Leigh Yakubowski is a junior studying Sociology and Education at Vassar College in Poughkeepsie, NY. She loves macaroni and cheese, running around in the mud, and working with middle school students because they’re the most sassy and the most fun. Her dream career plans include teaching writing and reading, owning some goats, and helping to research ways to make the U.S. public education system work better for students, teachers, and communities.
Why did you decide to teach abroad with the Cloud Forest School in Costa Rica?
As a Sociology and Education student at Vassar, I’ve always been really interested and involved in hands-on opportunities to work with students and gain experience planning and teaching. It’s always been frustrating for me that, as a college student, it’s really hard to balance a schedule filled with challenging coursework AND put all of the energy you want to into working with students in your free time. These “extra” programs were always what really inspired me and grounded my coursework in what I loved to do. After a short internship over winter break, working in one classroom with a mentor teacher for 3 weeks, I realized how much that kind of “apprentice” position helped me to grow and push myself with constant support available – not to mention the satisfaction of being able to focus ALL of your energy into one group of students and school.
The Cloud Forest JYA program is very similar in setup – you work with one mentor teacher all day, every day, and really become part of the classroom family and the school community. My school also requires me to do a credit of independent study while away, which has allowed me to push myself further in my interest in sociological research while simultaneously helping the school with larger issues related to school growth and improvement. My decision to choose this program was largely based in that mentor teacher-intern relationship, which I’ve found is an awesome way to step into and get TONS of experience teaching, as well as the opportunity to spend an entire semester just focusing on field work and my independent study.
What made this teach abroad experience unique and special?
It was really awesome to work in a smaller, private bilingual school – while it wasn’t necessarily one of my main reasons for choosing this program, being able to teach in English, with a student population that speaks Spanish as a first language, has really been an interesting dynamic. Also, my own Spanish has improved in leaps and bounds. Second of all, you're in the middle of the rainforest! That means we get to use the outdoors in our teaching a lot - it's not uncommon on a nice day to see all of the classes outside, in the forest, really utilizing the outdoor resources. I would also say that for my semester, there were only 2 interns – usually there are more, but I get the sense that it’s typically a relatively small group of interns. This allows you to feel less like just a student in a JYA program, and more just an important part of the school community; you become really close to all of the teachers and staff, and it’s just a really awesome, relaxed and supportive community.
How has this experience impacted your future? (Personally, professionally, etc)
This experience has definitely given me a really strong head start in student teaching, and it’s also been incredibly humbling in terms of the amount of work and energy that goes into teaching. It’s one thing to know that teaching is a difficult job, but it’s another thing entirely to experience it first hand, working every single day of the week in a classroom. Being accountable for your work in a way that just doesn’t happen as a student in college – at Cloud Forest School, putting 100% effort into your work each week isn’t an option, it’s an absolute necessity. I’m so grateful to have had this kind of head start in hands-on experience with such a great mentor teacher. Although this experience made me more confident in the classroom and my own teaching ability, it’s also taught me how much further I need to go before being confident and on my own in a classroom. This program also just pushes you to be more independent and self-sufficient in achieving your goals – it’s much less guided than anything I was used to, and you really are pushed to be creative and make the experience what you want it to be.
What is one piece of advice you would offer to someone considering teaching abroad in Costa Rica?
I would simply say, get ready to work your butt off (in a way that you never have before). This is not an experience where the “academic” aspect comes second to the experience of being abroad and exploring a different country – this program requires complete commitment to being in the classroom and working. You will meet great people, live with a host family, and do amazing things – and of course, Monteverde is a gorgeous place to live for a semester! However, first and foremost, you are an integral piece of your classroom and the school, and the work aspect can definitely be a challenge. This program is for someone who is ready to work and gain teaching experience above all else. Once you begin the internship, it’s honestly hard to find the time and energy to relax and let loose, and there’s very little time for traveling. That said, it’s been one of the most formative experiences of my life, and I feel like I’ve grown exponentially, both in my ability to teach and as a person.
