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Should I get a summer job at a daycare to give me more experience before I go to college to become an elementary school teacher?

I have my teacher’s aide certificate, my CPR + First Aid license, plus two years of experience of working in a classroom with children. I want to work at a daycare and get to do fun activities with the kid, and get better at being around them in more social situations. I’m autistic so it get awkward for me sometimes.)

spring25 education teaching social-work experience children elementary-education early-childhood-education autism autism-spectrum-disorders
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Erin’s Answer

Hey there! The more experience you gain, the better you'll become! Working at a daycare gives you the chance to interact with kids of different ages, helping you discover if that's something you enjoy. Plus, you can earn a certificate for your hours and training, which is a great bonus!
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jatinder’s Answer

Dear Shelbi, I would say "go for it". It will help you to get experience and feedback to become better.
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Sarah’s Answer

Yes I highly suggest this! First - daycares are always looking for summer help so it shouldn't be too hard to find openings. I also think that the strategies you learn from working with the smaller kiddos are great strategies to be used with older, elementary aged children. Some of the most basic strategies of re-direction and distraction that I have gained from working in many different daycares, I have been able to translate and use with children of all ages. I think elementary schools tend to get away from the basics of fixing behavior because they deal with more complex issues/emotions, so getting a reminder by working with those smaller kids will help a ton with working with elementary aged students.

Sarah recommends the following next steps:

Research daycares near you and reach out to them! They are usually hiring for summer "floater" positions where you give teachers breaks and work in all the classrooms
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Jerry’s Answer

My goodness!

You are well on your way to becoming well prepared to become an elementary teacher, and you are so unlike so many others that wish to prepare themselves for a career in the field, as you have already worked in classes for an extended period which is one of the first things I suggest to students who wish to become teachers at that level.

One thing I would suggest, as you did not mention it, though with all your work in the classroom you may have already done this, is to have extensive conversations with elementary education teachers about their experiences regarding "the good, the bad, and the ugly". And discussing this with more than one teacher is ever so helpful as there are different approaches and, of course, different types of students and student makeup. But you already have extensive experience, but there is always room for more.

And, yes, off to daycare you go. But which daycare, as in do you have any choices? You obviously should choose one, given a choice, that challenges you in the areas where you feel you need to develop. And you obviously have done a great deal of thinking about your weak points.

And, just in passing, I spent forty-eight years in classrooms, and you appear to be exactly the type of student that makes a class worth teaching.
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