When David Rich became president of the Corning Teachers Association in March 2022, he was immediately interested in bringing NYSUT’s Take a Look at Teaching program to his district.
The statewide, union-led initiative aims to develop a robust and diverse educator pipeline in New York, as state officials estimate districts may need up to 180,000 teachers in the next decade.
“It’s something within our grasp as educators that we can do to address staffing shortages,” Rich said.
This school year, Rich was able to get funding for the district’s inaugural TALAT course through NYSUT, which received a grant from the National Education Association to help local unions start Grow Your Own programs. And next fall, they will be adding a second TALAT course to the catalogue.
“I think it’s been a fantastic program and a way to connect with students,” Rich said. “We have so much talent here that we want to tap into and this allows us to plant the seeds early that a career in education is great – not just as a teacher, but as a school counselor, speech therapist, social worker, librarian. If NYSUT hadn’t put the resources out there, I probably wouldn’t have done the program so that’s been invaluable to me.”
Kayleigh Sparks is one of 12 students currently participating in the program. She says the class has affirmed her decision to pursue becoming a teacher.
“This class was one of the best things I could have done for myself and my future,” Sparks said. “It gave me many opportunities to explore the education field and helped me determine what area of teaching I want to focus on, which is special education. I was assigned a special education class for one of my observations and instantly realized this is something I am interested in. I recommend this class to any student who is interested in teaching – give it a try.”
The TALAT course is taught by Corning TA member Megan Plate, who often will take her students on field trips to colleges and school board meetings.
“One of my favorite things about the course is seeing my students' passion when they interact with cooperating teachers or students during observations,” Plate said. “It's been inspiring to watch them navigate difficult questions and situations that educators are faced with daily. I truly believe the future of education is in great hands!”
To get students further involved, Plate and Rich have nomination cards for teachers to recommend students for the district’s Teacher-for-a-Day program.
“It makes for a good connection between a teacher and a student to recognize them as having potential to be a future educator,” Rich said.
The program allows high school students to spend a day co-working with a teacher in the grade level and subject of their choice.
“Students do tasks like taking attendance, introducing a lesson or learning objective, closing a lesson and checking for understanding or explaining directions for an assignment,” Rich explained.
Corning TA member Thomas Schilke is a middle school English Teacher participating in the program who recently worked with a student on lesson planning and classroom management. He says it was a breath of fresh air.
“Her eagerness and excitement were contagious. She had great questions about the profession including pros and cons, benefits, retirement, classroom management strategies and so on. We probably should have just offered her a job on the spot because she is going to be great.”
To learn more about NYSUT’s Take a Look at Teaching program and for grant information, visit takealookatteaching.org.