Written by Anna Golden, Atelierista

Anna Golden is the Atelierista at Sabot. She is a visual artist and works with all of the children in the school from Preschool through Grade 3. An Atelierista’s job is to make learning visible by helping children make their ideas visible, form theories, and test hypotheses. You could say “studio teacher” to make it easier.

Because the school believes people have more languages than the ones typically favored in schools (verbal and written language), the Atelierista is an important contributor. Atelieristas scaffold both children and teachers in messing about with, and developing relationships with media and materials. We look at all media with which people can test theories and develop understanding and knowledge, not just visual arts. Together, the teachers and Atelierista make sure there is enough time in the school schedule so that children can develop languages beyond written and spoken language in line with the school’s mission. 

We try to bring important aspects of the Reggio Emilia Approach™ to classrooms, like small group work and pedagogical documentation. Atelieristas help teachers think about the big ideas and essential questions that drive long-term inquiry and the media and materials that could help children come to understand those big ideas. Arts integration is the melding of creative thinking with academic disciplines. We are artists and arts integration specialists who help the school integrate philosophy, theory, and practice. The Atelieristas have a special duty to bring the big ideas behind Sabot’s Umbrella Projects to children and teachers each year.

What does that look like every day? Like other resource teachers at Sabot, Atelieristas bring materials from class to class or host children in studio spaces. The biggest part of our job is to nourish communication with classroom teachers by listening to them and sharing documentation at meetings and online. This documentation and dialogue between Atelieristas and teachers is hard work and is a model for the dialogue and collaboration we ask from the children. We are all learning to work as a community here at Sabot!

Sammy P., when he was 3
“I want to make the earth in the studio.”
“What do you know about the earth?”
“I know the earth is round and round and it has houses. I know the earth has all kinds of things.”  

How would you bring out those words? How would you create an environment that was so amiable people would feel free to say what they were thinking? How would you help Sammy turn those words into something he could show to other people, maybe people who couldn’t read words? How would you share those ideas with people who could read but were very, very busy? What questions would you ask, and what materials would you have ready, right then? How would you bring other children into Sammy’s idea to see  what would happen? How would you create intersubjectivity around this idea and document each person’s contribution?

This is what an Atelierista does.

Meet Anna

Hello, I am Anna Golden and I have been teaching at Sabot for 26 years. I went to unconventional schools growing up and have never stopped trying to figure out how people learn. I have always enjoyed embracing new things and keeping an open mind to the depth of our learning capabilities. I studied photography and printmaking, K-8 education, and art education. I volunteer for community radio, teach teachers at Mary Baldwin College, and am an artist working in paint and mixed media. I attribute my creative traits to having been around my entire family of artists and musicians. I enjoy connecting with educators and people from around the world who are interested in progressive education through my Atelierista blog. There is nothing more centering than watching children learn, helping them develop relationships with media and materials, and sharing the documentation with others.

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