I strive to be a facilitator to others experiencing the empowering nature of expression. My goals as a developing educator this semester at Thompson Valley High School have been focused towards providing students with the materials and guidance necessary to confidently explore and express their ideas freely and develop technical artistic skills. When students create works of art they are learning how to think like artists and gaining confidence in their voice in the world. They generate ideas, formulate a plan for how to make these ideas tangible, and then effectively carry out this plan to create a complete work of art. The imagination, creativity, problem-solving skills and dedication involved in expression can be beneficial to the development of young people and my experience at TVHS has only upheld this belief. I had the privilege of working with Mr. Crawford at TVHS in his Intro to 2D design classes this semester. My experience and Mr. Crawford's feedback have helped me develop in many areas including classroom management, scaffolding and differentiation of instruction, and standards-based lesson planning. My biggest takeaway from this semester has been the ability to see the underlying meaning and reasoning behind the subjects I teach. Working with high school aged students has enabled me to create intellectually and technically challenging lessons that teach artistic behavior. I felt that especially in 2D design, I have been able to see how our lessons and drawing activities have scaffolded the attainment of artistic skills in our students allowing them to feel confident in their abilities to depict the natural world.