Cadet teaching is an interactive way for high school students to learn what it is like to be on the other side of the classroom. For students interested in pursuing a career in teaching, SHS offers this class for those who would like to gain experience from a teacher’s perspective.  

For SHS graduate Mattie Green, this opportunity impacted her future immensely. Green says that after taking cadet teaching at PTEC and forming a bond with the children she taught, Green feels she has grown with the kids and ultimately gave her more patience. She has loved every second of being a cadet teacher. 

Green is currently working at Imagination Station preschool as a teacher’s aid. She says she has her own class on Tuesdays and Thursdays to get individual time with the kids.

“I’m teaching them right from wrong,” Green said. “When I first got there (PTEC), things were a little crazy and they didn’t really listen well. Now I feel like they know right from wrong and they know when to listen, so I feel like they actually look up to me in a way.”

For Green, being the teacher rather than the student has given her more of an understanding of how difficult teaching actually is. She says she has a lot more patience than she did behind the desk of a classroom. She does plan on pursuing a career in education in the future.

Similar to Green, senior Megan Sullivan, who is currently in the cadet teaching class, says she really enjoys the class overall. She is a cadet teacher at Mary Bryan elementary in Amanda Colbert’s fifth grade class. Sullivan says she does the duties of a teacher’s aid while being in the class. While she’s teaching, Sullivan often helps kids with test taking and during reading groups. She helps them attain and use cognitive skills, and helps Colbert grade their papers.

Sullivan says that the class wasn’t as big of a responsibility as she expected. However, she loves the class and wouldn’t wish for anything different. Sullivan plans on possibly going to IUPUI or Purdue to major in elementary education. Being in the class has not only blossomed her love for children even more but has helped to give a glimpse of what it is like to be a teacher.

“I enjoy knowing that I am helping them reach their goals, and also (I like) the fact that the kids are very funny,” Sullivan said.

Sullivan and Green agree that cadet teaching gives more patience and appreciation for what teachers do for students. The two have learned to be a lot more understanding when it comes to a teacher’s strategies in and out of the classroom. They would highly recommend this class to people who want to endure a career into education.

“I would tell incoming students that they should make sure they are going to be committed enough to actually take something out of the class instead of treating it like a study hall,” Sullivan said. “In the end the experience will be so much more for not only the cadet teachers, but the kids they helped also.”