[renegadesensei]

I did a year of remote CS teaching for kids in Kentucky with Microsoft's TEALS program. Great experience. I actually used to be a teacher so it was nice getting back in that mode. Teaching is also a great way to practice breaking down technical subjects and making them understandable. It really helps with soft skills - communicating with non techies, constructively criticizing people, making complicated ideas simple - all those things improved for me after a year of working with those kids.

[bambielli]

I was a volunteer with TEALS last year, and I agree with the improvements in soft-skills, particularly the constructive criticism piece. It is a careful art to give a student constructive feedback while simultaneously keeping them motivated to continue with the course material. I have found this skill to be invaluable in my day-to-day, and I credit my time with the TEALS program for developing it.