Art Teacher?

[Pencil Soldier]

Ive been thinking on my future..and a high school level or up art teacher sounds good to me. You get summer off, and spare time to freelance...

Which got me to wondering. What are your thoughts? And.. are there any Art teachers here?

[.cfb]

Being a student in High School myself, I can say, first, that the benefits of being a teacher a great: Good medical and three weeks vacation (albeit not paid). The pay isn't too great.

Also, you'd be working around a bunch of kids who don't really want to improve. Most are there because it's an "easy" class, not because they want to improve their art. You do, though, get free art supplies to steal.

[Pencil Soldier]

Hey im in high school too. Yeah there are alot of people that take it as an easy class, but thers always those couple people that really want to learn.

I didnt even think aobut the art supplies. Hee hee...:D

[Android]

if you desire to take the path of an art teacher, (a noble and respectable position), do yourself and your future students a favor by becoming an artist first .

thanks

[Pencil Soldier]

I hope that goes without saying...im only 15..i have plenty of time to improve...:(

[mtw]

A high school art teacher might be an easy job, although kind of stressful with teenagers. It also pays little. But it's always good to get a teacher who can make a difference.

A college professor takes lots more work. Sometimes you have to get a PhD. You might get one quarter off during a year (not necessarily summer), but you would be expected to do research or some such. At least in some art schools, maybe not all.

Being an art teacher can be good and let you make a difference with students, but don't expect it to be glamorous or easy.

[DragonGX]

I thought about being a teacher, but really, I dont know if I could handle high school students.. I saw how they were when I was in high school and I wouldnt want to put up with alot of the stuff they do. especially in an art class, since the majority only take it because they have to and its an easy class.. and teaching is one of the worst paid professions you can go into..

maybe a college teacher, but thats about it..

[KChen]

The best teacher I ever had and influenced my life the most is my high school Animation/film making teacher, Dave Master. The most valuable thing he taught me is the possibility to achieve your dream and the exact steps to get there.

Not all the students really cared about the class, but he is a really tough teacher. Even after four years studying at art center he is still the toughest teacher I have ever met. He expect a lot out of his students and his class is not a easy ride. So, the lackers learns to avoid it or learn it the hard way.

He is one of my inspiration to teach and maybe to teach at high school level someday. A lot of students can't really afford to go to college or don't have the desire to do so. They just don't think they can ever get good enough to make a living doing what they enjoy or have no idea how to start. High School students learns very fast and are still open to different ideas on how to develope their future. If you want to make a difference in someones life and not only to people who are lucky enough to have a supporting family or have the funds to go to college, high school might be a good place to teach.

But, it is not going to be a easy job and I think it will be harder to teach than college courses because you are teaching much more than just art. Not to include to deal with the school politics that might work against you and budgets problems every school suffers from nowadays. It is a very tough job with very little material pay. But it is an important task and I admire the teachers who are willing to take on the job. I hope someday I can pay back the favor I learn from my teacher and past it on my students.

I am now an freelance character designer for game/film and a teacher in private schools and college. Trying to build my professional career so I would know what I am teaching about from experience and currently teaching to prepare my teaching skills (how to make it relavent and interesting). I don't know if I want to deal with such a pay drop, but if possible I would like to offer free workshops regularly at my old high school in the future. Another teacher I know in the industry teaches for free and offers his pay as scholarship fund for serious students who can't afford to pay for his class. Just some other teaching alternatives with out suffering the pay cut.

If teaching is your calling, definately go for it. But like anything else, doing it well will take a lot of work. It's not going to be a easy job and like Andrew said, you need to become an artist first before you can teach art. But you are still young and have plenty of time ahead of you :)

It's an execellent choice for a career and I wish you the best on your pursuit.

Kevin

PS- if you are interested in how my old High School teacher teach, just look up Dave Master on google and there are several articles on how he teach and runs his class. It is very good learning environment for exploration. He is currently running an online training program named ACME online that draws many talents from the animation/film industry to do critiques on student works (young and old) and do tutorials on how they work. Check it out if you are intersted.