CAREER DAY
High Tech High Career Day is a great opportunity to see what you think you would like to do in the future. For one day we get to job shadow someone with a job that we want to doing the future. The entire day is completely individualized for every student. Our teachers give us the outline but it is up to the student to make it happen. We have to take pictures and conduct an interview with our mentors. I decided to shadow my aunt, because she in an elementary teacher. I have thought about being a teacher for a long time and I don’t know if it is because of the “doctor teacher lawyer” thing, or if I truly wanted to be a teacher. My aunt teaches second grade at Empresa Elementary.
I started my day very excited to be in a new classroom. That's not to say that I did not have some anxiety. When I first got to her school I was not sure what to do. And Empresa is not like High Tech. I think I may have forgotten what elementary school was like because the gate through me off. This may sound petty, but it made me feel a lot better knowing that there was a large age gap between me and the kids. Before I got to my aunts class I was having a lot of trouble trying to remember how big second graders were. And although it was awkward for a while, I got more and more comfortable throughout the day. It was really cool to see such a loving environment in a school. I think that High Tech is so great that sometimes I forget that other schools are good to - not all of them are dungeons. My aunt is a half time teacher and she shares a contract with her teaching partner K.C. I did not end up have a true interview with my mentor, but I was asking her questions all day. Some of which were:
“Would you rather teach a different grade?”
“You know, I loved teaching first grade and kinder, but second grade is great too. I love the little grades and I would not want to go any higher. If I did, I think the kids would be smarter than me.”
“How do you like sharing a contract? Would you rather teach all by yourself?”
“There was one point in my life that I loved having the classroom all to myself because I got total freedom. I could teach the kids what I wanted to when I wanted to. But at this point in my life I think it’s better to have it this way.”
“Is it hard to plan your days?”
“No, it’s not hard but it is very important. Because there are two of us, we need to know what the other educator has already done with the kids. We have a planer that we are really good about writing down everything we are going to do in a day.”
“How do you find time to prep?”
“Well, we mostly have to do our prep before or after school because we have the kids all day. It’s not like when you teach high school and you get preptime during the day. That’s why I get here a half an hour early.”
“Do you have to discipline the kids often?”
“It does not come up that often. Especially with this group of kids. There are a couple times where I have to talk to the kids about biting. We have a good behaviour chart, so if your being disrespectful, or I have to kids out for something repeatedly they have to move their name to a lower spot on the chart.”
“What schooling did you have to go through to be a teacher?”
Well, I have five years of higher education. Four for my undergraduate and one for my teaching credentials. But I don’t think they do it that way anymore because heather (my cousin once removed) just got her credentials with her undergraduate.”
“Do you like having the kids come to you all day?”
“I do, I think that it makes prep harder but it makes the job less boring.”
“What is your favorite subject to teach?”
“I am all about the reading, but math is fun too. You know that I like crafting, so when we get to do things like this and the kids get to work with their hands I think it makes it more fun.”
“How much money is in your classroom budget each year?”
“We get $100 from the school and $200 from a grant. And we also get some money from fundraiser here and there. We do one every year, it’s just a simple run, but it’s fun and we get a certain percentage for our classrooms. But mostly we ask for donations because once you add up all the little things like glue sticks and crayons, you spend a lot of your budget.”
“Do you like your school? Would you want to teach somewhere else?”
“You know I love my school, I think we have a very loving environment. We have a partnership with UC Irvine so they give us these workbooks that all the lessons are in. And there is all about looking for individual growth rather than pinning the kids against each other. I think our school is doing some really good things and I can confidently say that I would not want to work anywhere else.”
“Are the computer programs helpful to you and the kids?”
“It really depends on the program. We want it to be helpful for the kids and if it’s not, then these programs just aren’t worth it. We have really goods ones right now now and I think the kids learn a lot from them. Plus it gives me some more time to prep.”
I feel like I learned so much from this experience. I do not know if I would want to be a teacher because I would want to teach younger kids like my aunt, but I also want to be constantly learning. I also like sitting down and talking to kids one on one, and if I become a teacher that is just something I could not do. I am starting to think that I might want to be an academic coach, that way I can sit down with small groups of kids and help them, but it would now take away from everyone else in the classes learning. All in all I had a really fun time, and I want to go back some time. The kids were amazing, and my aunt was incredibly sweet to allow me to shadow her.