Job Description

Teachers are one of the most, if not the most, integral part to a person’s education. They spend 7 hours a day and 5 days a week with you, so they get to know you pretty intimately over the course of your time together.

While most teachers get to spend 9 months of the year with their students, some only have a few weeks with theirs. I was once one of these teachers: over the summer of 2016, I was an English teacher for a class of Level 1 readers in a program called Freedom School. Freedom Schools are free summer reading programs especially designed to prevent “summer slide,” or the loss of reading retention that often occurs over the summer.

A Level 1 Freedom School English teacher is someone who helps her students learn how to read, write, and comprehend English. I had 14 students, and they ranged in age from 5 years old to 9 years old. It was my job to give them a basic understanding of the English language – everything from learning the alphabet to stringing words together to make sentences.

There are 3 jobs I would use to further describe the duties of a Level 1 Freedom School English Teacher:

1.     Pilot

2.     Babysitter

3.     Actor

Pilot

Pilots must keep their entire aircraft under control by doing the following:

·      Setting a flight plan for the upcoming journey

·      Directing the crew to keep passengers comfortable, served, and informed

·      Making the final call in important decisions

In very similar ways, I kept my classroom under control. Rather than setting a flight plan, I created lesson plans. These lesson plans dictated my whole day – what book I read aloud, what activities I set up, and what questions I asked. In order to carry out these plans, I had the help of my own crew of 2 Teacher Assistants. I directed my TAs to usher my students from place to place, help keep students seated and focused during read aloud time, and assist students who needed extra help during activities time. Even though my TAs were additional authority figures in the classroom, I was the ultimate authority figure. I made most of the important decisions, like what time to go to recess or what sort of disciplinary action a student should receive.

Babysitter

Babysitters are temporary parents. They aren’t blood-related to their kids, but they:

·      Are responsible for the health and safety of their kids

·      Must keep their kids entertained

·      Know the little details that make each kid special

Part of my job was to simply watch over my kids. While most families have anywhere between 1 and 5 children, I had 14. From the moment my kids stepped off the bus to the moment they loaded up again, they were my responsibility. Every morning, I would take attendance to see who was there, and throughout the day I would take a class count to make sure all of my students were with me. Before the start of the program, I went through first aid training. This way, if any of my students were to get injured on my watch, I would have the knowledge necessary to take care of them until professional help arrived.

Also like babysitters, I tried to keep my kids entertained all day. I made read alouds more fun by asking my students to act out the plot, and I chose activities that let my students express their creativity. Each of my students had different strengths and weaknesses, and it was my job to cater to their personal needs. For example, some of my students loved to draw, so I would incorporate art activities in my lesson plans. Other students learned best when they talked one-on-one about difficult concepts, so either I or one of my TAs would sit with those students and simply talk it out. Some of my students had learning disabilities, so I also made accommodations for those students.

Actor

When you think of actors, you usually think of Hollywood and the film industry. But I would argue that I was an actor too because like actors, I:

·      Read the script given to me

·      Performed for an audience

Since I was an English teacher, one of the most essential parts of the job was reading books with my students. Each day there was a new book, and during read aloud time I would perform the book for my students. I would make my voice all husky and deep if a big bear was speaking, or I would whisper softly if a fairy was fluttering around in the forest. I did my best to stay in character whenever I read to keep my audience of 14 engaged and entertained.