When I was on the senior year job hunt, as someone with aspirations to be a lawyer, I did what most would do: looked for a job in the legal field. I figured, if I want to be a lawyer, I need to work at a law firm. Ultimately I found myself working as a seventh grade history teacher at a Harlem charter school. Although I had known a handful of people who made the switch from teaching to law school, I still had to talk myself out of believing I was at some sort of disadvantage by opting for a job in education. Looking back on these last couple of years I now know that teaching gave me invaluable skills that I can transfer to law school and a legal career.
Disclaimer:
I want to be very clear that this is by no means a call for everyone interested in law school to start teaching. There is a very huge and obvious downside to leaving the classroom after a few years: children are impacted. There is nothing wrong with having legal aspirations. Still, you should only teach if you have a genuine love of children or commitment to the education system in some way. Teaching is not an easy job, and it most certainly is not for everybody. That being said, here’s the full list:
Public Speaking
Rarely do people every mention that teaching is a speaking job, but that’s just what it is. Every single day, I stand in front of some of the world’s harshest critics: pre-teens. As a teacher you need to speak with enough passion to keep students interested, enough clarity to help them understand, and enough sternness to show that you are not to be played with. It is exhausting to say the least. And to be quite honest, there is a short window for you to master public speaking when you’re in front of middle schoolers. After the first few weeks of school, kids make their judgements on their teachers and determine whether or not they are people worth listening to.
Back To Basics
Before teaching, I can’t remember the last time I thought critically about what it means to be a good writer. But when you constantly have to teach and give feedback around strong clear ideas and evidence to support those ideas, you learn. On top of that, when I began to study for the LSAT last summer, there was so many transferable skills from teaching test prep for the NYS English test. I taught my students how to decode author’s literary devices, notice structure of a text, pinpoint the main idea, and use context to understand new vocabulary. Months later, I would need the same exact skills on the LSAT. I can also bet it’ll be helpful to know the basics of forming and supporting a clear and concise argument. Of course, legal writing is different and I know that there are entire classes devoted to getting law students accustomed to it. Still I can say for a fact that through teaching writing, I’ve learned how to be a better writer.
Patience and Sympathy
I can’t speak for many other entry-level jobs. I can say that teaching is unique among entry level jobs because you are thrown in front of real life human beings. You’re not at a cubicle or staring at a computer screen for most of the day. You’re decisions as a teacher, impact the life outcomes of people. Yes you can say the same about a lot of jobs, but children are in their formative years when you stand in front of them. And so the way you punish, comfort, reward, and motivate them plays a large part in how they will function in the future. As a result you learn to navigate these relationships with patience and sympathy. As someone who wants to stay in the realm of public service work, working directly with people right out of college is not something I take for granted.
“Not many of you should become teachers, my brothers, for you know that we who teach will be judged with greater strictness.” James 3:1
