How do I become an art teacher (located in San Diego)?

Question

I have graduated from San Diego State University with in BA in Art with a Graphic Design emphasis. I have worked for a few different companies doing graphic design jobs for the past five years and am getting a bit burnt out from the experience.

I have started to become more interested teaching art specifically for students with special needs. I wanted to know, with the education that I have now, of what requirements I need to be eligible for a job in teaching art.

Answer 1

Find out what teacher's union exists for your school district and contact them, telling them you are thinking of going into teaching and you would like to know what else do you need to do to get a credential. Or, you could contact the school district directly.

You are one step ahead of students who majored in Education because school districts favor hiring someone with a solid background in a subject.

Also, some school districts may hire you on an emergency credential if you possess other skills that are needed but are in short supply.  For example, if you are bilingual and would be willing to teach ESL in addition to your regular subject, that would be a big plus.

Also consider adult education and private schools. I worked in a private school for several months and it was a real eye-opener. I left because their safety standards for the children were non-existent and children were being injured and exposed needlessly to danger. Private schools also don't allow you to tell parents the truth about their childrens' progress until the last fourth of the school year. If a child is failing, private schools are afraid angry parents will withdraw kids, losing a lot of money for the school, so the private school won't let parents know the truth until it is too late to withdraw the children.

A lot of large industries also are hiring teachers for various subjects. If they have a day care center on premises and it involves very young children, they might be delighted to hire a preschool or primary level teacher with a background in art.