By Mike Hutchens, UC Schools Communications Director
Union City, Tenn.–So, you want to be a teacher?
Five students at Union City High School with interest in education as a profession are getting hands-on experience in the field as part of a program offered to prospective teachers.
In Year 2 of the three-year TEACH program, UCHS seniors Abby Suiter, Emily James, Mason Brinkley and Madison Adams, along with junior Kaylee Daniels, spend two hours each Friday assisting teachers at UC Elementary School.
Students perform a variety of duties in the classroom with their teaching mentors while experiencing all aspects of their perspective craft.
First-year (TEACH 1) students focus on learning how to function as a team in the workforce while also contributing to multiple group projects. They also work extensively on their presentation skills by teaching lessons to one another in small groups. Finally, they prepare lessons and execute those plans themselves in the CDC class at UCHS.
TEACH 2 not only allows students to collaborate with at UCES teacher on Fridays, but also take a DUAL enrollment course through the education program at UT Martin. They are allowed one class period per-week to work on the course, and, upon completion, will receive three hours of college credit for their work.
Year 3 of the program is entirely in-person job shadowing.
Students do receive a work ethic grade for the class, but the true goal is for them to gain some hands-on experience in the classroom.
Laura Bright, who oversees the program at UCHS, believes students will benefit greatly in a variety of ways from the in-person experience.
“My hope is that they go into college, not only prepared, but ahead of the game,” she said. “The core objectives of the program are to help students who might be interested in this field to learn about different career options, such as teacher, school counselor, trainer, librarian, or speech-language pathologist.
“They learn about the history of education, and, ultimately, create a portfolio. The ultimate goal is to help these students learn more about the field of education in order to guide them in their career choice.”
For her experience, Suiter said the experience has been invaluable.
“I’m really excited about the experience I’ve gained and the lessons I’ve learned already. Knowing the expectations and getting ahead a little bit with the college credit will be huge bonuses when I get to my next school,” Suiter insisted.
James, who plans to attend either UTM or the University of Memphis, said her time at UCES simply confirmed that teaching is in her future.
“I already know I wanted to help kids and being in this environment just made it more obvious,” she claimed.
Brinkley says he’s headed to UT Martin for college and has been “impressed with the advanced knowledge of many of the young UCES students.
“I’m looking forward to interacting with kids and helping them on a daily basis when I become a teacher.”
Adams believes she’ll enjoy teaching on the high school level in her future and plans to fulfill those plans after attending Austin Peay.
“I’ve found out there are so many different ways to teach and having experience with different students of different ages will help me adjust to any situation,” said.
Daniels will likely benefit the most from those currently in the program with all three years in the system under her belt and additional time of nothing but job shadowing as a senior.
“I’m looking forward to next year when I can use my study hall and go over to the middle school and get even more experience with a different age-group,” she stated. “That’s such a different time in their lives and I will look at the chance to mold them to be good students as I get to know them.”
UCES Principal David Byars has been thrilled with the benefits of the program to all parties involved.
“Our teachers here at Union City Elementary School have been really happy with the students’ enthusiasm, willingness to learn and help out in any way,” he said. “They’ve all be very professional, punctual and eager to learn.
“Above all, I’m excited we are able to explain the many opportunities in education to our young people and give them an up-close look at things in-house. It’s just another reason our school system and our community is the best.”