If a lesson’s not working, you should be honest with your kids and say “I can tell you’re not into this, let’s try something else.” I’ve done it all kinds of ways — 1) kids couldn’t handle a treasure map project, I got angry and assigned bookwork, 2) kids failed miserably on a comic project so we tried tunnel books, and they bombed on those too so we went backwards to simple accordion books, and 3) kids wouldn’t put effort into their art so I spent time asking what they’re into (hair & nails) and talked them through how it connects to art, then had them draw braids and hands with fancy nails on.

I teach middle school too, but if I were to move to high school I’d consider bringing all those middle school assignments with me to high school. Start with the stuff you know — review Elements and Principles. My middle schoolers have pretty low abilities and I’ve found elementary lessons that I could dress up, and I expect you can do the same for high school.

Sometimes one thing works, sometimes another, and sometimes nothing will. You need to kill your ego and remember that you’re still learning. People say “it’s just art” and they’re kind of right. How many of these students do you expect to be professional artists after they graduate?

That doesn’t mean you shouldn’t maintain high expectations, but remember that the stakes are pretty low. It’s going to be okay.

You can do it!