I have taught as an adjunct art professor at a private college. I have also taught botanical illustration independently. Currently, I supervise student interns and independent study students (I know, that sounds redundant) who are completing research projects in the college's natural history collections.
When I was a college student myself, I was a teaching assistant for a middle school biology class.
As an adjunct prof, I found it very difficult to face a full class of basically-adult students, day after day. Often I did not feel comfortable even being around other people, but I had to be there nonetheless. Some days, I did entire demonstrations without moving my eyes from the drawing board, and I felt awkward about how much I needed to say to explain what I was doing. I much prefer working with individual students. I also felt less awkwardness when I was assisting with the middle-school students, because they liked the fact that I was a bit childlike--they didn't expect me to be authoritative in the way that the actual teacher needed to be.
That said, some of my favorite teachers in my school experience were very aspie-like: awkward or shy, but absolutely passionate about the subject they taught. So if you are thinking of becoming a teacher, you should definitely try it--but find a good teacher to TA with first. If the first teacher you assist isn't very understanding or helpful, ask to be placed with another. And try working with different age groups, so you have a clear sense of your strengths and limitations with each.
28 May 2013, 6:01 pm
