimore (in Harford County School District). I continued to teach elementary art in low-income/at-risk schools for 4 years until I met my future husband, who happened to be from South Jersey. I blindly applied to several school districts in South Jersey so I could move and get married. Luckily, I was offered a teaching job in Moorestown, which exposed me to the "opposite" of what I was used to in art education. In a one month span of time, I moved from Maryland to New Jersey, bought a house, sold my house in Havre de Grace, MD, got married, and started my new job teaching in Moorestown. I have become a much better teacher because of my colleagues and the high expectations Moorestown Township Public Schools has offered me. I will never leave! I love my job! Middle school is definitely my niche and I love my students! Please enjoy their artwork as much as I do!
|
