Pros
This is a great experience for anyone wanting to work with youth. Every single day you are met with a new challenge, and it will take everything you have to work through it. At the end of the day, you WILL be exhausted (at least if you work at the school I have been placed), but you will discover something about yourself and it will reveal whether you want to actually work with kids. Unfortunately, these positives are a product of the negatives.
Cons
I am a recent college grad, and like most recent grads I was struggling to find work. I had one part time job already, but I was in dire need of a second part time job to cover the costs of my student loan payments. I got a call from RAS and they needed someone to fill a position immediately. When I did the phone interview, they didn't give me a complete description of what exactly I'd be doing (although I thought I'd be assisting in teaching a class), but the minor details didn't bother me at the time because I needed the job desperately. The same day as my phone interview, I got a job offer, and a good one at that (the pay was much more than I was expecting). They wanted me to start the next day, which was awesome because I needed the money ASAP. When I arrived to the school for my first day, I was given a rude awakening to what I'd actually be doing. Let me set up the scenario for you all -- this school's 6th 7th and 8th graders have been revoked of their recess for behavior issues. In place of their recess they are sent to classrooms (either before or after lunch) for "enrichment education." These kids are not stupid by any means, and they are smart enough to figure out that they are: 1) Being punished 2) Not being graded on ANYTHING 3) There's little -- to no -- support from the school's administration (our referrals/tardies/unexcused absences mean nothing to them) These kids essentially view this "enrichment class" as a holding tank for them. Our job as educators at this school is basically CONTAIN them until the bell rings. On my first day I was hit with this realization of the situation at hand, but had no choice but to take one the immense task of controlling a bunch of pissed off grade-schoolers (and when I say "pissed-off grade schoolers" I mean they are PISSED-OFF). So given the situation, you'd think there would be some sort of training period to learn from other educators about their style, and how they deal with the repercussions of a lack of accountability on the student's side --- think again. On the first day (I remind you that I do not have a teaching degree, and no classroom management experience.... although I do have a lot of experience working with youth), the area coordinator welcomed me and introduced me to the other educators. She then proceeded to show me to my classroom, and as the first block of classes approached, I started to realize I was going to be thrown to the wolves... I was going to be teaching a class THE FIRST DAY (with no idea of what the curriculum was, no knowledge of the subject I was teaching them, and a bunch of pissed off grade-schoolers were coming my way in 15 minutes). Learning on the fly -- this is the most appropriate term for the situation I was in. After one of the classes, I turned to the area coordinator that was with me that day, and even she had a look of shock at what was transpiring. I will say this about RAS. They put their complete trust in who they hire, and they give them creative freedom to run their classroom how they want to. On the other side, though, they throw their employees to the wolves and give them little to no support after the initial day.
