Vacancies in the teaching career have been on a rise since the COVID-19 quarantine. A federal report said 53 percent of public schools were understaffed in the current academic year. With a steady decline in colleges and universities producing enough teachers to fill those vacancies we’re bound to continue to face teacher shortages in the next five, ten and fifteen years. Luckily at Andale High School one of the CTE courses now offered is Teaching as a Career, a class that gives sophomores through seniors great experience and hands on training in the classroom with mentor teachers. Because of this o
pportunity students at Andale High School can get a jump start on their teaching career path.
Leslie Bruna, English and Teaching as a Career Instructor, has been teaching the class now for five years. One of Bruna’s main emphasis is that she wants her students to know that although they might not get paid as well as other careers, they help make a difference in their students lives and that’s why teaching is a great career. Without teachers there’s no doctors, plumbers, electricians, nurses and all the other careers we interact with on a daily basis. We depend on teachers everyday and their crucial to our society’s future success. With today’s teacher shortage, Bruna thinks teachers should be self-starters, creative and be patient because every kid’s learning style is different. Some advice she gives to teachers to avoid burnout is to have quality professional development and have that work life balance that is necessary to maintain a healthy work/life balance.
Every Wednesday the students in Teaching as a Career go out into their classrooms that they chosen and learn behind their mentor teachers. One of their projects consisted of creating a 3D model of a positive classroom environment which needed to include areas that were conducive for learning. Another project that Teaching as a Career students worked on throughout the semester was a tri-fold culminating everything they’ve learned about Teaching as a Career.
Through Teaching as a Career the goal is to have “CTE Completer” through the State of Kansas Education. A CTE completer are those who take an introductory course, a technical level course and finally an application level course. Therefore, students would first take Intro to Life Success as a freshman, then complete Teaching as a Career either their sophomore or junior year of high school, and finally participate in the internship program five days a week with Ms. Bergkamp. They have made sketch notes, lesson plans, and teacher bulletin boards and much more.
So if you’re considering teaching, it is recommended that you take Teaching as a Career to get hands on experience and know what goes on in the classroom.
