Higher Ed

Another school year, another series of joys and challenges; I would like us to focus on what that means for the newly appointed art teacher and the Art Ed student. K-12 teachers are in a unique position. How can we help? How can we support mentoring? I can’t tell you how many times I have heard a first year art teacher say, “Gee, I wish I had known about that in college.”

There are so many issues that arise in K-12 education. We really need to think about how to create a stronger bridge between K-12 and higher education. K-12 teachers, have you thought about offering to speak with pre-service art teachers to share your expertise and advice. Have you offered to open your classroom for visitations and internships? Higher Ed instructors, when was the last time you invited a panel of K-12 art teachers into your classroom to share their perspectives?

There is a wealth of information and expertise to be shared. Let this be the year that we reach out to one another. Does your college or university have an AENJ Student Chapter? Together we can educate the next generation of art teachers to be the best they can be. - Jan Wilson

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