Skills of an Art Teacher
By Claire Miles - October 10, 2022

Art teachers are not like other educationalists. They have certain personality traits that may not be necessary for teachers of other subjects and if students find themselves stuck with an art teacher that does not hold these traits, then they may see the world of art in a completely different way from how they are supposed to. Art is a subject with no right answers. Different artists have different expressions in art so literally anything that they do, so long as it holds meaning to them, can be seen as an authentic effort in art. This is why art teachers need to be open and accepting of their children. If students produce a piece of art that does not particularly appeal to the teacher, he or she should not criticize it, but only look at the effort and thought process behind what is being presented.

Art teachers should be particularly passionate about their profession. Sure, this can be said about pretty much any profession, but the role of an art teacher is to be able to inspire their students to put in the effort and come up with their best work, regardless of how the results look in the end. If they are not passionate about the subject themselves, they may never be able to encourage students to apply themselves and be creative.

Art teachers should also hold a positive and open environment in class. Art can be a form of therapy for many people. Teachers should build an environment where students feel safe in expressing themselves and learning things from the teacher, as well as expressing their forms of art. Of course, like every other teacher, art teachers need to be well-learned in the subjects to be able to guide students in how to use different equipment, but if someone is a great artist but is unable to connect with students, then those skills would not be much use as an art teacher.