By: Kenzie Gill
Salem High School gained a new student teacher this semester: Alyssa Osborn. She is from Paoli and graduated from Paoli Jr-Sr High School in 2016. She continued her education at the University of Southern Indiana and is currently getting her teaching license through Purdue´s Transition to Teaching program.
She has chosen to do her student teaching at Salem because her family moved here a couple of years ago.
¨Completing my student teaching at Salem will also give me the opportunity to learn more about the community I live in,¨ she said.
When Osborn went to college she didn't know what she wanted to do, but she always had teaching in the back of her mind. She originally went to college undecided but ended up studying English and French.
¨I graduated from college in 2020 right when the pandemic started,” she said. “Although I love English and French, I didn't know how to use my degrees. I had time to really figure out what I want my life to look like. That's when I went back to the idea of teaching and seriously started considering being a teacher.¨
She is in Mrs. Brewer's classroom, teaching freshman and junior English.
¨While I´m student teaching with Mrs.Brewer, I’m looking forward to getting into her research unit,” said Osborn. “This research unit dives into real-world scenarios, and I believe this will be a vital and entertaining way for students to learn and prepare for the future.¨
There have been some challenging things for Osborn, but she said one of the most challenging things has been waking up early five days a week.
She is very excited about getting to know and teach the students at SHS.
¨As a future English teacher, I look forward to teaching about writing,” she said. “Writing is what I love most about English – the different ways you can write and what you can achieve through those approaches or simply the effect a certain word can make. Writing is such an important skill and I would love to show others how they can use it to their advantage.¨
While she is at SHS she is also looking to get to know her students and learn more about them and the community they live in.
In looking at her past and her journey to becoming a teacher, Osborn said her advice to students is to be open minded and reassured that it’s ok if they don’t know what they want to do in the future yet.
¨The closer you get to graduating, the closer you get to being on your own,” she said. “If anything, I want my journey of becoming a teacher to be a reminder that not everyone´s path will look the same. Don´t feel disheartened if you´re unsure what you want to do in the future or if your journey into adulthood doesn't look the same as your peers around you.”