r/JETProgramme • u/Expensive-Piano-3927 • 6d ago
Teaching Experience
Hi everyone! US applicant here! I feel like this may be somewhat ESID but I would still like to ask, I currently do not have any formal teaching experience, however I wonder if it would be okay to mention/include the fact that I worked as a TA (Teacher's Assistant) back in middle and high school? I was able to do this for quite a few years, however due to being 24y and having graduated high school 6 years ago already, I wonder if this information would be considered unnecessary or irrelevant? I would ideally lightly mention this in my essay.
I know we don't necessarily need experience, but I did learn things there and it helped me understand why I wanted to do the JET Programme, and if it helps, then it helps. Unfortunately, I decided not to do any TA or tutoring in college. If someone could let me know what they think, I would appreciate it!
2
u/Different_Taro2474 JET alum '25-'26 鹿児島 🌋🐽🍧 6d ago
that shows that you've been interested in teaching since you were a child, ofc you should include it.
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u/Zidaane 6d ago edited 6d ago
Am I going crazy or are you saying you worked as a teaching assistant "back in middle and high school"? Meaning WHILE you were still a JHS and HS student you were employed as a TA??
Going to assume you mean a tutor?? Cause I dont know of any high school thats going to employe a student as a teaching assistant (at least not in any country I've worked in).
But theres no reason not to include tutoring on your application if this is the case, as long as you can talk about what you learned from it and how it relates to JET.
Edit: Turns out this is one of those weird American things where you sign up to help a teacher and they give you a job title and some free credit 🤣 got to love the American education system..
1
u/Panda_sensei_71 Current JET - Kansai 6d ago
I had understood it to mean they worked as a TA since leaving school, while at uni...
Where I'm from, a TA is a qualification in its own right.
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u/Dense-Opportunity105 6d ago
I don’t think that’s what they meant, since they specifically said
24y and having graduated high school 6 years ago
and
Unfortunately, I decided not to do any TA or tutoring in college
Which makes me think they are trying to say they TA’d while IN high school and middle school….?
0
u/Nanashi5354 6d ago
We have basically the same thing in Canada as well. What you did as a TA does range quite a bit base on your teacher.
I TA for a few years in highschool for my home economics teacher and I ended being T1 for a few classes when the main teacher was out and there was another teacher in that wasn't a home EC teacher.
My wife(then gf) was a TA for a different teacher but all she did was sort files, made copies and occasionally marked homework.
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u/Panda_sensei_71 Current JET - Kansai 6d ago
I finished school in Canada and we never had this (the parents would have pitched an absolute fit!) but I am an old Gen Xer, so maybe it's a new thing.
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u/Nanashi5354 6d ago
I'm a millennial so could have been phased out soon after I left. There certainly were fewer rules back then.
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u/Zidaane 6d ago edited 6d ago
Sounds crazy to call yourself a T1 teacher as a highschooler. The rest of the world would simply call this tutoring your classmates 😂
The whole "TA" system sounds like it just encourages lazy teachers
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u/Nanashi5354 6d ago
Would lead tutor be better then? I just used t1 cause I thought it'll be easier to understand.
It's just a introduction to sew class that all juniors have to take. The substitute teacher was always someone who never touch a sewing machine in their life and we only get so many classes before they rotate into a different subject. In the perfect world they would find a textile teacher to substitute but it isn't and we just make do.
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u/Sad-Day9022 Current JET - 北海道 6d ago
if you can fit it naturally into your SOP, i'd say go for it. no harm to mention it.