The International Schools Review Forum

Thank you for your responses everyone.

HT, thank you. That's exactly the kind of information I've been looking for. As of now, I have 1.5 years to develop my resume a bit more. I will get certified in Art and ELA for now. I'll look into taking some art education courses and some more studio art courses. When the time comes, I'll apply to both subjects to teach.

heyteach, if you could answer a few more questions of mine, that would be fantastic! :)

1. Do you recommend doing full course programs such as a post-bacc/masters, or will some credit hours at a university possibly suffice for now?

2. What 2D and 3D media would you recommend I focus on relaying to employers I can teach?

3. When you say you have a representative sample of student work, how many pictures do you usually have? How many different pictures of students work for the same project? And what 2D and 3D media do you usually show?

Glad the info (which was a bit lecture-y) was helpful.

1. You really need to find out what the state requirements are for getting an endorsement or some indication on your cert for your subject areas. In my state, you just submit your credits and the dept. of ed evaluates them and awards the cert with appropriate endorsements.

An MA makes you more competitive, but not an absolute necessity. If you do the MA program, you will have to go back and pick up the undergrad ed courses you missed; this is what I had to do as I had a BFA with no ed background. Only you know what kind of time and money you're willing to spend.

2. No one has ever asked me my specialties; I certainly have my preferences, but am experienced in most media. This may come up in an interview as an aside, but neither side has made a point of mentioning it. Sculpture is my weakest area, and computer graphics not my area at all. I have to be honest about the computer graphics IF it comes up.

3. I would have just one image of the final product for any one lesson plan. Don't overdo it. Show some versatility in lessons.

Wow, thank you for that information. In my state, I do not need college credit hours in the subjects I wish to teach. It's just as long as I pass the subject area certification exam, I'm good to go.

Though, it seems like with the information everyone on the thread has provided me with, obtaining more professional training in art would not just be a good idea, but likely a necessity due to my lack of "recognized" teaching experience in art. Most likely I will go for a post-bacc in art and my MA will likely be an MFA or MA in education. Slowly down the line, I'll pick up these credentials. As for now, I'll look into summer art studio/education credits at universities and try my luck job searching with the experience I currently have. Because for now being back in school full time would be difficult.

Thanks again everyone!