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Kim Blakesley
For the past four years, I have worked as an Art teacher for the 7-12 Art program at Wapsie-Valley High School, which is located in Fairbank, Iowa. I am also the Yearbook Advisor. Prior to coming to Wapsie Valley, I worked as an Art teacher in the Waterloo School system. I have worked both at the Elementary and the Secondary level.
I attended the University of Northern Iowa in Cedar Falls, Iowa. My BA in Art was completed in 1993. In 2002, I completed my MA in Educational Leadership and I am curren ... read moretly working on my Ed.D. in Educational Leadership. Because I am continuing my education and pursuing Educational Leadership, I have been completing practicum hours for the last four years in the Principalship and the Supterintendency.
During my spare time, I enjoy drawing and working with clay. I also am a silversmith and I'm looking forward to sharing this knowledge with my students in the up-coming years.
Regarding my teaching experience: Art is not taught as a class in the grade school at Wapsie Valley so the students do not get exposure to an Art teacher until they are in Junior High. This has been a hindrance and a blessing. Because of this, the students are excited to experience a wide variety of projects. All grade levels of students work hard and have had excellent results. Reference material and the internet are used extensively to experience the diversity and culture of art outside of our rural area. These influences have helped the students to create unique projects. My philosophy in the creation of art within the school setting is to introduce a project and the process, let the students explore their own abilities, then push them to excellence.
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