Angie Byrd

Yaman is excited about her upcoming teaching carrer, “[Teacher Cadet] has just given me something to look forward to. I wake up, and I look forward to going into the classroom,” Yaman said.

From ABCs to 123s, senior Emily Yaman continues her passion for education as she pursues her dream of teaching in college.

Although Yaman now prepares to major in early childhood education at Anderson University this upcoming fall, her younger self had hoped to become an architect. Yet, about freshman year, things began to change for her, and she found herself gravitating to her mother’s profession.

“[Teaching has] always been something that has been in the back of my mind since I was little because I grew up with my mom being a teacher, and just loving being in the classroom and going to school”, Yaman said. “ It was never what I thought I was going to do until about freshman year.”

As Yaman developed her love for teaching early on in her high school career, she began to help out in her own mother’s classroom. Yet, as she rose as an upperclassman, she began to get involved in the many teaching pathways that Wando has available such as the Teacher Cadet Program.

“I took Teacher Cadet my junior and my senior year… and that is what really solidified it because those classes are amazing and it’s just a great opportunity to be in a classroom,” Yaman said.

While in a classroom setting, the Teacher Cadets such as Yaman herself get to be more involved with the workings of the classroom environment.

“Then, you get to go into the classrooms and you have to make a lesson there and you have to teach it,” Yaman said. “Then for basically the entire second semester, the majority of it, it’s from March to May, you go and work with a classroom.”

According to Yaman, the Teacher Cadet program also includes numerous opportunities other than just observing and helping out in teacher’s classrooms.

“The first Teacher Cadet, for the majority of the class, it just teaches you about… a lot of psychology and you learn how kids learn and how they pick up certain material,” Yaman said. “ You learn about all the different learning styles and pretend play and stuff like that, and how kids’ brains develop as well.”

Yet, although teaching is Yaman’s passion, there are some downsides to chasing the career of her dreams.

“Pay is probably the biggest worry that I’ve had because growing up, my mom, she never wanted me not to be a teacher. But, she always warned me like you’re not going to get paid a lot,” Yaman said. “She’s a single mom… so we live off just her salary, and it being a teacher salary… I don’t live as high up as other people do…. And so I’ve grown up in a household where I’m very fortunate… I know that she works really hard for it.”

However, for Yaman, she hopes that in the future, possible teachers like herself will be better paid and have more benefits.

“I’m hoping in the future, laws change and teachers start getting paid more because I think that they deserve to be paid more,” Yaman said.“ I just love kids and I love being able to help people and teach people new things… as long as I can support myself to live, I’m okay with sacrificing not being rich.”