If you love the idea of fostering talented artists and helping them improve their skills, you might find that working as an art teacher is a rewarding career. These teachers work in elementary schools and junior high schools, but they can also work in high schools too. Many also work on the yearbook or advise the drama club as well. Though you will need to go to college and obtain your teaching license, you’ll also need to understand some of the hardships of the job also.
Know the Hardships of the Job
When you picture yourself teaching art to students, you might picture yourself teaching shading and other advanced elements to your students and seeing joy on their faces. You might actually find yourself bogged down in paperwork, attending meetings with angry parents and having issues following the curriculum requirements of your school. Alecia Eggers Kaczmarek, who works as an art teachers, lists some of the other hardships of teaching art as including the need for teachers to have good organizational skills, the lack of resources available to these teachers and the fact that some work out of their own bags or carts instead of a dedicated classroom.
Decide What Grade You Want to Teach
Before you can teach art, you need to think about what age children you want to work with later. Elementary schools often hire teachers who can teach multiple subjects. Instead of teaching art during each class session, you might teach writing, reading, math and other topics on a given day. Junior high and high schools are more likely to hire full-time teachers. Students of different ages will have different levels of skills. Those in their tweens may have a hard time doing something as simple as sketching a bowl of fruit, while high school students will often have stronger and better skills.
Complete an Education Program
Working as an art teacher requires that you go to college and complete an education program. These programs usually take four years and include some field experience. Once you complete some of your required teaching courses, you’ll do a student observation that sends you to a school and lets you view a licensed teacher working with real students. Most colleges will later send you on assignments that let you do some teaching of your own. If you want to teach art, you’ll find it helpful to minor in art or art history and take classes on drawing, painting and other types of art.
Get Your Teaching License
Though some states will let you work as a teacher with a degree outside of education, having an education degree is helpful. When you apply for your teaching license, you must submit documents that show you have a college degree from an accredited school. You will also need to pass a criminal background check, which usually requires that the local police department take your fingerprints for processing. Some states may also ask that you pass a civil background check before giving you a teaching license.
Teaching art to students can be a rewarding career, but working as a teacher is also hard at times. As long as you understand some of the hardships associated with the job, finish a college degree and get your teaching license, you can begin looking for art teacher jobs.
Resource: Top 10 Best Online Masters in Teaching Degree Programs
