Too much choice can be paralyzing, too little is suffocating.

​Teaching creativity seems to be what we’re doing in art education, but if you just tell them, “use anything you want to make anything you like.” The overwhelming choices can be paralyzing for students when they face too many options without adequate structure, guidance, or a clear purpose. This phenomenon, often referred to as "choice overload" or "decision paralysis." If art education was as easy as that, we would not need certifications to point students to supply closets, and make sure they clean up after themselves.
 
Worse is when they have no autonomy at all and are forced to make stuff that all looks like it came from a sweat shop. I can’t even call that art because it lacks the voice of its maker. Paralysis can occur in several scenarios:
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1. Goals or Parameters

• When students are not provided with a framework or objectives for their creative work, the vast array of possibilities can make it difficult for them to decide where to begin.
• Framework should not be a prison either. It is a guide. Themes tied to their interests will help them along the path, but be ready for stragglers, because sometimes THEY discover something amazing you never considered before.

2. Materials or Techniques

• If students are presented with numerous art supplies or tools they are unfamiliar with, the fear of using them incorrectly can deter them from starting. Without prior exposure or instruction, they may spend too much time trying to evaluate their options instead of focusing on the creative process.
• Exercises are fine, but should not replace lessons. A color wheel is a non-expressive experience builder, not a final goal. Build upon experiences and let your students incorporate them.

3. Fear of Choice

• Some students may feel pressure to choose the “best” material, subject, or approach, leading to anxiety about making mistakes. This fear can stifle experimentation and reduce their willingness to take creative risks. 
• This fear is usually the result of a bad previous experience where the "best" project looked like the teacher's example. Encourage a Wabi-Sabi approach and embrace mistakes, tangents, and exploration. We are not robots, we're artists!

4. Scaffolding

• If a lesson introduces a new medium or concept with little guidance, students may feel overwhelmed by the need to simultaneously learn technical skills and make creative decisions.
• Balance is key. Do you show a sample? Students will often copy it... but if your sample is tangential to what they will create, then it's fine. Like your self portrait when they are about to make their own. It takes years of experience to know when to pull students in, and when to let them succeed or fail on their own. Thumbnails, to sketches, to final work with formal and informal critiques at each step is often a helpful path.

5. Balancing Choice and Structure
To mitigate these challenges and make choice empowering rather than paralyzing, educators can:

• Set boundaries within freedom: Provide a curated selection of materials or themes while allowing students to explore within those limits.
• Offer guidance and modeling: Demonstrate how to use different materials or brainstorm initial ideas to help students visualize possibilities.
• Use prompts or challenges: Offer starting points, such as prompts, constraints, or themes, to focus creativity.
• Encourage exploration without judgment: Create a classroom culture where mistakes are valued as part of the learning process.

By balancing freedom with structure, educators can help students navigate the wealth of creative possibilities without feeling overwhelmed. This approach fosters confidence, decision-making skills, and a love for artistic exploration.

For more specific examples of how I create my choice-based lessons, please visit THIS blog post. If you are new to art education, I have additional specific advice and resources for you HERE.

Research resources below.

​Here is an anonymous post on Facebook; it is not unique. I would say I read something similar posted in the forums weekly. Students don’t show interest, they’re lazy, they just do the minimum, etc.

Anonymous member:

I'm so sorry fellow colleagues but I need to gripe. I teach 4 periods of year ... More so than any other year I've taught (this is my 24th year), the apathy, whininess, and entitlement is the absolute WORST I have come across. God forbid I ask them to do ANY work; god forbid if they don't earn an "A" grade, even if they don't do any work; god forbid I grade a messy, scribblely, didn't-follow-the-directions project a "D" or 50% (and I'm being VERY generous). Then I get the parents contacting me with the same complaints; as I explain to both parents and students why they earned the grade they did, I get "this class doesn't matter anyway." In the past, I've had my handful of students in every class who behave this way; this year it appears that over 80% of them this year behave this way... Thanks for reading my complaints. (edited for length)

​My reply was this: 

No blame here but take a moment to self reflect if you’re “phoning it in,” using the same lessons you’ve been using for 20+ years… if you’ve lost your own excitement over the material the students may be subconsciously reacting to that. I had a similar issue and decided to do 50% new lessons every year keeping it fresh for me and my students.
Again NO accusations here, just food for thought. I’ve been teaching art for 35 years now and am trying to keep it fresh till I retire in 4 years.

​My grandparents would complain about “kids these days…” and my parents would cut them off, until one day they too were saying, “kids these days…”. I would say they just didn’t understand our generation, but now in my 50s, I catch myself nodding in agreement when I hear my colleagues say, “kids these days…”.
 
As seasoned teachers, we know what lessons work and which ones don’t. But at some point, we can get caught in a “rut” doing what is comfortable. We’re getting older. Rolling out of bed at 5:30 in the morning before the sun is up to drive in the dark to school gets old. So, if we honestly self-reflect, our exhaustion; physical, mental, social, perhaps even spiritual is tested on a daily basis.
 
It is no surprise that even if we put on our “happy teacher mask” that the reality of our existence might just leak into our ability to motivate and excite our students. It is easy for a new 20-year-old educator to excite their students. They are only a few years older and of a similar generation. Heck, they still likely play video games and go out to dance.
 
Me, near 60, am nearly twice removed from the generation I teach. Of course, I am in danger of “losing touch” with my students. It would be unusual if I did naturally and easily relate.
 
So how do I continue to excite and motivate my students?
 
1. I stay in touch with their interest with social media. (Currently TikTok) This helps me keep up with their interests and language. I even see art that excites them and is “trending.”
2. I actually play 2 rounds of Mario Kart with my spouse before bed. It’s a popular game my students enjoy. At the end of the semester, we have a period to turn in books and close grades, we also play Mario Kart and I kick their butts!
3. I add their music, from time to time, when appropriate, to my classroom play list. I play this music softly in the background when they’re working on projects.
4. I dropped my academic approach to teaching art. More on that HERE. I keep in mind that only 2% of students will enter an art related career.
5. I submit a few of my lessons for publication every year, and publish them on my own.
6. 25 - 50% of my lessons are NEW TO ME, every year.
 
This last one, I think, is the key to my success in keeping my students interested. New lessons are challenging to me. They keep me on my toes. I can’t “phone it in,” because if I do, I will fail. I bookmark new lessons when I see them on social media. I email links to my school account to add to my calendar. I find new lessons motivate me because I know, if successful, I will share them with my online community. Some are just a new twist on an old lesson like my lesson on Perspective with A.I., but many are completely new to me like my Origami Color Wheels, which got published by School Arts Magazine and made the cover!
 
I teach, but I also publish. Many of you do too on platforms like “Teachers Pay Teachers.” New lessons can become a source of income. If you build up enough of them, they can be valuable stream of income for your retirement. I began publishing my lessons in 2010, and now these publications pay my mortgage! That did not happen overnight, it took years. Perhaps 10, before it became significant enough to matter. This is an important motivator to keep me doing new lessons and keeping my students interested.
 
The bottom line is that I AM the adult in the room.
 
Instead of saying “kids these days…”, when my lesson falls flat, and students don’t seem to care, I turn my reflection inward and ask, “have I lost touch? Do I need to drop that lesson, or re-tool it?”