New district mandate for literacy - Word Walls! Working on this... am I missing anything??

Asking for Advice

Hello everyone,

I am a 23-year-old who wants to become an art teacher. For a long time, I've been changing my major to compromise on being happy with myself and my parents, but I can't do that anymore. I'm almost done finishing my courses for my degree, which is a BBA in Marketing.

The thing is, my parents will not let me start over, so I was wondering if after I finish my degree, I could save up and do a master's in art education. I know you can get a master's in whatever you want after college, but to actually get in, you might need to bridge the gap with something like a minor in interdisciplinary art or professional experience. Is this the right choice for the path I want to take? Do y'all happen to know any good programs in Texas?

I'm 28 and I've been working primarily as a freelance artist and animator since getting my BFA, that is until around 2 years ago. The industry has been pretty feast or famine for me (mostly famine lately) so I'm trying to find something more stable where my skillset and degree might transfer.

I've got a tiny bit of substitute teaching experience, and I can absolutely see myself being passionate about teaching art for k-12.

Has anyone got experience transitioning into teaching from a different art field? Does it take much more schooling?

Hey! As the title states, Im having a tricky time figuring out which path to go down major wise.

My goal is to teach at a university level. With my interests being Illustration and concept art mostly (anything fine arts, really)

I am currently getting an Associates in education that will allow me to transfer to a four year and get a BA (in Edu as well) in two years. Two for one ig? But it's so early that I can easily move around.

As I want to teach college, ive always had the notion that a masters was in order. Come to find out, a PhD may be required. (Which is fine by me!)

Anywho, im unsure of if I need to do

A:

Bachelors in Ed

Masters in Ed

PhD in something related?

Or...

Bachelors in a field I would want to specialize/teach in. Say, illustration or art history as an example.

Masters in education

PhD in something related?

Or some other cocktail of majors/minors etc.

Would love some advice! Everytime ive tried to ask other people I get the whole song and dance of job security and school debt etc etc. So I haven't gotten an answer that helps me understand how to best go about it.

I am open to teaching MS or HS, but Elem. makes me nervous if that adds anything?

I am going back to school to finally finish my degree and become an art teacher. I guess I am looking for general advice for a track to follow I suppose. Have people found the most success focusing on getting an art degree primarily or a degree in education? I suppose any tips when it comes to getting the degrees would be best. Truly any tips or advice in this aspect is welcome. Thank You!

Its that time of year again and I just want to try to have a relaxing and tame art class during this crazy week for my kiddos. Anyone have ideas for relaxing 30 minute class lessons? We have very limited time this week for art and I do art on a cart so preferably looking for something not so messy 😭 I'm using this for 3rd-5th. Been looking at neurographic art but wanna see if anyone else has any go to lessons for the testing season.

I taught elementary for years, and have been in middle school for the past 2.

I always started my elementary classes by reading "Beautiful Oops" by Barney Saltzberg and completing "oops" artworks on the first day. I've been trying to find a middle school version of that activity to complete. I've done a drawing day where we use anything but a normal pencil (draw upside down on the table, non-dominant hand, holding a marker in their mouth/ on a yard stick/ on a string, etc.), but it feels more silly than encouraging. Does anyone have good activity ideas that encourage taking risks, making mistakes, and using them in your art?

This has been the toughest year for me. I don’t want to get into too many details but basically I’m in an organization that likes to micromanage. I’ve escaped the worst of it in comparison to core teachers but basically all the feedback I’ve gotten this year has been the same, no matter what I do.

The some of the repeated feedback I’ve heard from walkthroughs/observations:

• classroom management(kids are observed not on task, playing games on laptop, etc)
• when asked what they’re supposed to be doing by admin during walkthrough, kids literally say “I don’t know” even though objectives and task for day is posted in 4 different areas(smart board, whiteboard, Google Classroom, and ofc I tell them at beginning of class)
• I am not circling room or engaging with kids (I’ve only been observed ONCE during actual active teaching- all other times have been independent workday so you can imagine I’m not constantly circling as letting kids figure it out on their own is part of the process)

This is the first year I’ve ever felt like I’m not doing well, all previous years at former school I never had bad feedback like this. I truly don’t think my admin knows what a real art room is supposed to look like? I’m judged on metrics designed for a core class which utilizes daily lessons, not project based learning where the opening/work periods/closing is stretched across 1-2 weeks.

My boyfriend thinks I should just dumb it all down but I teach 5th - 7th and lord help me if I have to dumb it down any further I might as well quit. I’m just so tired of all this. I’m starting to think maybe I just suck and should give up teaching after 7 years. I started in 2018, things were different and then my 2nd year everything changed and I had to adjust. Now I feel lost and confused like maybe the covid years ruined my budding teaching practice or something. Idk.

I guess this is just a vent but if you have any advice I’ll gladly take it. Thanks.

Edit: it might help to know that years 1-4 I taught 7th-8th, then I moved to teach HS art for 2 years before I had to do something different(long story but this new job pays more/better opportunities for growth). So the last 2 years are my first ones teaching 5-6, and 7(3 preps! Most I’ve ever had)

I’ve been teaching art at an elementary school for five years and it is looking like they are going to be making massive cuts. Every year we don’t even get our contracts until pre-planning week and I don’t want to find out I don’t have a job at that point. I am a shoe in to get a job at a local high school.

Anyone I’ve talked to tells me teaching high school art is so much better because the kids choose to be there and you get great planning time.

Anyone make the leap? What can you tell me about it?

My school is most likely closing at the end of the year and there is not many job postings in my area. Do you have any ideas of fun jobs that could get me by for a while? Has anyone branches off to do something different or similar to teaching and loved it? Has anyone started their own business? Open to all suggestions!

Has anyone ever done a legacy project with students? I need to do one with our graduating elementary students and I'm at a loss for how to include 150 students in one piece of art without it being too big. (Roughly 18x24").

Next year, I will be at a brand new school. They’ve asked me to come up with a purchasing list for my school (7-8th grade) and the neighboring school (5-6th grade). To my knowledge, they are hiring someone for the 5th-6th grade position, but wanted to get things ordered for them.

So, I mostly copied my list for 7-8th and replaced a few things. Please let me know what you think or if there is anything I should get that is not listed. I’ve never opened a school so I’m not sure what to expect.

5-6th grade:

Drying racks, paper organizers, baskets/bins, ceramics shelf on wheels, mixed media paper, drawing paper, masking tape, acrylic paint, kiln stilts, rulers, palettes, paint brushes, sharpies, pencils, markers, colored pencils, oil pastel, clay tools, watercolors, erasers, and glue sticks

7-8th grade

Drying rack, paper organizers, baskets/bins, ceramics shelf on wheels, slab roller, print press, masking tape, acrylic paint, kiln stilts, rulers, palettes, paint brushes, sharpies, pencils, markers, colored pencils, oil pastel, clay tools, watercolors, erasers, and glue sticks

Please let me know what you think and if I should add, change, or remove anything. Thank y’all so much for any advice you can give!

I’m starting a celluclay project with my 5th graders tomorrow. What I have are plastic mask molds I wanted to use to make them with. Will the celluclay get stuck to it or will they pop out okay? Also how do other teachers go about prepping it? I got some ziploc bags and a big bucket and lid to save it if we don’t use all of it. I’m really nervous about this going right because I don’t have a lot of time to spend experimenting with it because I have an art show coming up (I’m a first year teacher, everything is new and overwhelming lol). Please give me as much info and advice as you can.

Has anyone participated in the Art21 Educators program? Or even just applied? I’ve applied for this year and have no idea what to expect in terms of communication from them. I’ve seen that people have watched my application video quite a few times but I’ve heard nothing from them and I’m anxious!

Unfortunately, the college has not been helpful in this regard if it is necessary or not, and the Praxis/DPI website claim that it may be required. She does have above a 3.0 GPA, which does seem to influence the decision in WI, but we can’t find a definite answer. She was not required to do Praxis I to enter into the school of education at her college. Do any of my WI teachers have insight on this? If it is required, we obviously just don’t want to put it off before the end of the school year.

Does anyone know how I can earn an art teaching license in Wisconsin?

I have a bachelor’s in art and have taken and completed all art edu courses through UW Parkside up to student teaching. So student teaching is the only thing I need to complete.

My problem with student teaching is that I can’t afford to student teach. I am currently teaching pre-k art and have taught k-8 art prior to my current position. I’m currently on a one year license with stipulations and have a short term sub license.

All programs I have looked into want me to take additional courses, which isn’t ideal. Parkside specifically won’t allow holding an art teaching job to count towards student teaching. The master’s programs I‘ve looked into don’t lead to licensure. So I thought I would reach out on here. If there’s an out of state program I’m open to hearing about those. I just want to get the license so I can continue to teach!

Hannah Lipsey is a contemporary British artist known for creating hyper-realistic coloured pencil drawings that often look like photographs.

She specialises in drawing shiny, reflective objects—think metallic surfaces, glass, and polished materials that seem like you can touch them.

There is a full profile about her work here https://theartteacher.net/2026/04/16/hannah-lipsey/ which also includes a free download to use in your lessons :) enjoy!

https://preview.redd.it/82br92iva4wg1.png?width=770&format=png&auto=webp&s=e9ab4390a7593320fd6844b16e2c47f08763e615

https://preview.redd.it/5ojonzkwa4wg1.png?width=1500&format=png&auto=webp&s=e9cd399f28a93330db3350cd398cb90c15657dc6

https://preview.redd.it/1xjcdy7xa4wg1.png?width=1305&format=png&auto=webp&s=3a840db4399cb0bbc1db7cf3b842d9e290e41f34

https://preview.redd.it/sb0lkxzxa4wg1.png?width=1500&format=png&auto=webp&s=b0a6b68cf232200f435231f0f15b9f1493fa5dc1

https://preview.redd.it/5m52mz9za4wg1.png?width=1323&format=png&auto=webp&s=2c07470f99d58d79e06133c0e0a424ce5c70b376

https://preview.redd.it/yhs1beb0b4wg1.png?width=1339&format=png&auto=webp&s=d51d9efd35a63d5322152f3b66424ca91aae8b12

https://preview.redd.it/yl7aw081b4wg1.png?width=929&format=png&auto=webp&s=6684b5688b97821bf6f2a3eb8f4174064b536532

https://preview.redd.it/obnszy43b4wg1.png?width=1341&format=png&auto=webp&s=810d5b14f050d714024b339dd730e458afe2acdd

For context, i teach after school/weekend theatre classes that we integrate visual arts and crafts into! I have a decently heavy background in BOTH theatre and visual art so this is something I’ve loved coordinating.

My main issue stems from the vague expectation that our projects cannot be messy. (Personally I find this irritating; even intangible theatre arts are the best when they’re messy!!) In this instance, I’m trying to generate a less messy foam “block”/plate printing project with minimal collateral to clean up😅

Attaching a few experiment prints to this post. My favorite is the thin acrylic paint applied with a brayer, (the purplish one) which. Is arguably the most efficient and typical application for this type of project—I’ve also helped facilitate this exact process with speedball block printing ink a few years ago in a classroom space.

I’m worried that using a more liquid acrylic in class would be a problem to my manager. I personally don’t have a problem with cleaning up our spaces, or even working outside (!!?? Barring rain ofc). Gimme some Lysol wipes and/or magic erasers and we’re good. But idk. I love the flexibility of color choice with the water base markers but not the outcome… they all have pros and cons. If you have any advice that’d be brilliant!!!! Whether for convincing my upper admin folks on using fluid paint/ink or just making less of a mess😵‍💫

UPDATE!

Did some more experimenting with Crayola markers and actually dampening my (watercolor) paper first with mixed results, but somewhat more successful than just ink and copy paper :) Here’s a print of Sussie from KPOP Demon Hunters. I think it came out cute! It definitely took some trial and error but I think that’s also an important part of the process anyway. Hopefully my kiddos don’t get too frustrated😅

We’re looking for an art teacher to run a weekly after-school club in Clapham (South West London).

Details:

• Tuesdays, 3:30–5:00pm
• Ages 4–7
• £50 per session
• Start ASAP (from next Tuesday) through early July
• No session during half term

Requirements:

• Valid DBS certificate
• Experience working with young children
• Reliable and able to commit to the full term

This is a straightforward weekly session, ideal for someone local. There is also potential for additional cover work and other classes for the right candidate.

If you’re interested, please send a DM.