You're almost finished with your college coursework and your pursuit to earning a Bachelor's Degree in Elementary Education. Now here's the big test--your internship! Whether you're beginning your junior (part-time) or senior (full-time) internship, you need to make sure you're going into it with your head screwed on straight--after all, your goal is to make the best impression, graduate and get a job! Here are some helpful tips that worked for me. I know they will work for you!
The biggest thing to remember during your internship is this:
Be Thoughtful and Proactive!
Tip 1: Talk to the teacher you are going to intern with as soon as you find out who he or she is.
E-mail your internship teacher a friendly letter, letting her know that you are excited to be working with her and are looking forward to growing under her guidance. Be sure to ask if you can meet with her to observe the classroom and talk about her routines, procedures, and expectations. When you meet with her, be clear about what your program requirements are and what you hope to accomplish by working together. Taking this initiative will help you to make a great lasting impression.
Tip 2: Get real. You need to know what you're getting yourself into.
You're going into education because you're passionate about teaching children. So are the teachers you will be working with. There are some teachers who are unfortunately not the "ideal" candidate for you--everyone has a different style of teaching, after all. As an intern, you should never take things too personally. Some teachers are the nurturing/mentoring type that let you test the waters while they guide you along the way. Some teachers see interns as personal assistants and run them ragged. And of course, some teachers feel that the "sink or swim" approach for interns helps to build character. No matter what type of teacher you have, just be true to yourself, do what you can to best help the students you're serving, and never forget to be proactive.
I can't emphasize how important it is to go into the process with a clear understanding of what the teacher expects from you. Interning is opportunity for you to use and develop skills and techniques before becoming a full-time teacher. Some of the things you can expect to do are the following:
- Working with individuals or small groups during classes. Often a teacher will gladly have an intern to work directly with students while they are doing group or general classroom work.
- Developing and/or collaborating on weekly/unit lesson plans. While the classroom teacher is still responsible for the daily lesson plan, they may enlist your help in developing one, or give you the task of doing specific portions of it. Your college program will have similar requirements for lesson planning. Your task here is to have your teacher guide you, NOT supply you with a ready-made lesson.
- Checking work, grading papers, or writing tests. Yep. It's inevitable that you will do this. If things are slow in the classroom and you don't have a required task, you can always keep busy by doing one of these things. In fact, your internship teacher will love you for it.
- Developing special projects. Seasonal, school- or grade-wide, or as required by your college program, special projects are an opportunity for you to play an active role in what's important for the students.
Tip 3: Apply what you've learned through coursework to your internship. Your internship is not only the place where you can observe what you've learned through your college classes, it's also a great place for you to test those new techniques you've learned about and use them in the "real world." Making connections to what you've learned about to what you're practicing "in real life" is the reason for your teaching internship. No matter what classroom you're in, you'll be able to shine if you can talk about teaching techniques, behavior theories, or even use education "buzzwords."
Tip 4: Be considerate of your teacher, other teachers, volunteers, faculty, staff, and YOURSELF. As an intern, you should never, ever publicly question or challenge your teacher about their method of teaching. If you don't like the way your teacher presents information or manages the classroom, don't speak to anyone within the school about it (unless your teacher is emotionally or physically harming a student). Privately you may discuss problems with your college's internship coordinator. In fact, this is the best thing you can do. If your teacher has annoying quirks, or you feel she may not approach teaching something as effectively as you might, you may have to grin and bare it--you do not want to increase tensions with your teacher.
Being mindful of what you say and who you say it to is also important because some individuals you may encounter in the school (or your college program, etc.) may try to get you to play the "gossip game." Engaging in gossip is not a healthy option for you as an intern. If you feel you're being pulled into a situation where other teachers, staff, or volunteers want you to give your opinion on others or talk about a specific situation, you must resist! Simply smile and listen to what others say or change the subject. The pod, work room, or teacher lunch room could be a dangerous place for you to share your two-cents. Your principal may not want to hire you if they catch wind of you talking poorly about someone or something going on in the school.
Tip 5: Repeat these mantras: Just Be Yourself and Do It Now. These two sayings helped me through the most difficult portions of my internships. Students respond better to a teacher/intern who comes in with positive energy, so show off the best parts of your personality. Being timid or appearing to lack confidence will not help you in teaching, and being too "in-your-face" or showy won't help you, either! Remember that you are into education because you want to make a difference in the lives of children. Find your balance and let your personality shine!
Just being yourself and "doing it now" actually go hand-in-hand. If you do what you can as soon as possible, you'll be too busy to be nervous or over-the-top. I'm not saying that you should drown yourself in too much, but take care of what is happening in the moment and follow through with your commitments. Often, we respond to stress by retreating into ourselves (by being shy or holding back) or we go on the other side of the spectrum and try to overcompensate for shortcomings (by bragging or being overly expressive). Don't try to be something you're not. Just remember that no matter how hard it is, you can take everything as it comes and keep a level head. Also, the obvious: if you take care of what you can ASAP, you'll prevent things from piling up and becoming even more stressful!
Tip 6: Dress the part. Self-expression is a wonderful thing, and thankfully the acceptance of individuality is becoming more common in the workplace; however, education can be a little old-school, so it is in your best interest to wear "conservative" clothes, cover tattoos, and remove excessive jewelry as an intern. Your college should have a dress code for interns, and you need to follow it. I have heard too many stories about interns who dressed inappropriately and received poor marks, and in a few cases, were asked by the principal to leave. I once heard about a girl who was expelled from the program for repeatedly ignoring professional dress code requirements. If you don't want a job teaching, wear your workout clothes, low-cut tops or dresses, and flip-flops. If you really don't want a teaching job, show off your bra straps (ladies) or the top of your boxers (men). Use common sense when you are getting dressed for school. Your appearance will be under the scrutiny of not only the school staff, but students and their parents, too.
Depending on your school, things may be more laid back--you may see some teachers with visible tattoos, brightly-colored hair, or the occasional nose piercing. This is okay for them--not you, intern! I myself have plugs, piercings, and tattoos, but made sure to cover them up every day as an intern (what a pain it could be!). After my wonderful principal hired me, I gradually got more comfortable. Instead of wearing terribly painful clip-on earrings, I wore wood or stone plugs. When it got hot, I traded in tights and mary-janes for nice sandals or flats, which revealed my foot tattoo. I never did put my nose ring back in. Anyway, I tried to play it safe and not bring any extra "negative" attention to myself. I did not want to reduce my chances of getting a job at the school I interned at because I did not follow something as simple as the dress code.
Tip 7: Be healthy! Plan ahead, get plenty of rest, and eat the right foods. Your overall mental and physical health is crucial to becoming a teacher. If you don't plan, you will stress over the possibility of not being able to complete assignments or commitments. If you don't sleep, you will be tired (maybe even a little cranky). You could even get sick. If you eat garbage, you will feel like garbage. Pack your lunch, eat a good breakfast, and do what you can to make the best of your evenings. There will be some days when you go home exhausted by the day's events, only to be greeted by a school project that is due in a few hours. If you don't have one already, buy a planner. Use it religiously. It also helps to have friends who are also completing their internship. Connecting with others will help you to gain a broader understanding of the internship experience, and what an experience it will be!
Please feel free to share your thoughts by providing a comment below!
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