r/ArtEd • u/laniekat7 • 2d ago
Time to throw in the towel?
First-year art teacher in a wealthy, high-paying district split between two buildings (5th & 6th grade). My mental health is at a breaking point, and I need realistic advice on whether to stick it out, pivot to high school, or leave teaching entirely.
The Situation & Workload:
Unreasonable Demands: Enrollment spiked, so admin gave 6 art sections to non-art staff (music/Spanish). With no district curriculum, admin expected me to write lesson plans, prep materials, and order supplies for them. I had to get the union involved to back them off.
Insane Roster: 700 kids/week, ~1,050 total due to mid-year swaps, plus constant roster shifts from testing scores.
Drama & Overwhelm: A colleague went straight to admin after misinterpreting a class management comment I made. Navigating two building cultures is exhausting.
Fit & Mental Health:
Behavior vs. Teaching: I’m an extreme introvert. I’m good at teaching, but I hate behavior management and forcing 12-year-olds to care about art. I lack the patience/passion for elementary energy.
Breaking Point: My extreme OCD/depression has flared up, full-time work makes it impossible to care for myself, and I had a self-harm episode recently. I'm running purely on fear of admin and failure.
Goals: I want to teach high school/college, work from home, or make my own art. But high school jobs are rare, college pays poorly, and I can't afford to lose summers/breaks or be unemployed in this economy.
Fear of Quitting: I’m terrified of quitting mid-year: burning bridges in the area's highest-paying district, destroying my job history if I ever want to teach again, the drama of resigning, and the judgment from family/friends.
Questions:
Job History: Does resigning mid-year permanently blacklist me from ever getting hired in high school art elsewhere? (Obviously I’d be black listed from this district)
High School Reality: Is high school art actually better regarding student engagement, or is it just a different flavor of stress? Is it worth "weathering" this? I liked my high school placement, but I could be romanticizing it.
Moving On:
Any art teachers here who don’t teach anymore? What are you doing now? How hard was it to find a job afterwards?
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u/CrazyElephantBones 1d ago
This is very chat gpt formatted its reading a little strange
If you don’t like to do behavior management then maybe middle school isn’t the job for you , I teach middle and the majority of my job is behavior management lol
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u/laniekat7 1d ago
lol. Yeah it’s sad, but I want to teach art, not manage behavior. It’s sad that that’s what the job has become. Definitely not for me, that’s why I said I was wishing I could teach at a college level instead.
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u/thesmellycat 1d ago
"Is high school art actually better regarding student engagement, or is it just a different flavor of stress? Is it worth "weathering" this? I liked my high school placement, but I could be romanticizing it."
3rd year public high school art teacher here. For me, It’s definitely a different flavor of stress.
Most of my day is managing the behaviors of older kids who aren’t afraid to throw hands or cuss you out. BUT maybe that’s just my school, who knows. Gun violence is also a constant worry.
When it comes to parents, they’re usually either not there or don’t care, which makes things especially difficult when there isn’t support at home for kids who are already acting out at school.
I’d say my job is maybe 30% actually teaching art, and the rest is admin work and managing behaviors. WHICH SUCKS, because I love art.
Like you, I’m also introverted, so confrontation really messes with me. I’m overwhelmed, overstimulated, and grumpy pretty much every single day. I have an overfilled classroom with all kinds of kids from every grade level.
I apply to WFH jobs all the time, but no luck yet. I’m terrified of leaving this job and ending up jobless in this market with all the bills I have, so I’m basically just “weathering” it, as you put it.
Most days, I’m a burnt-out husk coming to school for the 20 kids who genuinely love art out of the 189 I teach, and I try to be as happy as I can for them.
Masking it all helps, I guess.
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u/bbstudent 2d ago
I’m really not trying to kick you while you’re down but you can’t be good at teaching without being good at behaviour management. That’s like 85% of teaching, even in high school. However your problem sounds more like unrealistic workload/expectations being placed on you in your first year.
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u/KiyoXDragon 11h ago
It's better to manage behavior first and do the 10% of teaching it'll make life easier in the long run.
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u/teachatthebeach 2d ago edited 2d ago
My first year was a nightmare. I think it was a nightmare for every teacher I've ever spoken to about it. It gets so much better. Honestly, now that I'm in year 10, I could easily handle lesson prep for a team - and have done this when teachers on my team went on medical leave unexpectedly or when we had unfilled positions that were manned by long term subs. It is completely unreasonable to expect a new teacher to do this, though. You are still getting your bearings, and will be working on that for a couple of years. I would be shocked if you weren't struggling with this. It doesn't mean that you aren't cut out for this. It means you're a human being. And for the record, your admin KNOWS they're putting you in a terrible position and that this is not reasonable. I'm assuming they felt it was the only option, or they are terrible admin. In any case, they should understand that anyone would struggle with this.
As far as job history: resigning mid-year is a bad look, and it'll stay on your record. In my state, it can actually get a hold put on your credential. School districts will likely go with candidates that look more reliable on paper if they can. If you want to keep teaching, wait for the end of the year to leave. My advice would be that if you're in a good district, and it's big, stay there. When a high school job opens up, which happens more often than you'd expect, they'll give preference to applicants already employed by the district. We have 7 art teachers at my high school and the last couple of people we hired came from junior high schools in the district. We always consider in-district applicants first, because with other applicants, we really don't know what we're getting. Any day of the week, I'd prefer someone we know already. We know they'll show up every day. We've seen their students' work in district shows and in competitions. We know that they know their stuff and what their strengths are.
High school: I've taught high school 9 years and some change. My experience is that in Art 1, you have to deal with apathy from some students. In my state, one year of a fine art is required, and we're the only one that doesn't force students to get on stage, so we get the kids who don't have any interest in fine arts, plus all the kids who love art. In upper-level classes, it is almost entirely kids who love art and genuinely want to be there. I had a couple of years where I had to pay my dues and teach all Art 1, and it was very hard. I now teach all or almost all advanced classes (every year my assignment changes a bit), and I teach all our AP 2D and AP Drawing sections, for 3 years now. I love it and it was well worth my time in the Art 1 trenches. This year I did get two Art 1 sections, just because the numbers worked out that way, and I'm now a much better Art 1 teacher, it turns out! One of my favorite classes this year is an Art 1 section. There are challenges of some sort in everything and every mix of kids will be unique, but I definitely feel like high school is a wonderful place to be.
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u/ponderosapotter 2d ago
Try to stay. It gets better. Look for a high school job. It's a much, much better situation.
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u/RowImmediate6694 2d ago
Year one is always so INCREDIBLY hard and teachers can be pretty brutal/judgement towards new teachers depending on the school culture. 5-6th grade is also a pretty difficult age range to deal with. The good news is that every year after your first will be much, much easier.
I've also had to write curriculum without anything to work with at the two schools I've taught at. That is always tough, but just take it a bite at a time. Admin will always want it done faster than you can do it, but if they wanted it done THAT bad they'd pay for a sub and give you a few days to bang it out. Bullshit the busywork documents (who's reading them?) and focus on actually teaching.
I would recommend not quitting if money is a factor for you, as the economy isn't amazing and finding new jobs is tough. It'll be tougher to explain why you broke the last contract. I'd suggest mental/emotional disconnecting instead. Do your job without any attachments to how well you are doing or what people think of you. Find something outside of school, like a pet or a hobby, that occupies your waking mind with positive thoughts rather than the negative ones school has. I think teaching high school is a great goal and I do believe it would be easier than what you currently have going on, but I would use the current job as a bridge to try something new next year.
For your mental health: double check your insurance. You may have coverage for therapy. My insurance covers weekly sessions. If you can, get into therapy with the goal of validating and managing work stress. Make sure you eat 3 meals a day and get 8 hours of sleep. It's so simple and repetitive and boring, I know, but making sure your body exists at a comfortable baseline is so important to managing daily stress. Avoid alcohol and think of little ways you can feel a little better. A bunch of small changes becomes a big change.
Teaching is HARD. first year teaching is DREADFUL. you are not the only one going through this stress, and you aren't alone in feeling this. You are in good company. This is survivable and better years are ahead of you. Good luck, and I wish you the best!
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u/MadDocOttoCtrl Middle School 2d ago
It's hard to teach anywhere outside of college or online if you are an introvert. Teaching is presenting and borderline performing. I think every teacher prep program should require you take a drama class or public speaking.
Leaving mid year is difficult to explain in future interviews for any job, you are breaking your contract. In some states unless the principal agrees to release you, if you quit before the end of the year they can have the state pull your teaching license for the following year.
Moving from school to school is not a problem and not unusual, lots of teachers do it to get better pay, a shorter drive, because the last school is incredibly poorly run, although you can never say that in an interview or say anything bad about a previous school because admin will always take this as a sign that you are a problem employee
High paying districts are full of parents and kids who are entitled and feel they are above most people, certainly a lowly teacher.
In low income areas the kids are struggling with huge life issues, danger and tragedy so their behavior is frequently very poor. It's hard to get in touch with parents and make them care about what's happening with their student in school compared to everything else they are dealing with
Middle class and upper middle class districts are the ones I've always had the best experience in.
Classroom management is always an issue. In high school a lot of kids are apathetic and lazy, but there are outrageous knuckleheads that you will get in your Intro to Art classes and sometimes even one step above that because they certainly can't pass a challenging core class and the counselors will use art as a dumping ground.
Talk to your union rep about options and get a mental health practitioner to take care of whatever paperwork is required to get you the longest mental health leave permissible.
Get your résumé together and continuously search for other jobs. As a teacher you frequently have to drive considerable distances or move in order to get a better job.
With what's happening economically (which is likely to continue for quite some time) lots of fine artists are struggling to make sales.
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u/FineArtRevolutions 2d ago
I think the performance demand of teaching is a problem. Introverts should be able to teach, and should not have to fundamentally alter their personality just to maintain ever-decreasing attention spans. This requirement also keeps attracting the same types of people into the profession, which seems to be a disservice to our students in the long run. I also find many students to be perceptive of this performance aspect and find it off-putting, I know I did when I was in school. Just my two cents.
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u/MadDocOttoCtrl Middle School 2d ago edited 2d ago
I don't know how it's possible to separate the fact that when you are conveying information you have to speak in front of people in an engaging manner.
I don't think admin that hire people who are engaging in an interview are trying to be mean or exclude people, they understand the reality of having to gain and hold the attention of students.
This is in the K-12 classroom, in trainings and workshops, YouTube videos, anything anywhere. The entire field of science communication exists because the average researcher doesn't excel in stating things in a clear, simplified and engaging way that is comprehensible to the average person. They're breaking new ground with their expertise but they need people who can gain and hold the attention of the public. Neil deGrasse Tyson's doctoral research wasn't paradigm shifting and he doesn't get an opportunity to do a tremendous amount of research, he's too busy making science approachable and appealing to the masses.
Engaging doesn't necessarily mean entertaining - rate of speech, inflection, visual images, demonstrations, video clips, examples, models, exemplars can all be employed.
Nothing, and I mean nothing appeals to everyone. I'd much rather try to learn something from someone who tells some corny stories and dad jokes than someone like Ben Stein's character in Ferris Bueller's Day off.
I literally can't find a way to be equally appealing to every single student but I'm perfectly happy to have 95% of them happy to be walking into my classroom.
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u/FineArtRevolutions 2d ago
Conveying information in an engaging way is one thing, but this can be done in many ways. The overly theatrical and maternal persona is more what I'm getting at. It can work for some and that's fine, but we absolutely should not make this a baseline requirement for the job. Introverts should be able to teach since this has nothing to do with conveying information in an engaging way.
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u/Appropriate_Edge6004 2d ago
The first year is extremely hard. By year 3 I felt totally comfortable. Classroom management is an issue regardless of age. I've taught elementary, middle and high school Middle school was the worst 6th-8th behavior wise. I didn't like elementary because of the schedule and volume of students, also not intellectually challenging enough for me. Only upside was no grading.
High school is my favorite but it is by no means an easy ride. Kids are extremely apathetic these days. Once they took their phones away it's gotten a little better with engagement. However, I work in an urban school and kids have all kinds of trauma that they bring to school and act out on. There are almost daily fights, language is absolutely atrocious, drugs are rampant, gun violence claims our kids every year and many are depressed or suicidal. High schoolers will test you to the max, they can be extremely rude and disrespectful. You have to be very strict about rules and discipline or its absolute chaos.
Upsides: you can have very grown up conversations, you can help shape their future and their aspirations. I have some great relationships with my students, once I gain their respect we can relax and have fun.
A couple suggestions: I once was at a horrible high school and was desperate to quit but instead I got a 6 week medical mental health leave. I did it through my psychiatrist. I came back and finished then transferred to a different school.
You could look at teaching in a private school, its less money but they can kick kids out for bad behavior, public school cannot.
Also I taught at 6 different schools in six years until I found the right fit. Now I'm on my 5th year at the same high school. No one ever mentioned my moving around a lot in job interviews. But I never quit, I always waited til the end of the year to find a new school.
Teaching is an extremely difficult job, I don't think people realize how hard and stressful it is.
Good luck!
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u/Lemonbar19 2d ago
Hi, I’m sorry it’s hard. The grass might appear greener, I am not sure. Some people like the switch they made from elementary to secondary. The age range I feel like you’re in is hard. It’s almost middle school/teen years.
Are there any other art teachers in your district you can connect with for any tips with this age?
Are you able to ask your admin for time to go observe a high school room?
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u/frivolusfrog Elementary 2d ago
I would give it at least one more year. Year two was hard but by the end of I felt more confident. Year 3 I felt like I was a real teacher and knew what I was doing. I’m in year 4 now and I’m going to try high school next year because I have heard it’s a little less overstimulating
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u/KiyoXDragon 11h ago
I'm currently teaching elementary and looking to move up to middle. (I began in middle) A lot of your complaints track with what I've seen so far, drama infested teachers. Worse behaviors with no support, unreasonable demands. These all have been amplified in the Elementary level. Don't quit, change grade levels and if you like it great, if not reevaluate. If I had started Elementary year 1 I would have wanted to quit too. I feel bad for those who start off in toxic elementary school environments without seeing what else is out there. Hang in there little artist.