Is primary school art teacher a good career idea for someone who wants to play in a band and paint murals?

Question

I've heard it's not all it's cracked up to be (the teaching part). Do you have any other good career ideas for painters who happen to make alot of music?

Answer 1

Well, it depends on how serious your band is.  If you decide to become an art teacher, you won't be able to just take time off from school to tour with your band.  First year teaching especially will take a lot of time (not only do you have to do lesson plans and organize supplies, but you have to do examples and grading takes a good chunk of time, too.)

I am an art teacher and a painter, and my boyfriend is in a band.  He wants to tour a lot and possible move to a different state that's more 'musician friendly'. - I cannot pick up and move due to my job, and you might find it hard to teach, paint, practice and play shows without being on some sort of speed (which you obviously can't do if you're a teacher) :-)

You might have to prioritize the painting and music, and pick one to do over the other in your time away from teaching.

Good luck - hope this was helpful!

p.s. don't plan on having summers off, either.  You'll probably need to get a summer job to make ends meet the first few years of teaching.

Answer 2

A music teacher :)

The music teacher at my school plays in a band and has a lot of hobbies.  Teaching is hard - however, if you're teaching what you love (art or music in your case), it's very rewarding!  It lets you pass on your love to the younger generation and still gives you the flexibility to truly work on your own talents (especially during the summer).  The pay isn't great, but neither is that of a starving artist or musician ;)

Answer 3

It's not a big deal.  You've got great hours (the whole summer to work on your music and murals), and you've got weekends off to do gigs.  The only problem I could see is actually finding a job to begin with.  Unlike regular classroom teachers, there's only one art teacher per school, so the pickins' are slim.

Answer 4

Being a teacher is very rewarding, but it takes a lot of dedication and a real love of children. You will be working nights and weekends during the school year, so there isn't a lot of spare time for your other occupations. Also, with tight educational money, there are not a lot of jobs for primary art teachers unless you are in a large school district. Don't become a teacher unless you really want to teach.

If your love is art and music, try to find a career related to one of those fields -- anything from working in retail art supply or music to broadcasting or commercial art or something like that. You can support yourself, leave time for your true interests  and not shortchange the children.