I’ve been hemming and hawing for months about teaching high school art. My brain races in circles when it realizes there is a real possibility that I will carry through with the threat and get my certificate. Hundreds of scenarios fling themselves harshly and relentlessly against the inside of my cranium in response to what teaching would “really be like.” Terror? Yup. Shear joy and fulfillment? Uh huh! Strong desire to hang out with kids and tell teach them what I know? You betcha. Feelings of powerlessness and paralysis? Sure thing! What if I can’t get a long with my boss? What if I can’t deal with parents? What if I go to school for another year and my job completely sucks?

See what I mean?

So what’s my problem? Maybe I have been free to set my own schedule for too long. I have been my own boss for many years, after all. I have scratched along creating paintings and selling them. Sort of make a living at it, too. I’ve heard that there is a lot of paperwork and extracurricular stuff that has to be done all the time. And that the hours are really long. And that vacations are rarely just vacations because you still have to get ready for when vacation is over. All these things make me wonder if I am cut out to teach in such a structured environment. According to my cousin, my problem is that I hate authority—still, after 43 year alive.

Expect to be overwhelmed for the first three years of teaching. If you can make it to five years, you will feel comfortable. That will make me 45 by the time I start to teach, and 50 by the time I feel comfortable. The clock is ticking.

The bureaucracy of  a school district is staggering. I would have to answer to assistant principles, principles, curriculum coordinators, superintendents, other high-ranking school bureaucrats, school board members, politicians, parents, the students! Oh my. Right now I answer to me with regard to my career. One level. Easy. As stated before, I have a problem with authority. Could spell disaster for me.

So, what do I have to lose? Two years of preparation and $10-15k in tuition. No money in the mean time. Pretty much where I am now for income unless the art market picks up soon.

What do I have to gain? Maybe the best place I could be in my life. Lots of new experiences. And a steady income for a change.

Every piece you do needs a beginning, a middle, and an end.

Each sentence should contain no more than one idea.

When you finish writing, get up from your desk, print it out, go for a walk and read it out loud. If it is confusing, it is. If you run out of breath reading a sentence, it is too long.

Generate a large quantity of ideas. Don’t worry about the quality of the idea. Don’t edit your ideas too early or you’ll miss the best ones.