Hi, I have a few questions! I'm worried about regretting my career choice? I studied Mass Communication and Visual Arts, I'm nearing the end of my undergrad career and I randomly decided to start looking into Grad school and possibly getting my masters in teaching. I'd like to teach art but I'm on the fence about it. This decision was unexpected, almost as if it just "clicked" and I knew teaching art is something I'm interested in, I'm just hesitant about grad school. Is grad school the only option? I'd like to teach elementary school art part time.
I know you need certain certification but is it different for art teachers? I have background in drawing foundations, woodwork, metalwork, digital art, printmaking and ceramics as well as Art history and art theory.
Exactly what the process is varies from state to state, but in most states an art teacher is expected to go through the same preparation (aside from requirements specific to the subject matter) as a teacher in any other academic discipline. In states in which the standard path to teaching goes through a bachelor's in education, there's generally an alternative pathway or alternative route that involves some kind of postgraduate teacher training. The website of your state's department of education should either contain pages or link to pages that discuss the ins and outs of teacher licensure (or certification, or credentialing); if you search for "__ state department of education teacher licensure" (the blank is filled by your state's name) and look for hits that end in .gov, you should find what you need.
Being a teacher is totally worth it. (And even though I went into an admin position, I still teach part of the day and so I get to keep the perks!) I get paid well [I was making $67,000 — $62,000 base pay and $5,000 stipends/bonuses — as a 5th-year teacher and next year (my 6th year) I’ll be making $85,000 as an administrator] and have a ton of time off throughout the year: 2.5 months for Summer Break ~1.5 weeks for Thanksgiving Break ~2.5 weeks for Christmas Break ~1.5 weeks for Easter Break ALL federal holidays off (Memorial Day, Veteran’s Day, Labor Day, etc.) Three-day and four-day weekends due to scheduling. I’m living the life and what could be better than that? Yes, I could make a lot more money at a different job, BUT I would have to practically work year round. No, thank you.
You make more than I do and get better breaks than I do! LOL I still wouldn't want a regular year around job.
I love my job and look forward to seeing my students each day. However, there are some really unhappy teachers on my staff. These tend to be people who lack the skills or temperament to thrive at the job. Teaching has a very high attrition rate: some studies show that up to 50% quit within the first five years of teaching. It's a hard job, but hugely rewarding personally.
Depends on what part of the country you're in as far as salary, how much you value time off and the level of support from administration. The time off is the biggest perk for me.
Those teachers who really love teaching tend to find it worth it. The teachers who really don't enjoy teaching, really wish they would have picked a different career. There are easier jobs that I could do, jobs with less work to take home, and lots that make more money. What excites me is making a difference with students. To me this outweighs the headaches. I am getting close to 30 years of teaching, and I still get excited about teaching students and finding new ways to make a difference despite the challenges.
To me, the logical thing to do would be to pursue a job out of college that is geared toward your degree, think on the teacher route for a while, and then if it is still something you want to do a year from now, pursue an alternative route to certification. Sinking thousands of dollars into a graduate degree on a whim does not seem like a good idea.
If I were starting out now, "No" would be my response to your question. The quality of life (a big thing for me) is low. The pay and benefits are eroding and the assigned duties for teachers are incrementally increasing. On top of which, the loss of dignity and respect that's permeating the education field seems to be steadily being replaced with violence and hostility toward teachers.
Just wondering--our admins works year long--they do get vacation time, like all other non-teacher workers, but not 2.5 months in the summer. Do you still get that much time off as an admin? Plus, again, around here, our good admins are going to all the activities--games, matches, concerts, etc. So most of our admins are out late at least one night a week or are at work at least one or two weekends a month.
Yes, but I work at a private school and so I am not affiliated with any public school district. And my principal said that I would probably only need to come back a week earlier than everybody else and end the year a few days later than normal, which is very reasonable in my eyes. With that said, I could have applied for the VP position, but my new position appealed more to me (Dean for Academic Affairs and STEM Director). Sure, the VP’s make $30,000 more than I do (their salaries are fixed at $115,000), but they only have like one month off a year and that is just not worth it for me. And I will get an additional $5,000/year until I max out at $120,000, so I’ll make sightly more than them eventually.
Sorry so long but I think you will find this valuable. You are in the same situation I was in. I earned a BA in Computer Graphics and had a similar art background as you. During my senior year I needed electives to graduate so I took art ed courses. I loved being in the classroom with kids and introducing them to digital art. After I graduated, I worked in IT for many years (I got into it because my degree included computer knowledge) but my passion was always art and teaching. Many years later, I made the leap and went back to school. I quit working and dedicated my life to becoming an art teacher. I had to register as a grad student but only had to take undergrad courses to earn my teaching cert. I had a full schedule and most required me to be on campus because online was not offered. I needed education courses, art ed specific courses, and also needed art hist 1 and 2, which I did complete online, two consecutive summers. I also took some elective art studio courses that I knew would be valuable in the classroom. I was a member of Kappa Pi art fraternity, participated in as many art events I could, and built some good relationships with my peers and professors. Being on campus, involved, and immersed in art was valuable to getting me back into the art life. There was no "shortcut" to becoming an art teacher, even with my art related BA. I spent 4 semesters on campus (1 was student teaching). Going to back to college, as an adult, with real world job experience, made it easy.. and fun! My reward for all my time and effort was a K-12 cert in art, a salary that is half of what I was making in IT, but I am happy and love my job. I can go on and on about how this has changed my life for the good. Once you become a teacher, chose your school/district wisely. I work in a rural community, small district. I doubt I would be as happy if I was making more money, in an urban district, dealing with more classroom management than enlightening young minds to the world of art.
