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Jess Park » Teacher Park's Biography

Teacher Park's Biography

Jess Park previously taught visual arts at William P. Nixon Elementary School. Prior to that, Jess taught at Northern Virginia Community College, at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, and at various schools and nonprofits throughout the Chicago metropolitan area. They have been awarded fellowships from the Center for the Study of Modern Art at The Phillips Collection, the Smithsonian Institution, and the Portland Art Museum. Their work in expanded learning has been recognized nationally for its innovation by the service organization EmcArts and locally for its wholeheartedness by Community Consolidated School District 21. 

In addition to having curated gallery exhibitions throughout the country, Jess has produced photoshoots for notable brands including The New York Times Magazine and American Express. They have been invited by major institutions, such as the Barbara Bush Houston Literacy Foundation, the Oregon Museum Association, and Portland State University, to present their research publicly. Their essays, which have been published by Routledge, the Hallie Ford Museum of Art, and the Daily Herald, further evince their art expertise and staunch advocacy of literacy.

Jess earned their MA in Art History from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and their BFA with an Emphasis in Art Education from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago.

“If what you want is a change in policy, you’re not likely to get it from art [...] But if what you want is a vision of the structures that produce both the policies we’ve got and the desire for alternatives to them, art is almost the only place you can find it.” - Walter Benn Michaels, The Beauty of a Social Problem 

Generating clear and powerful images, objects, and texts bolsters a student's agency to inspire profound change. Accordingly, students will formulate their own artistic inquiries to scrutinize the designs and images that brace their daily lives, constitute history, and represent divergent cultures. They will gain technical skills in various fields of design (e.g., architecture, fashion, typography, etc.) and explore 2D, 3D, and 4D media. To broaden their means of expression and discernment, students also will examine visual cultures from a global perspective. 

  • Academic standards are made accessible and relevant to all students.
  • Work habits matter more than talent. Talent is merely a skill that has been refined through practice. Everyone can learn a skill and get better at it through practice. 
  • Work is iterative; feedback is diagnostic.  
  • Truth, corroborated evidence, and cogent reasoning frame all communication and messaging. 
  • Logical consequences enforce both personal accountability and collective stewardship of classroom resources. If a student repeatedly misuses materials or tools, for example, they may lose access to those resources and complete a pencil-only assignment instead.
  • ABCF mantra: Always be curious first. Feeling angry? Ask yourself why you are having such an intense reaction to your current situation.
  • We strive to achieve mastery goals, not performance goals. (See the linked PDF under "For Parents.")
  • We are justice-driven problem solvers, not tattlers. We talk to people, not about people.

Building a skill takes time and effort. I will put in the time and be persistent. I understand discomfort, frustration, and failure are all parts of the process. If I avoid these things, I prevent learning. I will make mistakes, and they--along with the feedback I receive--will teach me. I can and will do hard things!

 

Posts

Dear Caregivers,
 
Augment your child's art education by encouraging them to apply to participate in the All-City Visual Arts’ elementary school exhibition. These shows are collaborations between the Department of Arts Education and Design Museum of Chicago. The ACVA exhibitions showcase 2D, 3D, and time-based artwork by CPS students in grades PreK–12 from any CPS school.
 

Elementary School Exhibition Deadlines for School Year 24/25

  • ACVA Application Opens
    October 28, 2024
  • ACVA Application Closes
    March 13, 2025
  • ACVA Notification of Acceptance
    March 21, 2025
  • ACVA Exhibition
    April 25, 2025
Best,
Teacher Park

Summative Assessment on Artists' Responsibilities

Hello, Parents.
 
As the attached rubric shows, both National Core Arts Standards and Illinois' Visual Art Standards emphasize student stewardship of art materials and supplies as well as an awareness of one's ethical responsibilities as an artist. I will assess your child(ren)'s proficiency in demonstrating these skills each quarter according to this document. Please take a moment to review it with your child to support them in their path to becoming mindful and responsible creators! I will also post this in your child's Google Classroom to ensure they can access it as needed.
 
Best,
Teacher Park
The Junior High School students had to illustrate a part of the art studio, demonstrating their perspectival and observational drawing skills. Now that they have gained facility in multiple techniques and approaches to drawing architecture, they will design a third place for their peers. Currently, these students are developing their own philosophies of design and familiarizing themselves with the process of design thinking. 
Many congratulations, Abby! I want you to know that, in addition to being an awesome listener, your curiosity, creative insights, and thoughtful works inspire me. Stay awesome!
Please give a round of applause to Elsie, our most perseverant creator this month! Students in intermediate school are honing their spatial reasoning skills by implementing what they are learning in mathematics (scale and proportion) to drawing observationally.
 
This project been challenging. Many students have expressed feelings of frustration over not getting it right away. Please help me foster a classroom culture that views mistakes as par for the course in the process of learning. Reassure your child that errors are not signs of personal shortcomings or failure. Being able to identify one's own mistakes is a sign of growth and a reminder that we cannot improve without feedback. This is the mindset of intrinsically motivated students.
In the art studio, we learn and grow by doing hard things. Students in grades 3-5 have been practicing both perspectival and observational drawing techniques. These techniques require prior knowledge of various mathematical concepts, such as proportion, scale, angles, parallel/perpendicular lines, etc. I often feel inspired when I grade sketchbooks: the endurance and progress these students have shown since school started deserves recognition. 
 
Can you recognize the Chicago neighborhood this 4th grade student chose to draw?
Please give Kyo a round of applause for being the art studio's most responsible steward!
 
To cultivate a classroom that values mastery over performance (see the corresponding PDF under "For Parents" for clarification), I will be recognizing students who consistently exhibit behaviors that align with Decatur's three pillars. At Decatur, we take care of each other. In the art studio, one way we practice care is by stewarding common resources. 
 
Recognizing responsible and caring behaviors can foster a growth mindset (associating challenges and effort with growth instead of with failure) as well as one's intrinsic motivation. Help me grow intrinsically motivated learners by complimenting your child whenever they act responsibly: "I appreciate you unloading the dishwasher without me having to ask you." 
Because we all come from different backgrounds, we live differently, think differently, and process emotions differently. A healthy community has lots of different kinds of people, and everyone deserves to feel safe and like they belong. Students in first grade voluntarily explored the topic of inclusion and discovered fun ways to regulate their emotions by choosing to read these super cool books! Shoutout to the PTO for equipping the art studio with a library!
Primary school students are experimenting with various drawing techniques like shading and wax-resist, to explore the elements of art (line, shape, color, value, and pattern). By discussing their creative processes with one another, they are augmenting their vocabulary of descriptive words. Ask your child about the types of lines they know, as well as the Spanish words for geometric shapes and forms (3D shapes). Learning is always interdisciplinary and connected to transferable skills in the art studio!

Assessments for Grades 3-8

Hello, Parents or Partners in Paideia:
 
(Please indulge me. I'm on a roll with the "P" alliterations today, and it's giving me joy.) Students in intermediate and junior high school will begin their first assessments in Art this week. The rubrics for those assessments (Weeks 5-6) are available under "What is my kid learning?" If you are viewing this on your phone, scroll to the very bottom of my classroom page to find this section. Help me reinforce their learning at home by encouraging them to practice their perspectival drawing skills with these video tutorials: 
 
 
Please also be sure to check out the "Assignments" section in Aspen for individualized feedback on classwork!
 
Best,
Teacher Park

Practice prompts persistence and progress! Perfection is never the goal in the art studio. I routinely remind students I expect them to make mistakes. Making mistakes is an integral part of taking risks and experimenting. I also remind students that educated people admit to and take responsibility for their mistakes by fixing them--a life skill that I hope becomes instinctive to them. I'm so impressed with the progress the junior high students have already demonstrated, and I hope you are too!
Students in grades 6-8 are starting their unit on architecture with perspectival drawing. They're documenting their progress and notes in a student-created sketchbook. 
A plan, a revision, and the final iteration
 
Alone the students only had enough time to create a character at most. As a team, they were able to build an entire world!