Relationship Building

Attitudes Out of Control? Art Room Tips for Perfectionism to Apathy

| September 25, 2025

Welcome to The Art of Ed’s Draw the Line, a mini-series where Kyle Wood and Liz Brent share real classroom stories and proven behavior management tips just for art teachers. In this episode, we’re sharing our top tips for encouraging positive attitudes and navigating everything from perfectionism to apathy in your art room. Learn how to respond to students who say your class is boring or students who rush through work, demand special privileges, or shut down completely. Watch for ideas to apply in the moment and gain proactive strategies to prevent them from happening in the first place!

Subscribe and get ready to sharpen your behavior management skills and draw the line in your art room!

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Stay tuned for the following:

  • How to respond to students demanding special treatment
  • What to say when a student refuses to work
  • Supportive ways to redirect perfectionism
  • Strategies to reframe “boring” into “engaging”
  • Harness student voice and choice

For the resources in this video, check out the following:

To chat about attitudes in the art room with other art teachers, join us in The Art of Ed Community!

Magazine articles and podcasts are opinions of professional education contributors and do not necessarily represent the position of the Art of Education University (AOEU) or its academic offerings. Contributors use terms in the way they are most often talked about in the scope of their educational experiences.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Lindsey McGinnis

Lindsey McGinnis is AOE’s Media Content Manager and a former high school art educator. She is passionate about equipping art teachers to be successful in their classrooms and firmly believes that art is the best place for students to explore and process the challenging topics and concepts around them.

More from Lindsey

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