MUSKOGEE, Okla. — The Muskogee Public School District is training the next generation of teachers. This school year, they’ve launched a teacher cadet program aimed at eventually filling a critical gap in Oklahoma.
Fourteen students sat inside the classroom at Muskogee High School on Wednesday as teacher Chetan Munsell walked them through the art of communicating, an essential skill for the profession.
Senior Gracee Starkey says she knows teaching is exactly what she wants to do for a living.
“Being able to help kids who were in the same shoes I am with showing animals and all having a love for ag like I do, it’s just the best of both worlds for me,” Starkey said.
Starkey spends a lot of time in Future Farmers of America and plans to teach Agriculture when she graduates college. She says the teacher cadet program will help her learn more about the profession before she takes the next step.
“I get to see teaching not only from the student’s perspective, but the teacher’s perspective,” Starkey said.
As an algebra teacher, Chetan Munsell says the numbers align, as they start to train students to fill the teacher slots that are open.
“The whole goal is just to grow our own and address the teacher shortage that everyone is struggling with in Oklahoma right now,” Munsell said.
Munsell was tapped to lead the teacher cadet program for its inaugural year at Muskogee High. He says it’s an honor to mold the next generation, especially in his seventh year teaching at his alma mater.
“A lot of students that are going through this course, we might be peers in 4-5 years, and that’s pretty cool,” Munsell said.
He says it’s a rigorous full-year course offered to juniors and seniors. This semester, the students will observe classrooms in Muskogee from daycare centers and elementary school to middle and high school.
Next semester, they’ll be placed with a teacher in the district and get the chance to teach a few lessons themselves.
Patrick Williams is in his junior year at Muskogee High School. He says being a teacher is all about representation.
“i didn’t have a lot of male role models in my life,” Williams said. “I think being a teacher and showing positive male reinforcement in our lives is so very important.”
Williams points to his teacher, Munsell, as the type of example he wants to be to students when he gets his own classroom.
“He really had a positive impact on my life,” said Williams. “The difference between 8th grade and 9th grade was such a jump just even him being there. There was a lot more motivation. There was a lot more determination.”
Williams is hoping the program will sharpen his skills so he can be better equipped for his future career.
“It’s going to be pretty exciting, pretty rigorous, a lot of work, but also really rewarding and a lot of fun for our students,” said Munsell.
In the spring, Muskogee High School plans to have an application process so the next class of students can start next fall.
Trending Stories:
- Jenks parents upset over school dress code
- DOWNLOAD the 2 News Oklahoma app for alerts
- Williams unveils new food court in BOK Tower
- FOLLOW 2 News Oklahoma on Facebook
- Ryan Walters wins Republican nomination for Oklahoma's Superintendent
Stay in touch with us anytime, anywhere --
- Download our free app for Apple, Android and Kindle devices.
- Sign up for daily newsletters emailed to you
- Like us on Facebook
- Follow us on Instagram
- Follow us on Twitter
