Among the many pathways that Lambert offers, one of the most unique ones is Teaching as a Profession. Compared to other pathways, these classes focus more on hands-on learning and real-world experience through volunteering and working with children. It is aimed towards students wanting to pursue a career in education or students who just want to learn more about teaching. These classes prepare students for a job in this field by showing effective strategies to work with children.
Additionally, on top of preparing students for teaching jobs, this pathway also exposes students to other careers in education, such as counseling and school administration. By teaching various careers included in this field, these classes give students the opportunity to explore their interests and find what they want to pursue.
“Not just teaching, but we look at things like speech pathology, occupational therapy, physical therapy, counseling, all of the aspects that go into schooling,” Ms. Nancy Isham, a teacher in this pathway, explained.
In this class, students also travel to Sharon Elementary to gain experience by working in real teaching environments. By giving students an opportunity to gain real-world experience volunteering in a school, this pathway prioritizes hand-on learning. Students have various responsibilities while volunteering, including teaching kids in small groups and helping teachers with simple tasks.
“The teacher will have some things for me to do sometimes…either copies to make or pass out the papers,” junior Handan Uzun said. “And then whenever she’s doing something else, I’ll help with the kids.”
The skills they learn through this experience, like presentation and creative thinking skills, will enable them to become successful educators. These are extremely important because students need to be able to effectively present to kids and convey their point. They also need to be creative and think of ways to make learning fun for kids.
By providing students with these skills and opportunities, this pathway differentiates itself from others. While other classes focus on completing assignments and taking tests, this class focuses on giving students a deeper understanding of the field of education and shows them the reality of being a teacher.
“Well, you get to understand your teachers better… whenever she teaches something, I’ll ask her more questions and I’ll learn how teachers feel about stuff,” Uzun stated.
Additionally, students in this pathway also get to meet and network with other students and professionals in this area during a special event called the Educator Summit.
“Every fall, we do an Educator Summit that Forsyth County puts on where they invite all of the teaching as a profession pathway students to come in here, and all the people that run our district to talk about what they do,” Ms. Isham explained.
Students can hear from professionals in this field. The summit shows students aspects of the education system they would not normally see sitting in a classroom. All these events and volunteering opportunities expose students to how demanding teacher’s jobs really are. They work with kids all day, everyday and it can take a toll on them. Developers of the pathway try their best to replicate some parts of the job to show students if this is what they want to do.
Overall, this exceptional pathway stands out from other classes by offering students hands-on experiences in the world of education. By combining this experience with mentorship from teachers, it not only prepares students for their careers, but also fosters leadership, creativity and understanding. These qualities set it apart from other classes. This pathway is the first step in creating a new generation of powerful educators and leaders in the field.
