Teaching As a Career is a new pathway to Derby High School as of this year. Freshman English teacher Natalie Kerr has taken on the task of preparing these students for their future roles as teachers.

Not only are the students being presented with different templates on how to maintain and manage a positive learning environment for all kids, but they are also getting the hands-on experience by going to the community elementary schools every other Friday and observing.

“Going to the schools is a lot of fun and the kids get to know you so they get kind of excited the more you come,” junior Breanna Mehringer said.

The class started with the Edrising club, which only met a few times throughout the year. You can now get college credit for taking the year-long course through the high school.

A few of the activities they work on in class include role-playing for parent phone calls and conferences, as well as practicing their own lesson plans. Group activities are crucial in this class because of how big an impact discussing your ideas with others who have the same goals as you can have.

“Being able to see what everyone else has in mind for their classrooms is helpful when you get stuck or maybe need some new ideas,” Mehringer said.

Teaching As a Career is a fun, new option to be able to further your education in a  specific pathway, and it will continue to grow. The idea as a whole is that students will be able to take this class and be more prepared for their college education in this field and to give them an idea of what the future might be like.