Grady’s student teacher program helps train many young teachers for their future careers. The program has given aspiring teachers who have not yet been exposed to teaching in a classroom setting the experience to teach students and develop their skills.
As part of the program, student teachers get the opportunity to teach in a classroom setting while receiving guidance by the acting teacher with the goal of developing skills that will make them better educators. John Rives, AP Economics and Statistics teacher at Grady, has mentored many student teachers throughout his time at the school..
“The student teacher program allows the teacher to get a feel for what it is like to actually be a teacher,” Rives said. “It teaches them how to think on their feet, how to plan ahead, how to meet deadlines, and how quickly students’ work has to be graded and accounted for. This learning process is why the student teacher program is very important.”
Some teachers, such as physics teacher Caleb Beaver, have been trained through Grady’s student teacher program and now have full-time teaching positions at Grady.
“The biggest impact that the student teacher program provided me was the mentorship that I got from Luke Esposito,” Beaver said of his mentor teacher from a year ago. “I got to adapt to a lot of what he does and how he handles his class. If I had started without that foundation, I don’t know what I would have done. It was good to have that whole year observation.”
Grady is welcoming new student teachers this year who are just beginning their time in the program. They will be able to get the unique opportunity to observe teaching in a real classroom setting for the year.
“I started off coaching high school soccer which made me realize I want to be a teacher,” said Heather Kasper, a student teacher under AP US Government teacher Susan Salvesen this year. “I chose Grady for my placement because it would prepare me in teaching a diverse student body.”
Grady students taught by student teachers said the teachers are beneficial for their learning. Students also think they teachers learn as well.
Sarah Slutsker, a junior in Salvesen’s class, said Kasper has had a positive impact on the classroom setting.
“It’s really helpful to have an extra person in the classroom,” Slutsker said. ”We can ask [Kasper] questions, and she knows a lot about the subject and what’s going on in the class.”
For teachers such as Beaver, who has used his experience in the program to help him in his own classroom this year, the program offered a necessary stepping stone for his teaching career.
