Teaching ScheduleWho We Are Looking For
Summer teachers hired on with the Institute of Reading Development share the following qualities:
1) The Experience of Reading as a Formative Influence in Their Lives
Institute instructors must have strong reading skills and understand first-hand the power of getting absorbed in great books. We hire people who are still experiencing that absorption on a regular basis. Institute instructors understand that reading for pleasure is its own reward and they push their students to work hard toward that goal. We ask our teachers to project palpable enthusiasm for reading, motivating students to do the work necessary to develop positive relationships with books.
2) Intelligence and Communication Skills
Institute instructors must have a solid academic background and know how to be a successful student in the classroom. During training, they will need to develop an active and deep comprehension of the program curriculum. In the classroom, instructors must be able to lead engaging, thoughtful discussions and give students clear explanations and directions so that class activities run smoothly. Teachers must also be able to clearly describe the goals of the class and the purpose of class activities so that parents have a strong understanding of how they can help their children at home.
3) Warmth
We hire personable individuals who enjoy working with people. Students and parents must be made to feel welcome in the classroom and feel free to approach teachers with questions. Successful teachers will empathize with students and parents, and they will readily reach out to lend the confidence and courage students need to practice new skills and participate actively in discussion.
4) Professionalism
We hire people who embrace hard work and conduct themselves with decorum. Professional teachers understand that there is work outside of the classroom and take ownership for all aspects of the job; they see a strong connection between their responsibilities outside the classroom and their students success within it. They reflect on their own work and strive to improve. Institute instructors can ask their students to work hard and expect results, because they lead by example.
5) Leadership
We hire people who will take the initiative in working with students and parents. Kneeling down to help students when they don't ask for it and initiating conversations with parents after class often helps students and parents when they need it the most. Institute instructors actively seek opportunities to guide parents and students; they strive to lead in every situation in the classroom.
IRD hires extremely warm, capable, intelligent, and hard working people, and everyone I met, from my manager to my fellow teachers, pushed me and supported me in ways I couldn't have imagined. 
— Mandy, Institute instructor in Spokane & graduate student in Nonfiction