The Educational Internship Program takes a step into seeing what it’s like to be a teacher and gives students a look into their future job career.
The Educational Internship Program is an easy process. The student chooses their elementary grade level interest and they could be placed in it.
“In the spring before senior year you put down your top three interests in education whether it’s kindergarten, second grade, third grade, fourth grade ,fifth grade, or special ed. Then you choose the top three schools you’d like to be placed at,” senior Noah Pozel said. “They place you in an elementary class first semester, then if you want to try teaching secondary you can make that switch after winter break, or stay with your current class.”
There is also an application that needs to be filled out to get into the program.
“It’s an application process towards the end of the year. You give some reasons why you want to join, then you select the grade level you want to work with,” Dipoto said.
“There’s a short interview session with Mrs. Bryant where you talk about your motivations and what you would like to teach,” Pozel said.
Students say that high school has prepared them for the internship.
“In a way high school can prepare you for this internship but in a lot of ways it can’t. Teaching takes a lot of preparation and at the same time an insane amount of improvisation and flexibility. So going in and experiencing it for yourself is really the only way to truly prepare yourself for a career in education,” Pozel said.
As high school prepares the students, watching other teachers gives the students their own teaching ideas.
“I think that through watching a professional, I’ve developed my own idea of how I’d like to teach because no two teachers are the same, especially with their teaching style. It’s helpful to get out and see all of the ways teachers teach, and to observe and think ‘I like that, but what if I did it this way instead?”, Dipoto said.
Watching teachers do the job helps the students get a feel of what one day they could be doing.
“I really believe that the best, and probably only way to learn to be a teacher in the real world is to watch an actual teacher do their job. There’s an insane amount of work and passion you need to do that job and you really only realize that by working with a teacher,” Pozel said.
Each student loves being in the program.
“I love being in the program, it’s one of my favorite classes, and easily the most unique class I have ever been in. You learn a lot about what a teacher does from day to day and the struggles that every one of your teachers has had to go through every day. On top of that I get to work with really smart and creative kids,” Pozel said.
“I love the program. It was really exciting for me to find out there was a class for students who wanted to become teachers. I was honestly pretty worried that I wouldn’t get in because there’s an application process and only so many students are selected,” Dipoto said.
Currently people are signing up for the program.
There is not a certain amount of people that have to be in this program.
“There are no limits to number of people that can join, currently there are 32 members,” EIP teacher Emily Bryant
The program is only for seniors, and is geared toward the future of being a teacher. If you find this interesting, you can speak to Mrs. Bryant about the progra. The program will help you prepare for the real world and get a feel of the teaching career. The students in it love having real world experience