The process of becoming a teacher is an intricate process that takes the dedication of both the staff member sponsoring the student and the person undergoing the in-class training. Since the beginning of second semester, Mrs. Kelly Young, a consumer economics teacher here at Rocky, has been hosting Maeva Viyegbe. Viyegbe is a student at Western Illinois University, but for the past few months, she has been a student of Young.
Although she is teaching consumer economics currently, Viyegbe said her ambition is to teach world history at the high school level. She said she “love(s) world history, so I would love teaching world history…or even like ancient world history.”
However, before she can step foot in her own classroom, Viyegbe needs to learn the lessons and overcome the trials of educating modern youth. “I think student teachers struggle with the fact that they aren’t going to master it all on the first try,” said Young, “Teaching is an art that has to be practiced, and you get better each lesson.” Viyegbe is adapting to strategies Young has developed to relate to her students. Every student, at Rocky or elsewhere, has their own story and personality; adapting to those is a great challenge. Viyegbe said she uses her own high school experiences to help her relate to students. “I will say, I was much more on the quieter side when I was a student,” said Viyegbe.
Young is always present to guide Viyegbe during her class time. But Viyegbe has absorbed pieces of wisdom during their one on one time together, as well. “A trick that she (Young) has taught me, that I think is really profound,” said Viyegbe “is choosing my own battles. So I’ve learned how to choose my own battles, and how to do my own thing…I will not lie, in that I was super strict in the beginning because that was kinda the environment that I grew up, which is not the same as high school today.”
The track to becoming a teacher has evolved greatly over the years, but Young is confident she is going to leave Viyegbe the most important lessons. Young said all she need to do is “take her time to do her homework (becoming comfortable with the material.)” and that being “confident that you understand what you are teaching allows you to work on important skills and strategies that lead to the best teaching & learning.”
