Experiences in Education
EXPLORATION JUNIOR PROGRAM
Sophomore year, I was walking through Beinecke student activities villiage on my way to send a letter when I passed a table set up outside the mail center. They had pens from their organization out for people to take, and I, coincidentally, needed a pen to address my letter. I asked if I could borrow a pen, and soon realized that the pen was from the same place that my best friend from high school, Matt, had worked the previous summer: Exploration Summer Program. Matt is two years older than I am, and we've always wanted to be involved with education somehow. He spoke very highly of Explo, so I struck up a conversation with the Explo representatives, and ended up signing up for an interview slot the next day. I spent the next 12 hours researching the place extensively, and immediately fell in love. Explo has three programs: Junior (3-7th grade), Intermediate (8-10th grade), and Senior (11th-12th grade), all located around the Boston area. I knew that I enjoyed working with younger students, but the junior program did not have courses in psychology to teach, so I chose to combine teaching with another one of my passions: art! I ended up getting a position as a painting instructor, and absolutely loved everything about my experience there. In fact, I loved it so much that I went back for a second summer as a painting teacher, and am returning again this summer as one of the directors of the day program!
As a testament to how much I gained from my experiences at Exploration Summer Program, I have included my 12-day lesson plans for my painting course. While I was responsible for building my lesson plans on my own, I had an experienced advisor who would often observe me in the classroom and help me to improve by offering feedback. I taught this course four times, and the lesson plans posted here represent my most recently updated copy, following the feedback from my curriculum advisor. Beyond improving my curriculum, I learned how to better manage a classroom, practice patience, prepare alternative plans, problem-solve, and teach to various learning styles. Through this experience, I gained a better understanding of what it means to be a teacher and a greater sense of self-awareness and confidence. There was a remarkable difference in my level of confidence and competence in the classroom when comparing my first summer at Explo and my second.
To view my lesson plans, click here.
