Lambert has been constantly changing and growing since it first opened its doors for students in 2009. We quickly took on many titles in sports and academics, with new clubs and organizations coming along for the ride as career pathways were introduced for students to really get a feel for what it is they wished to do after they graduated. This school year, however, a new member of the career pathway classes has joined our family: the Teaching as a Profession pathway, lead by Mrs. Clapper. This class is also linked with Future Educators Association (FEA). Students in this course learn what it is like to be in the classroom as a teacher and explore the different dynamics that go along with the profession.

The class is a three-year long pathway. Year one is Examining the Teaching Profession, and year two is Examining the Issues in the Teaching World. Year three is when the juniors and seniors taking part in the class will be eligible for an internship at an elementary school and be able to teach a class to get service hours for FEA Students who complete this course and pass the final course test at the end of the third year will have the opportunity to get college credit.

In the first year, students cover multiple units such as 21^st Century Employment, History of Education, Growth and Development, Instructional Methods, Diversity in the Classroom, Classroom Climate and Educational Stakeholders. Not only do you learn about your future students, but about yourself as well. Students learn about right and left brain dominance, what that says about their possible learning styles and how they must use multiple teaching techniques in order for each student to have the best learning experience.

Caitlin Pickering, a junior, expresses excitement and optimism when asked about the pathway. “It’s really fun and a great way to introduce and get me ready for what teaching is going to be like.”

Mrs. Clapper really wants her students to be able to get a different perspective of the classroom by doing teacher observations every other Friday. The students get assigned a classroom with a teacher and sit in the class, taking notes on how the teacher communicates with their students, whether or not they use hand gestures when they speak, if they use the white or smart board, observe what they do during a test and do they give out papers one by one or count out the number in each row? Mrs. Clapper’s goal is for the students to be able to shift their perspective from the student behind the desk, to the teacher at the front of the room.

The class teaches students about the different factors that go into to running a classroom, such as the different learning styles, learning disabilities, teacher observations and classroom management. Overall, the students learn that teachers do not have an easy job, but it is very rewarding at the end of the day.

“It’s opened my eyes to how difficult teachers can have it. They have to worry about teaching not only twenty plus kids, but twenty plus kids with different learning styles and completely different personalities. I mean, teachers have always inspired me but now they’re more like heroes,” Pickering states.

The Teaching as a Profession pathway sure has some optimistic students who are waiting to be challenged and are very excited that the pathway is up and running with many great opportunities ahead for themselves and their future.