In a first-grade classroom at Indian Creek Elementary School, a teacher sat in the back of the classroom while a student taught her class.
It wasn’t anything out of the ordinary, though. Kaitlin Smith, the certified first-grade teacher for the class, was stepping aside to let Indian Creek High School senior Liv Booth, part of the high school’s cadet teaching program, read “Lilly’s Purple Plastic Purse,” a children’s book about emotions, to the students crowded around her.
Booth became interested in education as a potential career after serving as a teacher in her church’s Vacation Bible School.
“I’ve always had a passion for being with little kids and helping them grow,” Booth said. “In the beginning, it was really frustrating and hard to find where I needed to be for the teacher, but as time went on, I got to know the kids and their system and how they do stuff on a day-to-day basis. I’m not a super strict teacher, but I do have certain rules that are pretty basic first-grade rules. Overall, I’m pretty lenient in letting kids be kids.”
The cadet teaching program is now in its third year, this year debuting the name Indian Creek Teacher Academy. Juniors and seniors serve as cadet teachers in elementary, intermediate and middle school classrooms, spending about an hour and a half each day assisting certified teachers and often taking the lead in classrooms themselves. High school freshmen and sophomores take classes in principles of teaching, child development, and teaching and learning, said Lesley Stevens, Indian Creek Teacher Academy instructor.
The experience helps students who want to teach or work with kids in some capacity after high schools test the waters, she said.
“They have the time they need to find out before they do four years of college and realize it’s not for them. While some are hesitant and then they love it, some kids want to work with kids and don’t know it yet. Some want to be occupational therapists, some want to teach high school so they’re at the middle school for cadet teaching,” Stevens said. “This gets them interacting with kids. We switch classrooms, so someone might do first grade the entire first semester and switch in the second. Then, they have more experience in different grade levels.”
The program has picked up steam, going from less than 10 students last year to more than 25 this year, she said.
First-grade teacher Haylie Smith, who is working with cadet teacher Ella Burgett, was part of the precursor to Indian Creek’s current cadet teaching program, which offered students time to shadow teachers.
“I was a cadet teacher in a second-grade classroom. I didn’t know if I wanted to be a teacher,” Smith said. “I think the ultimate goal is to let them experience different careers. I think it’s a great way for them to be involved in the community and know before going to college if it’s something they want to do.”
Burgett has assisted kids with one-on-one test and note help, graded and filed papers, read books with students and drawn with them, said the program is helping her realize teaching may be a possible career for her.
“Being a teacher is a lot of work, but it’s also fun because you get to make relationships with each student,” Burgett said. “(I took this class) to see if I really wanted to be a teacher. Now, I have a big interest in becoming one.”
Orianna Cook, a senior, returned to cadet teaching after junior year because of her good experiences with it, she said.
“At first I was unsure about it, but the kids are so sweet and I love to help. It’s so fun just to be there,” Cook said. “It was the whole reason I got into wanting to be a teacher.”
