Is it better to be an elementary teacher or high school teacher?

Dear Mackenzie:

This is a really good question. I think you have hit on the advantages of each grade level very well---in elementary school the students are excited about art and the novelty of many of the art supplies they get to use, while in high school students are beginning to come into their own as young artists.

I was a middle school art teacher, and I really loved that age group....they still had some of "gee whiz" of the elementary school kids, but were more sophisticated in terms of their skills and ideas. (Also more of hand-full with behavior--those raging hormones!). I did my student teaching in elementary and middle schools and I did student observations in high school. Here is what I experienced.

For elementary school art teaching, you need a lot of energy and you need to be well organized; typically, you'll see all grades on a rotating schedule. So for a school with grades Kindergarten-6th grade, this means 7 preps or 7 different lessons to prepare for. My host teacher in elementary school was amazing in keeping her lessons and materials organized and her energy up; she loved working with the different age levels and, like you mentioned, she loved seeing the excitement as they experienced new materials and new ideas in art.

For high school art teaching, depending on the class, you will get more mature and more dedicated art students, and they will have more sophisticated ideas and art skills. A lot of art teachers like working with older kids because of the give and take of ideas while teaching these students. In my student teaching, when I switched from elementary to my middle school situation, I felt it was less busy; fewer preps and more time to work on lessons and to interact personally with the students. As a middle school art teacher, I saw my students every other day for 90 minutes, though in some middle schools you'll see them everyday for 40-50 minutes.. I just liked the pace and challenges of teaching art in a secondary school.

This was my experience. Some teachers switch around; they may start in elementary school and transfer to the high school or middle school, and vice versa. When you get certified to teach art, you will be certified for K-12, so you can switch if you want. Some school districts require everyone to start in elementary and then they can transfer to the high or middle schools. It depends.

Usually you don't have to decide right away which level you want to teach when you start an art education program. The best way for you to decide really is to observe art teachers in elementary or high school or middle school (or all three!). Observations (usually a few afternoons) of other teachers was required for my program, and it was helpful to see other teachers in action. At the end of your program, you will also be doing student teaching for a couple of months or so, and that will help you decide. From my observations as an art education student, I knew I was interested in middle school, possibly elementary, and that is where I did my student teaching.

Whatever level you decide, you'll have a wonderful career sharing your enthusiasm, skills and knowledge about art with young people. I suggest you look into the National Art Education Association (NAEA). Their website has lots of information and resources for art teachers and those interested in art education. Best wishes!