By Micah Hebbert
For the betterment of kids, Rayah Campbell, an education major at Casper College, is becoming a teacher.
What truly inspires Campbell is the environment she wants for her classroom.
“Those teachers I had were my safe place, and so I want to provide that for other children,” said Campbell.
Growing up, Campbell relied on school to be a safe haven so the idea that she could supply that for the future generations heavily influenced her decision to become an educator.
Originally, Campbell said she wanted to go into social work. She said she wanted to help kids but wasn’t sure how hands on she wanted to be. In fear of past mental health issues resurfacing, Campbell said she chose to switch to education.
Campbell is set to finish her degree in December. She is currently completing her practicum at South Ridge Elementary School in a fourth-grade classroom. She said she is excited yet nervous to student teach, but she knows the experience will prepare her with the knowledge she’ll need in the future.
Campbell said her current plan is to teach kindergarten through third grade, but that is destined to change to the upper grades since she was placed in a fourth-grade classroom for her practicum. After she graduates with her bachelors, Campbell said she wants to teach in Casper for a few years before getting her masters.
When she mentally prepares herself for teaching, Campbell said she finds some aspects of the job scary and others exciting.
“I recently have learned that there will always be scarcities in a classroom, whether it’s their parents, whether it’s a child that’s behind where they should be and not where they need to be,” said Campbell.
Campbell also said the size of a classroom contributes to her fear. She said that having many kids in one place is overwhelming for one person, though having a team of teachers to help reduces those anxieties for her.
Despite those fears, what pushes her through is the idea of connecting with kids and watching them grow.
Campbell said teachers of her own helped her grow. Starting in third grade, Campbell said a teacher pushed her to be better in English. In high school, her guidance counselor and Culinary teacher encouraged her to apply for colleges and scholarships. Those same two people also helped inspire her to pursue a career in education.
Rayah Campbell, an education major at Casper College, recently posed in a picture she submitted to Chinook.
Jenny Johnson is an education instructor and the academic chair for the education department at Casper College.
Johnson said she worked in the district for twenty-eight years. She said she spent twenty of those years in the district as a third-grade teacher and eight years as a district instructional facilitator.
Johnson also said she used to substitute in administrative positions, oftentimes fulfilling the role of principle for a day, which led her to connect with more kids.
In her role at CC, Johnson said she loves working with young teachers, especially since there is a shortage of teachers.
Johnson provided statistics on the teacher shortage from 2019 stating that 87% of school districts report difficulties hiring qualified staff, 15% of new teachers with less than three years of experience leave the profession in Wyoming, and surveys suggest 55%-86% of teachers consider leaving the job due to heavy workloads, pay issues, and student behavior.
She said she wants to encourage young teachers by letting them know they are needed.
The hardest part is keeping young teachers in the program since many of them are discouraged by their peers, Johnson said, mostly outside influences asking if young teachers are sure this is what they want to do.
“You don’t do this for the pay, you know. You’re not doing this to get a pat on the back,” said Johnson. “You’re truly there because of the kids and the families, and you want to make a difference.”
Johnson said, teachers wear many hats — educating, counseling, and advising. The job educators do can all be overwhelming but what they do shapes so many young lives.
The influence teachers provide for young kids is often what inspires them to become teachers when they grow up, repeating a cycle of inspiration.
