As some of you may know, I've recently moved to the DC area, and will be attending Georgetown in the fall for my Ph.D in economics. Since I still have a summer to go before classes start, I've been looking for work, particularly work that can be continued part-time into the fall.
I just got a job working as a mathematics teacher/tutor at one of those learning centers for high schoolers. The pay is great, I get paid prep time, and I know that I enjoy tutoring. I have many years of experience tutoring math, so I'm not worried about the one-on-one tutoring I might be doing. But I'll also be teaching at least two classes this summer alone - one on the SAT math section, and one on the SAT Math IIc. I have to develop the curriculum & syllabi for these courses as well...
And I'm a bit scared. I've never done front-of-the-classroom teaching, and I've certainly never developed the material and structure for courses. I know we have a lot of current and ex-teachers here on the boards. If anyone has advice, or words of reassurance I'd be glad to hear them.
(I'm also really excited about this opportunity - it'll be great experience for being a TA and eventually a professor, and my boss & coworkers seem pretty awesome.)
Posted by steven (Member # 8099) on :
I used to teach SAT math and Verbal for The Princeton Review. They have a good program. I think they have some books out, or you could do the unscrupulous thing and simply take their teacher training and steal ideas wholesale. Posted by MattB (Member # 1116) on :
Remember that the students want you to do well every bit as much as you want to. They're a sympathetic audience; don't be afraid to tell a dumb joke. They'll laugh, even if it's just out of sympathy or because they want to suck up, and thus you will break the ice.
Posted by Telperion the Silver (Member # 6074) on :
I've been pondering possibly going into teaching...and these things scare me too.
Posted by Phanto (Member # 5897) on :
You'll love it by the time it's over. That, or the kids will try to lynch you ;-).
Make sure to warn all the kids about the Barron's book for Math IIC, btw. It frightened the heck out of me the night before I took the test, and I did great regardless.
Posted by Jhai (Member # 5633) on :
Thanks for the words of encouragement. I was looking over the Barron's book today, actually (in order to remind myself what's on the test), and I realized it'*much* harder than the math portion of the GRE, which only covers the first two years of high school math classes. Bit silly, IMO.
Posted by Phanto (Member # 5897) on :
Tell me about it. My friend was panicking the night of the test and calls me over; I come, and realize that I can barely do any of the problems myself. Fast forward to 2 AM with my heart pounding at an unhealthy pace, and the test starting in about 6 hours -- a rather enjoyable night!
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