College Hawaiian Dance Instructor
Description:
Twice a week I would teach a group of children, mostly girls, the native Hawaiian dance called hula. Our group would meet in my parents garage, where there was enough room to dance, for an hour. The parents of the students would pay me a monthly fee of $20 per child at the beginning of the month to ensure their child's spot in the class.
The students would come to class and I would teach them the basic steps of hula. After the basics the students would be tested on what they learned the week before. Following their test I would teach them the next part of the dance or start on another dance. During the whole class I would also teach the students of the history of hula and other aspects of the Hawaiian culture.
How I got the idea / found the employment:
I started this dance class after one of the parents of my student approached me and asked me if I would be willing to teach her daughter a couple of hula dances. After a couple of lessons this parent suggested that start a dance class because some of her daughter's friends were interested in taking lessons. So I started to hold classes twice a week and the number of students grew.
Challenges I faced, and how I overcame them:
Challenges I faced were being able to manage my time with my schooling also going on. The way to fix that problem was to make sure that I was always organized and on time with things. Another big challenge that arose as the class size got larger was the practice space. Luckily my parents who lived nearby offered their garage which is not used for their cars, but more of a lounge/patio area.
What I learned:
What I learned from this employment opportunity was that it is possible to have a career in which you do something that you are truly passionate about. Hula for me was a way to perpetuate my Hawaiian culture and by being able to pass my knowledge of this dance down to younger generations really made me see how much one person can do in this world if they just give their all to it.
Dance Instructor
Description:
Private lesson teacher/tutor
How I got the idea / found the employment:
Sarah has danced for the same studio her whole life. In doing so, she developed personal relationships with the instructors and learned the teaching style of the studio. The owners and instructors trusted her to teach with the same integrity and quality that they did and therefore offered her a job teaching. Sarah also had experience not only as a student but also as an assistant teacher and when the instructors thought she had gained enough experience, they offered her a job.
Challenges I faced, and how I overcame them:
Sarah worked with parents who thought they knew better than she did when it came to teaching and technique. Sarah tried to incorporate their suggestions but also promote her own style and suggestions. She would explain why she thought her styles were more correct but make it clear that she understood the parents’ point of view. Sarah faced the challenge of being frustrated with parents but still trying to keep them happy to establish their loyalty to the studio. Sarah worked with kids who didn’t want to be there and so she tried to make it fun but still help them improve and learn. Working with mentally challenged students was another challenge that she overcame by treating them kindly, with patience. Sarah went slowly, making sure no one was left behind and used repetition to help these students retain what they learned.
What I learned:
Sarah learned that teaching is what she loves and what she wants to do for her career. She learned not only how to help others and teach others but how to help herself and improve her own technique. She developed skills of how to interact with all different kinds of people in a formal, businesslike manner while still maintaining a friendly relationship. Her teaching style improved and she became more effective as she gained more experience.
Swim Instructor
Description:
You teach swimming lessons to whoever wants to learn. You teach people of all levels every aspect of swimming. From the beginners that don’t know anything about swimming to those that want to develop better swim techniques to compete or just to enjoy the water more. It all depends on what you are most comfortable with and your capacity to help others swim better.
How I got the idea / found the employment:
I was involved in swimming in High School on the competitive swim team and found out about the opportunity to make money teaching others to swim. I took the Red Cross class necessary to certify and found a job working as a public swim lessons teacher at a local high school’s pool and was able to start doing private lessons at the same pool.
Challenges I faced, and how I overcame them:
I faced the challenge of first paying the fee that was necessary to get licensed to teach swim lessons. I was able to overcome that because I had worked previously and still had enough money to cover that expense. Also, when I decided to start doing private one-on-one swim lessons in addition to the group public lessons I was teaching I had a hard time finding a location that would work well for both my clients and myself. I was able to work through my employer and set up a schedule so that I was able to use the same pool I was using for group lessons as well as the private lessons I taught. One final challenge I had to overcome was that of getting the word out that I was offering private lessons and having people come and contract me to teach them to swim. Because of my Mom’s involvement in the elementary schools I was able to find many people that were willing to pay me to give more personalized help to their children that wanted to swim.
What I learned:
During the whole process of working as a swim instructor, I learned many valuable skills that have continued to help me in my life. A few of these are:
• Communication – I learned how to communicate myself effectively to others of all ages and comprehension levels to help them be better swimmers and more comfortable in the water. I taught people as young as 2 and as old as 66 to swim effectively. I am still using these skills daily and they have helped me to be a better communicator in every aspect of my life.
• Work Ethic – I have learned how to be responsible for my schedule and how to put myself in a position to always be able to be on time and effective in the work that I am expected to do.
• Value of Money – I learned that I am more apt to be responsible with money when it is my own and I have had to work to get that money
• Integrity – especially in working for myself I learned the importance of honesty in all that I do and to make sure that I am treating everyone with respect and valuing them as individuals while helping them to reach a goal.
These are just a few of the valuable things that I learned while working as a swim instructor.