Do I have to be good at art to be an art teacher?

I am currently an art ed major but it seems like all my fellow classmates are very gifted in art. I think I am creative and I enjoy art but I am not that talented. I have always felt intimidated about my drawing/painting skills, which is part of the reason I want to teach, to give kids confidence. I want to teach art at an elementary level. I also want to get a masters in art ed or art therapy. I just want to make sure I'm not getting myself into something that I will regret.


Thanks!

Do I have to be good at art to be an art teacher?
My art teacher is really good, but she's not like an expert or anything. If you're creative and are passionate about becoming an art teacher, then I don't see why not. Just make sure you know the basics.
Reply:You will have to be certified by the state department. This will tell if you are good or not.Art teachers have talents in one or more areas.The question you need to ask yourself is if I am good or not with kids. They are your first customer and what keeps art teachers in business.
Reply:honestly i think that you should do what you want to do...as long as you are creative and love kids you should be just fine :) the point is to enjoy what you do, and in your case inspire others...you know what it feels like to feel less than someone else, so you would be the perfect art teacher because you can relate to that...you would be able to recognize a student that is feeling intimidated and then try to bring out the best in them, while boosting their self confidence...i want to be a teacher myself but im undecided at whether i want to major in art or something else...i feel like you would be an AWESOME art teacher...so my advice is to go for it! i think you would enjoy it!
Reply:My high school music teacher was completely tone-deaf, but she was a great teacher. (Percussionist) She was one of those people that helped you through a problem until you understood it, and that bubble popped. Once you understand something for yourself, you can move on from there on your own- but you will always need someone more experienced, because they know what to look out for and the reason why. Teachers are a guide that keeps the inspiration flowing among others.





Now in college, I had the exact opposite experience. My clarinet professor was an outstanding musician, and guess what- we spent most of our practice time talking about what he played and where, and how it sounded, and where he went to school, etc.. I didn't learn a lick of anything from him. All narcissism aside, he still didn't infuse anything further into me. The bum.





Because you are going to be teaching to ages 10 and below, I would worry less about your art skills, and more about what teaching art does for children, and why people need to be creative. You sound like you're on track. Good luck!
Reply:I think what would be more important is to be able to teach and communicate. Teaching is a lot like coaching. You don't need to be a professional in what you teach or coach, but you need to be professional in your approach and management of the principles involved. Encourage students to grow and explore - that's the best thing you can bring - your talent as an artist will fall behind that.
Reply:You don't have to be good at art to be a good art teacher. At middle school, most 6th grade teachers are required to teach art regardless if they have any skills or knowledge in that area. The Art teacher (for 7th and 8th) gets hit up to teach a history class every couple of years, despite that not being her forte.
Reply:First, how are you doing in the art classes that you are taking at college? If you are going to continue with your goal of being an art teacher, hopefully you are getting at least Bs in most of these classes. Do you think you'd be able to continue getting grades at about that level or higher? If not, you might find it a little harder to get hired as an art teacher (there are a lot fewer job openings for art teachers than teachers of most other subjects, so you do want to keep that in mind). If your grades are ok, I wouldn't worry too much about not being an amazingly gifted artist. Also, lower grades in art skills classes could be balanced out with higher ones in art history and eduction courses.





The art projects the elementary students at my school do are usually pretty simple but are designed to teach them about concepts of art. Your ability to teach these concepts will be more important than your technical skills. I think it's great how you want to give the students confidence - I'd like to have you as my art teacher!





When I was in grad school, I had a roommate who was getting her PhD in art ed. She had done her Bachelor's and MA in English, and she hadn't done much study of art at all before beginning her PhD program! Her actually artwork was, honestly, not great. Yet, she was almost ready to graduate from a good university with her PhD in art ed.





Have you thought about possibly either getting your certification in elem ed or getting it in both elem ed and art ed? I live in an area where there a big overall shortage of teachers, but art ed majors still have a tough time finding jobs. Regular elementary classroom teachers do so many art-related activities in their classrooms that you might feel satisfied with teaching there.





In short, if you finish your degree in art ed and get a job as an elem art teacher, I don't think you will regret it at all. What might cause you to regret it would be if you're not able to find work as an art teacher. You'll have to think about what your chances are (and ask some professors in your dept how many of the recent grads in your major are working as art teachers), and then make your decision about what to do. Good luck!