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Teaching Aspirations: The Importance of Art Education

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Since this blog is a document of my process of becoming an art educator, I wanted to write about why, at this moment, I want to invest in this profession. I know the process of becoming, and being, an art teacher will be a constant realignment of expectations. As someone entering this profession with the perspective of mid-life, parenthood, and many friends and family members who are teachers, I like to think that the glasses I wear aren't entirely rose-colored. But I do have the spark of energy and vision of someone entering something new, and I hope that later on, should I become jaded or burnt-out, I can look back on this 'vision' and be reminded of why I started down this path. Art is Interdisciplinary   Octopod by Mikael Hvidtfeldt Christensen. Algorithmic art produced with the software Structure Synth, demonstrates the Golden Ratio. Having homeschooled my own children entirely through their elementary years, the key teaching approach I learned to embrace ...
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Praxis II: Core

Since I documented my experience with the Art Content & Knowledge Praxis, I thought I'd also document my experience with the Praxis II Core (Core Academic Skills for Educators). Considering myself a fairly intelligent, educated person, I didn't worry too much about this exam until a few days prior. I took something similar, the CBEST, some 18 years ago, to qualify as a substitute teacher in California, and did not prepare at all, and don't recall having any trouble with it. However, being twenty years out of school has a way of making even the most intelligent person nervous about taking a standardized test for the first time in decades. This series of exams (Math, Reading, and Writing) includes more difficult content than the CBEST. It's also much longer, (five hours if you take it as a combination test), and thus requires some stamina. However, after taking it, I don't think it is more difficult to pass than the CBEST, as it appears the Praxis II has a gen...
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The Praxis II - Art: Content and Knowledge

As of fall of 2017, the Praxis II exams are required for admission into teacher preparation programs in the state of Alabama. In Alabama, to become a P-12 Visual Arts educator, one must take and pass four of these exams; the Praxis Core exams (Math, Reading, and Writing), and the Art: Content and Knowledge exam. There are actually two exams for art; Art: Content and Knowledge (5134) and Art: Content and Analysis (5135). It appears that most states that require the Praxis for art teachers require either one or the other, but rarely both. 5134 is a multiple choice exam covering processes, materials, safety, and art history, while 5135 includes open-response analysis and writing along with uploading images of the candidate's original art. For whatever reason, Alabama went with Door Number One, opting for the Art: Content and Knowledge requirement. I took 5134 earlier this week. Given that ETS (Educational Testing Service) made me sign in blood that would not divulge any question...
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About This Blog

When I first began flirting with the idea of becoming an art teacher, I looked online to read about the experiences of art educators and teachers turning to the profession for the first time in mid-life. Finding only scattered scraps of insight I could relate to, I decided to document my own journey to become a teacher in mid-life on this blog, and hopefully, also share my experiences as an educator long-term. As I write this first entry, I am a woman of forty-one years. I hold a bachelor's degree in art, an education I began at UCLA and completed California State University, Fullerton. I worked in my early-mid twenties as a graphic designer until pregnancy-induced carpal tunnel syndrome forced me to prematurely quit my job. I then dedicated the next fourteen years to raising my two daughters, including seven years as a home educator, ten years as a scout leader, several years as a synagogue Sunday school teacher, and working sporadically as a volunteer and freelance artist and g...
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