Education Professions (Ed Professions), formally known as Educators Rising or Future Educators Association, is a class students can take either junior or senior year of high school.
Here at Independence High School, it is a class that can also function as a club. When in the classroom, students learn about the craft of teaching and a “wide variety of professional skills”, according to Kevin Van Natter, Ed Professions teacher.
This includes learning what to do and what might be in a job interview, learning how teachers come up with lesson plans, and by the end of the year being able to observe teachers in their classrooms.
The club function comes in the form of annual competitions students can participate in if they are in the class.
Van Natter says, “We have a regional competition for Arizona Ed Professions programs at our state leadership conference in March.”
“There are a variety of events including impromptu speaking, lesson plan, delivery, and teaching strategies”, he continued. “For example, a student will create a lesson plan, record themselves . . . and then submit the video . . . at the competition, a judge will interview them about the video.”
So, increased experience and skill with leadership, collaboration, and communication are some of the benefits students can get from the class, according to Van Natter.
While students gain these beneficial skills, they also get a new perspective on what their teachers do day to day.
Sophomore Ashley Ramirez Salazar, vice president, says that one of the more interesting things about what teachers do is accommodate for disabled students.
Salazar says she feels it is very interesting to learn about how people have many different ways to learn and says that this has changed her perspective on teachers because they have to keep these accommodations in mind as well as having to go through so much training to teach.
An example of this would be if a student is blind or if a student has ADHD, according to Salazar.
Senior Kyrsten Donahue, president, adds to this by saying that the class also discusses issues going on involving education.
“I think there are a lot of flaws in the education system especially . . . here in Arizona . . . I am glad that there is a class that teaches about that type of stuff”, said Donahue.
All in all, Van Natter suggests taking the class as students learn “speaking and listening skills [that are] critical for students regardless of what career path they choose.”
