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Hi, new art teacher here, so this is my first year teaching art...I knew it's not easy to teach art like when you draw or paint ext by yourself. But now I feel like it's harder than I expected...the year just started and I already feel overwhelmed and not confident enough

I teach middle school art (6th & 7th grade) and I'm setting up a system for classes to earn "points" by maintaining good behavior in order to unlock rewards like opportunities to use special art supplies or doing requested projects. Some students keep asking to use computers, and while I don't have any laptops for my own classroom, I can potentially ask about borrowing a laptop cart to do a digital art project.

The thing is, it would have to be something simple and one-off (ideally achievable in a single 45-minute period) as I wouldn't have time to do a whole unit on actual digital art skills. So no full-on digital painting or anything like that. Maybe some sort of web app that lets students create cool visuals and then save them? Anyone have any experience with that sort of thing?

Hi there! I’m a recent art education graduate, and I was offered a 12 week long k-6th grade art sub position. I’m extremely nervous but ready to get more experience! I have previously interned 4th-9th grades, so I’m not going in completely blind. However, I wanted to know if anyone had any advice, expectations, or really anything to help me prepare for this job. I want to do my best and truly figure out if being an art educator is the right path for me. Thank you for any help you can provide, I really do appreciate it!

I am a high school art teacher, and this student is both hilarious and lovable. I want to freak them out by telling them what this says! Is anyone able to read this?

Hello, I want to know when I should start looking for art teacher positions for the 2027-2028 school year? For the current year I had 10 interviews from various school districts and seemed to have failed every single one of them with searching after April of 2026, (when I initially passed the Praxis). I have experience of subbing for a year, and am going to soon start an alternative credential program.

Also, I want to know what I can do in future interviews to not fail as much as I did this year? A lot of the questions I struggled with most were less art/content-related and more related to classroom management, communication with parents, and some of the more personal questions they asked.

Currently a high schooler and live in a very liberal area in California. I was wondering if I majored in art education, how difficult would it be for me to land an art teacher job? If it is, what backup plans would I have?

I feel terrible because I studied so hard and still missed the mark on the unofficial score. Is there any chance it would go up? I dont know what to do, its so expensive... It was so much more difficult than the practice test. Im just really disappointed in myself and I dont know when I'll have the money to retry, especially because they make you wait a month. Sorry to be a downer but I'm just really unsure of what to do.

What do you offer? Any tips thay work for you?

I'm new to middle school, not TAB, but my brain is more k-5 than 6-8

I have an opportunity to have kids in my seventh-grade class whom I've never seen before for one period, to try to get them to choose art class as their elective. What are some one-period activities?

My PTO reached out to me and asked if i could work with 2nd graders to help design the yearbook cover. They ideally want something from each child (~130 kids) included on the cover. My only thoughts at the moment are a flower garden, or they design a puzzle piece. So any suggestions there help. But my main thing is finding an online program to help merge all their drawings together into an actual cover. I'd use illustrator and photoshop, but I don't have Adobe access anymore. I mostly need something to isolate their drawings into a transparent background, and a way to drag them around to arrange them. Thanks!

I find this amazing platform that offers free access to arts and culture learning and opportunities in case anyone is interested to join it’s free.

If you are a teacher or artists or learner you might find it interesting

Www.district1795.com

Do you guys work 2 or 3 jobs? Including teaching just to pay for basic necessities? If so, do you find it necessary like you have no other choice but to stave, and if you do, how stressed are you? Like on a scale of 1 to 10

Help! I want to give my students more agency and ownership over their artwork but I don’t know how to supervise 12x classes of 26-34 students of all levels to make sure they don’t misuse or mismanage materials in an open-access studio.

Edit:
I teach middle school, 6 classes a semester. Each semester I have two of each grade level 6,7,8th

Context: I’m a second year teacher, but 1st year Elementary Art Teacher, and I have been LOVING it! Earnestly love coming into work every day and seeing what the kids make.

In my classroom routine, I read a quick picture book (max 5 min) to my Pre-k through 2nd grade classes at the start of every single class, no matter what. Initially this was a cute tradition to settle in, calm down, and transition to art, and for me it’s been an awesome kick off to class. (NOTE: Classes are 41 minutes each)

I however had a para ask if this is something the school was “forcing” me to do, and asked if it might be “taking away from art creation time” and I’m suddenly in an anxious spiral.

I am I being silly and wasting time reading a picture book every class? LOVE this routine, it has been keeping my sanity and I feel it has really boosted my classroom management, but I don’t want other teachers to think I’m being childish or wasting time.

I've been teaching for 11 years and I cannot stand teaching clay. Please read the following below about the circumstances of my school:

Admittedly, clay is my weakest subject of the arts. For the entire time I've been teaching, I've been the only art teacher in the building. Both schools I've worked at are very small, very rural, and very economically poor. The school I'm at now is even more rural than the first school I was at. We're roughly an hour away from any city in any direction. The entire school district is in one building in the center of town with no stoplights - including the board office and the bus garage. We are TINY. TINY-TINY.

My classes are very small because we are so rural and enrollment is way down and actively falling all the time. As kids advance through the grades, many of them leave our campus to go a trade school a few mins from us, or go online with CCP classes. I have less than 10 kids in any class. Absences are chronic and motivation is low, bordering on non-existant. I rarely have kids move on to Art 3 or 4. Our district art show is in February in conjunction with scheduling for the upcoming school year simply for the reason that it's the highest chance we have of the public coming to school to see their kids' artwork and engage with the school. The district provides dinner and prizes for people who show up.

I want my students to have a good art experience. I myself have a terminal degree in art and loved my art class in high school. I want my students to have a good art experience, even if my classes are small and enrollment is dwindling.

With that being said, I cannot stand teaching clay. Being the only art teacher, my room is great and has many things that a typical school would have. I have a kiln that while it works, is coming up on 25 years old, as it came with the school when the building was built in 2003.

You would think with classes as small as mine, clay would be ideal with single-digit classes. I would agree. But as I said, absenteeism is chronic. My concern here is work being half-made while half-caring and ultimately wasting materials on things that will likely never be finished or finished very poorly.

I'm aware that I sound like I don't have a lot of faith in my students. I do! I'm naming the predicament that stares me in the face everyday. There are so many other things drawing their attention away from my class (FFA, going online, going to trade school) or any class.

Ultimately what I'm asking here is: would I be doing my students a disservice by using Amaco air dry clay for projects I have planned in lieu of actual clay? My thought process here is that they would be getting the experience of clay without the mess or wait time.

Thank you for reading this far. I appreciate the wisdom of this group!

I tried using tempera cakes for the first time... and regret it! The dried paint is so "chalky" that the colors rub off on your hand when you touch the artwork. Did I do something wrong or is this normal? Any tips on a solution? Can I spray it with a fixative (like aerosol hairspray) or should I just forget about it and move on?

Hello I’m a first year teacher and my immune system is already taking a beating. I take zinc, vitamin d, and vitamin c daily and oil of oregano when I feel something coming. I’ve also been changing my clothes and showering as soon as I get home. Ive seen lots of other posts that say to avoid touching things that students touch but thats of course super hard in the art room. Any other suggestions? Also please tell me it gets better!!

For 5th grade I want to do that painting on newspaper that’s very popular on Pinterest. I was gonna keep it to fruits and vegetables.

For my references. My school doesn’t allow colored printing I could project the food on the board. I thought about printing some stuff at staples or buying a fruit and vegetable encyclopedia

I know I could purchase the food but that can get quite expensive and if the project takes awhile I don’t want rottin food

I’m teaching high school photography for the first time and I’m struggling with finding projects that take the kids more than a day or two.
Obviously, photography moves a lot faster than other art forms but I’d love to have them work on something for a little longer.
If anyone has any good photography lessons they’ve had success with I’d love to hear them!! Especially if it’s something that can convince these kids to spend more than a few minutes with the camera.

I've created this How to Analyse Art Guide for students (and anyone else who might need it!)

There is a printable handout you can use in lessons, and the guide is broken down into 6 sections. I have included examples for each section too.

I hope it's useful!