In order to become a teacher, you need to do more than just take a class. You have to teach one too. North has a new student teacher in the physics department, Brandon White, who’s attending Illinois State University.
White has been here since the beginning of the second semester, although he didn’t officially start until about a month later. He’s dedicated to the job and ready to teach.
“I picked teaching because I feel like it gave me a purpose. This is a job that has an emotional return. From what I’ve seen so far, it’s very difficult. It’s emotionally taxing, but you get the pay off of seeing students grow, change, and become better people and citizens,” White said.
White’s interest in teaching is the end goal. Teaching can be special for students and teachers, and having a good teaching experience can change people’s lives.
“I decided to be a teacher in the summer between sophomore and junior year. My first job was as a camp counselor. I was working with twelve year olds as my oldest students. I felt like the students really liked me, and I felt like it was fun, and it gave me a purpose to make someone’s day,” White said.
White is teaching multiple classes, including Physical Science. He has had time to meet students and get settled at the school, which he has been enjoying.
“The reason I chose teaching was the emotional return, how you feel at the end of the day and the end of the year. I like teaching here because I really like the students here. I found that it’s a really diverse and accepting place, and I really love it here,” White said.
After his time here, he wants to teach around his home. His experience here will help him become a teacher later on down the road.
“I don’t really have any schools in mind, but I would like to stay around the Chicago area for now. I might teach down at ISU or Bloomington, but I grew up in Antioch, and I’m really familiar and comfortable with this area,” White said.