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What are some temporary jobs that can prepare teachers for their careers?

I am a high school senior aspiring to be a high school teacher. #teaching

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Jacynta’s Answer

Any job that involves working with kids. Being a tutor would be ideal, camp counselors, daycare provider or owner, a teacher's assistant which would give you the most experience with working in a school environment and the training from watching a teacher in action with their students. Getting as much exposure to children so that you can completely understand the complexities and differences each student has. Being a teacher requires great patience for you to do your job well.
Thank you comment icon Thank you very much for your answer! I have experience as a camp counselor and aftercare supervisor, so I hope to move on to teacher’s assistant at some point. Emmalyn
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Jeffery’s Answer

Volunteer for local summer programs or camps. Contact local non-profits that run aferschool programs.
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Patricia R’s Answer

Emmalyn,

I completely agree with Jacynta’s answer to your question.

Besides learning how to supervise children – of any age – a challenge of the first order is to learn how to explain ideas and concepts to learners.

Working as an aide in a public library can be useful, too. Reading to young children, being a Homework Helper for Middle School-age students or organizing a special seminar for high schoolers would be helpful, too.

Experience that enable you to learn how to deal with people in less-than-ideal situations – customer service departments – are always a good place to learn tact and patience, as well as helping people resolve their problems.

Besides learning the content needed for a HS teaching position, there is also a lot to learn about how to best work with the age group you’re aiming for. Teaching 6-year olds, 6th Graders, or 16-year olds requires different kinds of skills.

Another learning strategy for you is to watch someone teach who you think is an effective teacher. Then observe someone who you think is not so effective, and compare the styles in teaching the same, or similar subject material.

Another skill that is important to teaching is learning how to differentiate “good” work from “poor” work. Find a school that gives students writing prompts to students to evaluate their writing ability. Ask if you can take part in any training sessions offered to their scorers.

There might be some hesitancy to your participating, but if you present the request in the context of being a teacher in the future, doors might open with surprising opportunities.
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Nina’s Answer

There are many ways you can go to prepare; working with a diverse student population is the first thing that comes to mind. When seeking employment, school staff will find your working with various types of learners a huge plus and so will you! The beauty of being a teacher is about the uniqueness of each new day, and that is largely the result of the different kinds of lessons you bring to the table and what the learners bring to the table. The more varied a group of kids you are in contact with, the more you actually start to "live" this day to day experience; you may also find that by working with different populations, your own ideas of what type of teaching you want to do may change. It helps to experience people in their element to get an idea of how you can best help and become an effective teacher. Try to put yourself in varied situations with the "children" you are interested in; is it sports education? English language learners? Students with disabilities? Gifted students? Think about that, and then immerse yourself in programs wth those types of students ; for example, work alongside a biology teacher as a lab assistant, or as an assistant tennis coach; volunteer at a local art school and see how students' instructional levels and needs vary- this can help you prepare you for is the day to day "stuff" you have to do as a teacher such as phone calls, webinars, 1:1 student work, parent nights, etc. Anything from science camp counselor, to coaching assistant, children's museum attendant, recreation worker, art or theatre programs for kids, etc. The list is endless! I truly wish you luck in your journey - I have been a teacher since 1983 and would not think of doing any other job on the planet!
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Zach’s Answer

Lots of great answers here, definitely anything you can do working with children. It's definitely tough with the current pandemic restrictions keeping most schools closed. But, you may want to consider getting involved as an online tutor. There may also be local libraries that are still taking volunteers or will be soon. The biggest challenge is finding a temporary job that will pay you (if that's not an issue, there are many volunteer options). If you want to get paid, your options are limited to camp counselor, teachers aide (although these positions can be difficult), tutor, job coach, or other part-time role in a school-like setting.

I think the best experience you are going to get is going to school for education, learning about pedagogy, and taking full advantage of the opportunities your professors and the university you attend provide you. There are some stellar teaching programs out there, but you may have to look for them.

Here are some ideas that may or may not have already been presented:

1. Check with local school districts career/volunteer site
2. Check your local library to see what volunteer/part time roles they may have
3. Look into tutoring centers, online tutors, or directly contact private schools to see if they are seeking subject specific tutors (make sure you feel comfortable teaching that subject obviously too!)
4. Youth camps are decent experiences with children, youth sports leagues are great experience too (or if you have experience with a specific sport reach out to a local HS or club coach and see if they are looking for help)

I'd be happy to answer other questions related to this or dig in further. My mother is a teacher and tutor and I work in corporate talent development (but was a teacher in a previous career for about 5 years at levels varying from preschool through college age, before deciding that ultimately I did not want to continue in the educational world).
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Dalphne’s Answer

There are several jobs you can explore as you prepare to be a teacher. Look into tutoring students face/face or online. Tutoring will allow you to gauge your level of patience and your ability to break down and simplify concepts students have difficulty with during the learning process. Also, think about working for an after school program, recreational center, childcare, nanny and/or babysitter. The more experience you gain working with children will help you ease into teaching when the time comes for you to have your own classroom.
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Simeon’s Answer

Working at a daycare or as a babysitter will give you an appreciation for supervising children as a starting point for understanding how to teach them. The better able you are to empathize with them and their life stage, the better understanding you'll have of if different teaching approaches would work. Also, I'd recommend shadowing a teacher if you have the opportunity to do so. It's important to witness a real classroom and gain an appreciation for all the plates you have to spin as a classroom teacher.
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Kikanza’s Answer

You can volunteer in a school. You can start a tutoring business. You can work with organizations like Scouts, Boys and Girls Clubs to teach classes that are a part of their curriculum. You can teach classes at your place of worship. Think of things you know how to do. Find some young people or even some age peers and teach them. Opportunities abound.
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Seema’s Answer

If you are an aspiring teacher you should start tutoring/coaching. You can also work as a teacher aid or volunteer at your siblings'/children's school.
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