James A. Porter - Teaching - Colleagues and Students

Colleagues and Students

Porter taught at Howard for more than forty years, together with artists such as James Lesesne Wells and Lois Mailou Jones. He headed the Art Department and was the Director of the Art Gallery from 1953 through 1970.

The list of artists who studied under Porter is a long one. It includes Tritoba Hayes Benjamin, David C. Driskell, Sylvia Snowden, Mildred Thompson (1936–2003) and many others. Mildred Thompson wrote of Porter that he "...was a kind and gentle teacher. His method was personal and individual. He taught me step by step as if guiding me through an initiation. He watched over the development of my crafts while at the same time helping me to develop the character that would enable me to practice the craft for a lifetime."

Read more about this topic:  James A. Porter, Teaching

Famous quotes containing the word students:

    We must continually remind students in the classroom that expression of different opinions and dissenting ideas affirms the intellectual process. We should forcefully explain that our role is not to teach them to think as we do but rather to teach them, by example, the importance of taking a stance that is rooted in rigorous engagement with the full range of ideas about a topic.
    bell hooks (b. 1955)