There are many different jobs available in Indiana.

The Hot 50 Hoosier Jobs list includes everything from a registered nurse to a truck driver. However, many citizens pay little attention to the people who work hard and actually love to do what they are required to. Being a teacher is the No. 2 job on the Hot 50 list, which was released last week by the state of Indiana.

Melissa A. Glass, visual arts teacher, says she decided to become a teacher because she loved to create a variety of artwork and working with different mediums.

“In my classes, I would finish my work and then help other students, so many of them would say, ‘Thanks! You know you should be a teacher.’”

Glass originally went to Herron School of Art at IUPUI for visual communications, which is what she teaches now. She loves to work with different art mediums and enjoys helping others.

As an art teacher, Glass isn’t directly involved in state testing but she is concerned about the state of education in general.

“I still worry about state standardized tests, as the saying goes, ‘We Are Wayne’ and what affects one school affects another,” she said.

Glass also added that when the possibility of state takeover occurs, all the subject areas work together to increase math and language arts scores and keep a takeover from happening.

Glass loves being an art teacher. She says that the only bad thing about teaching would have to be that the students give up or don’t work as hard which isn’t only her problem. It’s a lot of teachers’ frustrations.

However, this is something she loves to work with because she appreciates teaching kids to look for the values in what they do, helping them overcome their challenges and ultimately helping them grow as artist, students, and people.

Glass focuses on mainly teaching photography and visual communications class. When students leave her class she expects them to have a better sense of craftsmanship, work ethic, and a way to see their world a little differently.

Her favorite quote related to education is: “Imagination will carry us to worlds that never were. But without it, we go nowhere.” – Carl Sagan.