A gap year is an ideal time to explore your options and possible career opportunities. Many do this to go on holiday, but others do so to learn more about themselves and their future jobs. You have many options for work when you spend a year abroad. One of the most popular options is to become a teaching assistant.
This type of work has many advantages, such as experience and self-improvement. If being a teaching assistant is on your shortlist, here are reasons to choose it now.
Each Day is a New Experience
Among the gap year programs from Australia, work as a teaching assistant provides variety. Each student is unique with their own quirks and learning abilities. You cannot treat them all the same because the way they absorb knowledge is different.
Their personalities and temperaments are also distinct; this means each day will be quite an experience. Make lectures lively, introducing fun and interesting activities to them for the day.
Satisfaction in Student Success
Some find satisfaction in seeing others succeed; you have plenty of opportunities to experience this as a teaching assistant. You get to work with students, understand their strengths and weaknesses, feel their failure and see how they overcome their problems. You will be part of their growth and learning process as a student.
Become a Better Student Yourself
Your experience as a teaching assistant helps you become a better student. You will understand the pressure a teacher experiences and your role in helping them help you succeed. Your role in guiding students opens your eyes to new realities and difficulties.
These enable you to see various point-of-views that allow you to grow as a person throughout the process.
Boosts Your Qualifications
If you have plans to become a teacher, work as a teaching assistant provides you with the experience you need. This first-hand exposure makes your resume look good when you apply for an education program in university and when you eventually look for a job.
The person reviewing your application may put you ahead of the others because of your gap year work.
Improve Your Communication Skills
The ability to communicate properly and to convey your thoughts in ways that others will understand are important life skills that go beyond school and your gap year. Your work as a teaching assistant will enable you to hone this.
Your interaction with students of various learning capacities will make you a better communicator. This is so because you need to change your approach, depending on the students’ ability and comprehension. You will have to speak in front of a class or a small group.
Better Time Management Skills
As a teaching assistant, you have to juggle multiple tasks such as helping students one-on-one in some cases, make lesson plans for the week or following days, prepare activities and others. This will challenge your time management skills.
When you learn how to prioritise, you will be a productive student and future career person.
These are just some of the reasons to consider a teaching assistant job for your gap year. Try it out, and maybe you will like it and pursue a career in teaching.
