Uncommon Schools

Summer Teaching Fellow

May - July 2018 • New York City, NY

What I liked

Within the 7 weeks of the internship I learned so much about myself. Not only was the opportunity a hands on experience, I was groomed professionally. Teaching has always been one of my many passions. The STF program solidified my next move as a young professional.

What I wish was different

The length of the program, I wish it was a bit longer.

Advice

Accept and appreciate feedback! That is the only way to grow as an individual!

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Summer Teaching Fellow

May - July 2019 • Troy, NY

What I liked

I loved how this role prepared me to teach in a classroom, I am able to follow lesson plans and teach history to high schoolers

What I wish was different

If they prepared us to deal with certain instances that had come up

Advice

If you want to receive an opportunity to teach come here! You will know for sure if you want to be a teacher when you leave. I know I want to be one !

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Summer Teaching Fellow

May - July 2019 • New York City, NY

What I liked

What I wish was different

Advice

Go in with an open mind and heart! This experience will change your life :)

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Teaching Fellow

May - July 2019 • New York City, NY

What I liked

Everyone in the program was nice and helpful. It was my first internship but I did not have to feel scared.

What I wish was different

The pay schedule and how they reimbursed us for transportation and fingerprinting.

Advice

If you're interested in teaching or aren't sure what to do after graduation, you should apply to the program. It's a good challenge that can help figure out what type of person you are.

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Summer Teaching Fellow

May - July 2019 • New York City, NY

What I liked

I loved how well structured Uncommon was. I was happy that before we started teaching, we attended workshops and received a mentor. Everything ran smoothly, which made the internship ever more enjoyable. I felt very prepared to teach by the time I began.

What I wish was different

I wish we had more free time.

Advice

Be prepared to work with people of all different walks of life. Also, understand that you are going to be a major influence in the lives of many children that need you, so do not apply if you do not genuinely care about the children. The children make all of the work worth it.

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Summer Teaching Fellow

May - August 2019 • Newark, NJ

What I liked

I loved the kids!

What I wish was different

I had fundamental differences of opinion surrounding teaching philosophies and best-practices for students, especially those receiving special education services.

Advice

Know what charter schools are and how they operate. Use this information to inform your understanding of the internship.

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High School History Teacher

May - July 2019 • New York City, NY

What I liked

I loved that fact that I was able to teach in my own classroom and that I was given so much opportunity for growth. They hosted us in dormitory style housing and I was able to have a mentor teacher as well. We went through many professional development sessions that helped to groom us as teachers. I also was offered a full time offer to teach there after I graduate which I will be doing. This program was truly amazing and the work that Uncommon does is phenomenal.

What I wish was different

I wish that the program was longer!

Advice

Work hard and you will get the best experience!

1 One person found this helpful

Summer Teaching Fellow

May - July 2019 • New York City, NY

What I liked

I loved the hands-on teaching experience, the bonding between the fellows, and the location of the provided apartments.

What I wish was different

Nothing, I had a fantastic time.

Advice

Immerse yourself in the culture of the schools and the area. Also, be receptive to new ideas and feedback.

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Summer teaching fellow intern

May - July 2019 • Boston, MA

What I liked

I loved having a mentor that I could learn from. This mentor coached me in every step of teaching in summer school.

What I wish was different

Being able to start observing at your host school sooner so that you would get a chance to see what really goes on in the classroom. When we started observing our assigned classes at our schools. Students were being tested so no actual teaching was happening.

Advice

Starting this internship, you might feel like it is overwhelming like I thought it was, however, it is important that you get yourself completely involved in this experience. Not only will you grow, but you will get to connect with many professionals that have been either teaching or impacting student's lives in some other ways. In other words, go all in!

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Summer Teaching Fellow

May - July 2018 • New York City, NY

What I liked

I enjoyed meeting people from different backgrounds. Uncommon Schools receives a substantial amount of applications for their Summer Teaching Fellowship Program. However, only a small percentage are offered positions. Being able to meet these individuals, hear their stories and learn about their career goals is extremely rewarding.

What I wish was different

I wish I had more time working with this program.

Advice

Utilizing the network of professionals available to you is crucial to your own personal development.

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Middle School Teacher Intern

May - July 2019 • Newark, NJ

What I liked

The Summer Teaching Fellowship program showed me the intersection between professionalism and political impact on history. Above all the soft skills that I have attained from the experience, I have learned to put my heart into my work and trusting that it will pay off in personal investment and worldly impact.

What I wish was different

I have had a great experience with my cohort, the other interns beside me. Although we have grown tremendously from the program, we would've benefitted early on from a Professional Development session on formality in the work place before we entered deep into the experience.

Advice

Know that teaching is the one profession that stems all the other dreams and goals. When you are teaching your kids, you are sustaining their abilities and dreams.

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Summer Teaching Fellow

May - July 2019 • New York City, NY

What I liked

It exposed me to what the charter school system in New York is like and gave me ample opportunities to work with children. I also appreciated the amount of leadership they gave fellows considering our level of experience. It was also very satisfying to leave the summer with a full-time post-grad job opportunity.

What I wish was different

Uncommon Schools is a very rigid institution that holds children to exceedingly high behavioral standards. Behavioral management was the number one thing I spent my time doing. This was not because of how badly behaved the students were, but about how strict the school are.

Advice

It is worth doing to learn about the reality of being a teacher and see the inner workings of the charter school system. This is a rigorous 7 weeks that should only be undertaken by someone with a deep commitment to education who is willing to conform to the system of a school they might not agree with.

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Teaching Fellow

May - July 2019 • New York City, NY

What I liked

What I liked about my fellowship with Uncommon was the amount of support and feedback that we received on a daily basis. This constant feedback allowed me to grow exponentially as a future educator.

What I wish was different

The only thing that I wish had been different would be the length of the fellowship. 7 weeks was enough time to get a feel for the field of education but I think that 9 weeks would've given a richer experience.

Advice

One piece of advice I would share would be that Uncommon Schools are truly that, uncommon. The experience I gained working with them over the summer is priceless. From getting the opportunity to lead my own classroom, to networking and gaining lifetime friends, this was a once in a lifetime experience.

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Summer Teaching Fellow

May - July 2017 • New York City, NY

What I liked

I liked the opportunity to live and work in New York.

What I wish was different

A lot of the internship was disorganized, which made the interns' jobs much more stressful than they needed to be.

Advice

This is a great job for deciding if a career in education in right for you.

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Summer teaching fellows

June - August 2018 • New York City, NY

What I liked

I like the experience I got that facilitated growth as a teacher, presenter or public speaker.

What I wish was different

I would have liked that our teaching training extended to special needs students

Advice

I would advice that it is important to become a sponge and absorb as much information as possible and be willing to step out of your comfort zone to enable growth

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Summer Teaching Fellow

June - July 2018 • New York City, NY

What I liked

I loved the real world experience that I received actually being able to lead my own classroom.

What I wish was different

I wish it would have been longer.

Advice

I would advise students to be all in in this experience.

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Operations Intern

May - July 2018 • Troy, NY

What I liked

Fantastic work environment. Friendly people. Tasks and expectations fully explained.

What I wish was different

Nothing.

Advice

Try your best at your job and put forth effort in order to help the kids succeed.

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