Week #12: College and Career Guidance (For the Art Classroom)

This week we briefly discussed the fact that our high school students will be on the search for potential colleges and careers, and that as teachers it is our job to attempt to guide them.  We might not be guidance or career counselors, but as the art “specialists” in the building it is our responsibility to make sure our students are informed of careers and universities in the arts.

(Retrieved from:  http://www.sascs.org/academics/college-guidance)

One way I have seen teachers approach this task is to have students write brief papers about careers within the arts.  If there were extra time within the semester I would probably prefer to ask students to deliver short presentations on different art careers.  This way they can all learn about a variety of possibilities, hear from their peers, and get further practice at public speaking.  Beyond that I would be sure to discuss colleges and careers with noticeably interested students.  I would make special efforts with students involved in Art Club, National Art Honor Society, and AP art classes by including discussions about art careers and schools every semester.

As far as specific advice for students is concerned, I would be sure to give students realistic advice about the cost of particular universities, the strengths of particular art programs, and the realities of particular careers.  For example, we discussed in class how students should know that high paying, high status graphic design careers would not be located in towns like Columbia.  Students would also need to be able to weigh the value of particular degrees versus the cost of loans.  In class we discussed how an architecture degree would be more valuable from Clemson, and how a degree from the Savannah College of Art and Design would be much more expensive loan-wise than a degree from USC – perhaps more expensive than the loans are worth, despite the prestige of the degree.  I would be sure to explain these things to students as they ask for advice, or as they discuss possible plans.

Personally, I had one art professor at USC Upstate that helped steer me in the right direction when it came to my real college career (I was a dual enrollment student at the time).  I was considering either going to USC or College of Charleston, and he told me, “if you want to go to college and paint watercolor pictures of Rainbow Row then go to Charleston, but if you want an experience of diversity in art and ideas then go to Columbia.”  I ended up taking his advice, and I am glad that I did.  Hopefully I can provide equally useful advice to my students.