Those considering a career in teaching and education may benefit from programs that give them practical experience of working in a school. Katie Lusk, who will start her teaching degree in the fall, recently took part in one such program through the Golden Apple Scholar initiative, which aims to recruit the next generation of teachers, Galesburg.com reports. Her five-week internship mixed academic instruction with taking classes at local public schools. Ms Lusk said the program gave her the chance to talk to qualified teachers about why they entered the profession, as well as illustrating some of the everyday realities and practicalities of teaching. "I think it'll just help me understand the diversity of the children way more than I imagined. You can't judge your kids," she said. According to the Department of Labor, due to the growth of minority populations in many parts of the country, it is important that teachers are able to work with groups of ethnically, racially and religiously diverse pupils. The main duties teachers perform include planning and assigning lessons, preparing and grading quizzes and test, evaluating pupils' written and oral presentations, and maintaining class discipline, it added.  |