About Maestro Willie Cordy Jr

2014 Educator of the Year

Blessed/Lifestyle Magazine Excellence Awards

I love to help the inquisitive minds of my students. With their interests, I can become helpful in guiding them on their path to becoming a better artist. My teaching philosophy is a reflection of my life philosophies.

The Essence of Learning
I have been a student most of my life. I craved knowledge of most things art and take every opportunity to learn more. My objective in teaching, is to give my students experiences of real world situations to prepare them for what is to be expected as an artist when they graduate. The fact that they will not be students forever, my duty as an art educator is to make them well rounded and well prepared productive artists. The subject matter being taught is important, but also the critical thinking process (in and outside of the box), listening skills, problem solving, and a disciplined approach to life learning.

Teaching Business Side of Art
The clarity of course objectives (relating to the subject matter), the outcomes shall prepare the students of Fine Arts & Graphic Design before actually entering the professional world. These are courses with an emphasis on developing the portfolio of professional graphics & fine arts that are skillfully and critically completed in creative and verbal communications. They unify critical thinking, analytical thinking, and the creative thinking of the students development by the entire university experience and the specific fine art and graphics experiences. The content to be covered, the resources to be used, and the methods employed are will make each student productive and ready. Working situations, tasks, conditions, materials and opportunities for learning are essential in the planning process for formatting teachable outcomes for students relating to them being employment ready. The best learning for real world situations happen when it is interesting and fun. Hands on learning, is the best education, and techniques used are retained at an higher rate when a student go through and actually resolve issues themselves.

Encouragement
In my view, the best way to push students forward is through encouragement and positivity. I don’t use the word can’t in my teachings and I encourage my students not to use the word as well. I use positive reinforcement when teaching. Negativity is never engaged in my public speaking. Students tend to repsond better when encouraged, and their focus improves. During the critique process I do address things that could be done better and or to improve the students esthetic views in art.

Comfort
The comfort of the student is essentiel in making them feel open enough to talk about their art. They should feel that the teacher is approachable so that they can ask questions. Feeling comfortable goes a long way in determination for a student to choose to come to class. We want the students in class and engaged in learning. Students should not only feel comfortable interacting with the professor, but also with other students. Students need to feel at ease when asked to stand infront of the class and speak. One way I use to capture and keep students engaged is to have them do activities in class that help them be creative and free of mind in their creative processes. The more a student gets engaged and vocal, the more creative they become. I believe that each student has some sort of knowledge that they can share with their peers. Everyone has different experiences in life and not everyone learn at the same pace. It is my goal to reach them while helping them feel welcome in their learning processes.

Goals
A very important factor in my teaching process is for the students to plan and to set goals for themselves. It is important for students to have a plan and direction for what and where they want to go in life as artists. Goals during class and goals for once they are nolonger students are very important factors in figuring what type of artists they will become, and how to market themselves. In teaching, I incorporate the following to help in the education of my students. I start with discussions to find out more about my students in order to help guide them. I include lectures, videos, games and activities. These are all things that can help in keeping students engaged.