I’m a freshman at a small LAC majoring in Classics. I’d like to teach Latin/Greek at a prep school( although I’d also be happy teaching at private day school) I myself attended a private day school. How do you get a job as a prep school teacher? Do I need an MA? Are there any internships that prep schools like? I attend a lesser known LAC( not Williams or Amherst
Many boarding schools hire interns/fellows that they hire directly out of college/university. I applied directly to a variety of schools during my senior year and accepted a one year internship at Groton before moving on to another position. Teaching in boarding schools has been an incredible experience and more rewarding than I could possibly have hoped for, feel free to DM me if you have any questions and I’d be happy to help as best I can. If you’re excited about working with students at a boarding school, I would encourage you to spend your summers working with kids, many boarding schools have summer programs that would give you experience and a taste of what boarding school life is like. I taught at the St. Paul’s ASP and it was an incredible experience/summer before my first full time position. This program at UPenn is also incredibly strong and allows you to teach for two years as a fellow while also pursuing your Master’s degree in education:
http://istr.gse.upenn.edu
To get an idea of the kind of jobs out there in independent schools, and what they’re looking for, you could check out the NAIS site:
http://careers.nais.org/jobseekers/
At the tippy top schools they will want a master’s degree. Could be an MA in your subject area, an M.Ed., or an MAT (Master of Arts in Teaching). Independent schools post the degrees of their faculty on their websites, and the percentage of faculty with advanced degrees is something that school ratings take into account.
The best advice I can give you is to develop an activity that you can use as an extracurricular at private school. Many of it not most private schools will expect you to lead an activity outside the classroom. Always needed is the ability to coach a sport. My daughter got her first permanent teaching job at a top day school because she could coach a non-mainstream sport.
As a classics major, perhaps you’re interested in debate, or theater? The whole selling point of private schools is enhanced teacher-student interaction, so they will expect you to do something to interact with students outside the classroom. Most likely, they’ll want you to be an advisor as well. If you can take a course in adolescent psychology it might be useful.