Coleman Community Schools

In a small rural district like ours, we know that our greatest resource is our people—and sometimes, our most inspiring future leaders are currently sitting in our own classrooms.

Comet students Kylea Gray and Delilah Cameron have the unique opportunity of shadowing in a real classroom as part of their enrollment in the Educational Careers CTE class. Though the course is hosted by our neighbors at Bullock Creek School District, these two represent leadership in our community daily as they get hands-on, first-hand classroom experience. I sat down with them to talk about their favorite parts of being in a classroom, the lessons they've learned, and their future plans in Education.

Delilah is placed in Mrs. Matuszewski’s 8th grade English classroom at Northeast Middle School in Midland, and Kylea is placed in Mr. Anderson’s Kindergarten classroom here at Coleman Schools.

Kylea:

Kylea, a senior this year, initially planned on becoming an OB-GYN after high school. But when she visited the CTE showcase last winter, she felt drawn to another career path that is all about helping others - Education! Now, she fully plans on becoming an elementary teacher after high school.

Kylea shares that part of what makes being in Mr. Anderson’s Kindergarten class so fun is that her little sister, Natalie, is in the class. “On my first day, my sister was clinging to me almost the whole time!” She also really loves getting to read aloud to students - one of her favorite ways to connect with them, along with helping them out with morning work.

Kylea says that she’s learned a lot from this experience. “Little kids love you, but they can be defiant sometimes. It’s not personal - it’s just how they can be. I’ve learned I have to be careful in how I frame any requests to them so that they don’t immediately go into defiant mode. You cannot force people to do things - especially little kids. I've also learned that when kids need a hug, you should always take the hug. You never know if they need it more than you do.”

A Note from Mr. Anderson (Kylea's host teacher): “Having Kylea as my first CTE student has been a great experience. She is so kind and helpful to all of the students. She has the drive, personality, and determination to be a great teacher. Kylea is not afraid to try different things in the classroom and volunteers to help with all aspects of teaching. She helps me with delivering lessons and is constantly moving around the room to assist students with questions. I know that she will be very successful in her teaching career! Kylea, thank you for making such a difference in the students' learning, and my first CTE experience such a good one!”

Delilah:

Delilah, a junior this year, has been off and on about wanting to be a teacher over the years, but after her first few weeks in the classroom, she knows it’s where she’s meant to be. She plans to become a high school English teacher one day.

Delilah’s favorite part of this experience has been getting to know the students. “They’re a lot of fun! The 8th graders are an awesome age group. There’s been a lot of heartwarming moments - many of them tell me they wish I was their sister or their mom. I was initially expecting them to not be receptive to me at all, but after only two weeks they really started warming up to me.”

Delilah has learned a lot from this experience. “I’ve encountered a lot of unexpected things, like hardships that students face in their lives. I’ve had to learn how to carefully approach students in different situations with gentleness and care. One thing I’ve learned is they’re not giving me a hard time, they’re having a hard time. It’s a very weird time of their life - sometimes they’re not always great at communication. I’ve learned a lot of patience from these students. But overall, I really feel I’ve grown as a person from this experience. There will always be days when it’s hard, but it’s clear that the good outweighs the bad so much!” 

From Ms. Matuszewski (Delilah's host teacher): ”Having Ms. Cameron in our 2nd Hour classroom has been such a positive experience. She has a heart for building a positive culture and student relationships are where she thrives. If she already has that drive to connect with students on a human-level, her pedagogical skills will only enhance her role as an educator one day. The future classroom needs critical thinkers like Ms. Cameron because teaching is always a moving target. 

"Teaching is the most rewarding career; the moment you see it "click" for a student, when they finally believe in what heights they can reach--that is powerful. My students make me want to be a better me every day--we learn from each other. Education is a gig where you are always learning--there is no ceiling, no perfect--just progress on an ever-moving target. And every group of students is different, and every year it gives you a new set of successes and challenges--what we do is not monotonous or mundane--if it is--something is wrong!”