Do you want to become a volunteer teacher? You will find this to be an enriching experience both for yourself and the child. This proves to be beneficial for the teachers too because the routine activities are carried on by the volunteers. The instructors were relieved of the usual activities can concentrate on the learning requirements of children.
Role and Responsibilities
Many people find the role of volunteer teachers to be a rewarding experience. They are not accountable to any employee of an organization. Let us discuss some of the responsibilities of volunteer teachers.
Teach them to think critically
If you join as a volunteer teachers even for a temporary period, you can use this opportunity to help students start thinking critically. You can devise ways to make them put on their thinking caps instead of spoon feeding every concept. The pupils should be encouraged to solve problems independently instead of looking on the display board for answers.
Quality of teaching
Since they take care of routine tasks which would otherwise have to be performed by the teachers, they can now focus entirely on the academic needs of children. The faculty gets more time to carry out their teaching assignments uninterruptedly. So there is an improvement in the quality of instruction.
Can concentrate on individual needs
Sometimes the average class size is to too big for a teacher to handle individual students appropriately. If you have a volunteer, it helps to cater to the individual requirements of students.
Field trips
The volunteers help in the extra-curricular activities of students. They sometimes accompany the students to the field trips too.
Provide extra help
They provide additional support to students with special needs and also to students whose native language is not English.
Outlining the value of education
Education is probably the most useful tool to combat poverty. In all underdeveloped countries, the importance of teaching cannot be over emphasized. So becoming a volunteer teacher in one of the schools in any of the economically challenged countries is no doubt challenging but can be an eye-opener. You can motivate the needy students and help them understand the value of education.
Provide support in particular subjects
You can provide support to children in small groups and help them develop their numerical abilities. This can be done on a classroom, group or one to one basis.
Assist in correction
Sometimes if the teacher so desires, you can opt to mark and correct the work done by students. This will help the instructors to concentrate fully on their job.
Outlining the activities
Volunteers should meet the criteria as stated by the jurisdiction of that locality. They should possess the requisite training in various teaching techniques. If you are planning to volunteer abroad, then that may include the learning of that specific language and culture of that country. The concerned schools must have specific guidelines regarding the activities of volunteers. They should provide forms to volunteers stating those rules which should be signed and submitted to the school board.
