Developmental Reading Teacher 

(Female, Age 27) from Mishawaka, IN

This is a REAL-LIFE job profile written by a Female aged 27 who works as a Developmental Reading Teacher in Mishawaka, IN. We have removed all names and personal information in order to protect privacy. This professional kindly spent a bit of their time to complete one of our job profile surveys so that prospective job seekers like you could read their insights. Please excuse any punctuation or grammatical errors in this profile.

At a Glance

Current Job

Basic data on your current job

Job Title Developmental Reading Teacher
Salary $33,200
Other Compensation None Set
Hours/Week 40
Company Size (not answered)
Location Mishawaka, IN
Years Experience 2 years

Career Ratings

Opinions on your CAREER overall (i.e. not just your current job)

Years in Career 0
Education (not answered)
Income Rating 0 / 10
Interest Rating 0 / 10
Work-Life Rating 0 / 10
Fulfilment Rating 0 / 10

Current job Q&A

Describe the type of organization you work for.
I work for a public high school that enrolls about 1,700 students in grades 9-12.

Describe your job role and responsibilities.
I teach reading/comprehension strategies & writing skills to students who have failed to pass the English/Language Arts portion of the state graduation exam.

Please list an additional benefits (beyond compensation) that you receive.
Summers off (paid), health insurance, 401K, 3 personal business days & 10 sick days per year

Do you feel you are under/over or well/fairly compensated at your current position?
Well

Does your job entail you working with others on a daily basis? Is this something you like/dislike about your job? Please explain.
I work with approx. 120 students total. Due to block scheduling, I see the students every other day. In addition, I have a program assistant in my room 4 out of 5 blocks to help with special needs students. I enjoy working with the students very much! The assistants are very helpful to separate students who are struggling and to work in smaller groups within the classroom setting.

Do you work collaboratively with supervisors/managers?
Yes

Do you work collaboratively with your co-workers?
Yes

Describe your work location (e.g., office, home, theatre, in the field) and what you like/dislike about working in it.
All of the teachers in our building spend time working with the administrators, counselors and collegues to create/refine programs to help the students be successful, both in and out of school.

Please rate each of the following aspects of your current job on a scale of 1-10 (10 being the highest/best):
Income: 8
Benefits: 6
Hours: 5
Co-Workers: 3
Supervisors: 4
Job Title: 7
Level of Responsibility: 2
The Actual Work: 1

A day in the life of…

Please describe a typical workday for you in your current job:

5am to 6am
6am to 7am
7am to 8am Arrive at school, check my e-mail, check my phone messages (none today), check my school mailbox, write the day’s schedule on the board, retrieve copies for the day’s lesson from my file.
8am to 9am Block 1-10th grade Developmental Reading 1~SSR, 2-quiz, 3-discuss homework from the previous class (we are currently reading a short novel about the Civil War), 4-group work to investigate spies during the Civil War 5-independent work time
9am to 10am 9-9:30~Block 1 continuted 9:30-10~Block 3 (my prep time) I used this to grade the quizzes the students took in Block 1. Then, I entered their grades into my electronic gradebook. Finally, I went to the department office to chat with some of my co-workers who have this prep tiem as well.
10am to 11am Block 3 continued
11am to 12pm 11-11:07-Block 3 continued, 11:15-12-Block 5~10th grade Developmental Reading (This is an inclusion class, which means there are several special needs students and an assistant) The schedule is the same as Block 1, however during the quiz, the special needs assistant pulles those students into another room to read their quiz out loud, per state law.
12pm to 1pm 12-12:30 lunch, 12:30-1~Block 5 continued
1pm to 2pm 1:-1:20-Block 5 continued, 1:30-2-Block 7~11th & 12th grade Developmental Reading. 1-SSR, 2-discussed possible career choices (we are reading a book about various professionals and the roads that led them to their current position)
2pm to 3pm Block 7 cointnued~3-read a profile from the book, 4-students completed a worksheet 5-watched a clip of the interview online.
3pm to 4pm Cleaned up my room! By the end of the day there always seems to be papers/books everywhere! I also graded the Block 5 quizzes and entered the grades in my computer.
4pm to 5pm I went home to watch television and read the newspaper.
5pm to 6pm I did the dishes and straightened up my apartment.
6pm to 7pm I went to dinner with some friends. This is a weekly ritual. Every Monday, 7-10 of my friends and I go to dinner to stay in touch and leave work behind.
7pm to 8pm Dinner usually lasts until about 7:30. Then I ran to the grocery store to pick up a few items.
8pm to 9pm I watched television.
9pm to 10pm I read for about 1/2 hour and then went to bed.
10pm to 11pm SLEEP!!
11pm to 12am SLEEP!!

Table of Contents

How you got your job

How did you get your current job?
Referral from a friend in this school district.

What was the application process?
I submitted my resume, references, application and copy of my teaching license.

Did you have to interview for your current job? If yes, what did the interview process entail?
I had one interview, which consisted of my building principal, my building vice principal, the district human resources director, the district human resources assistant director and the district curriculum director.

If you can remember, what questions were you asked during the interview?
I was asked about the current job I held (teaching in another district) and my prior jobs, my knowledge of technology, what I like/disliked most about teaching, would I be interested in any extra-curricular sponsorships.

Do you feel your employer properly prepared you for your job? Explain.
This district had several new teacher activites over the summer to help us get acclimated to the schools we would be working in.

Was there training for your current position? If yes, what did it entail?
I earned a B.A. in foreign language before persuing education. I earned my M.Ed. in education.

Do you feel your educational background prepared you for your job? Explain.
Yes, I spent many hours completing field observations as well as student teaching.

If applicable, do you feel your internship experience helped you prepare for your job?
Absolutely! There are things you learn during student teaching that can never be taught in a college classroom.

If someone wanted to go about getting a job similar to yours, what would you recommend for him or her to do?
It would smart to visit different types of schools (i.e. inner-city, suburbam, rural, elementary, middle school, high school) to see if there is a preferance or just to see if teaching is really what one likes.

What skills do you think a person should have if they want to pursue a position like yours?
It’s very important to be a good communicator, organized and flexible. More and more teachers also need to have some technology skills as well as parenting skills.

Do you feel that you need a certain level of education or training to be successful in your job?
A college degree, with field observation.

What advice would you give to someone who was about to start work in your position/ line of work?
The first few years are the hardest, so don’t be afraid to ask veteran teachers for advice. Also, always make time for yourself, don’t spend all weekend grading/lesson planning. Your mind needs a break sometimes!

Long-term career plans

Is your current employment part of your overall career plan? Why or why not?
Yes, I worked very hard to become employed by the school district I’m in because of it’s reputation and it hasn’t let me down so far.

What are your current career goals?
I plan on earning another teaching endorsement in economics with in the next 2 years.

Is there anything else you would like to share about your career?
Teaching definitely isn’t for everyone. But if you can find a place where you feel like your job isn’t work, then you know you’re in the right career.

Prior work history

Please list your most recent jobs prior to this current job:

Title Length Salary Description
Prior Job 1 Teacher 2 years 33200 I teach basic reading/comprehension strategies and writing skills to struggling high school students.
Prior Job 2 Teacher 1 year 31900 I taught 7th grade Literature.

Educational background

Please list your educational background:

High School GPA:3.67

GPA School Degree
College (Undergraduate)
or Technical/Vocational
2.9 Bethel College (Indiana) B.A. Foreign Language
Graduate or Professional
(Masters or Doctorate)
3.8 Indiana University M. Ed. Education

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