Journey to teacher: Johnson inspired to become educator after work as volunteer, assistant

Nov. 8—A typical day for Mitchell Johnson includes being surrounded by students and educators, a career path that he never planned on having.

But now, Johnson is considering becoming a certified teacher after his involvement at Cravens Elementary School.

Johnson, an instructional assistant at Cravens, became involved after two of his children attended the school.

"I began volunteering for little projects and then last year I was asked if I wanted to be on the Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports (PBIS) committee at Cravens," he said.

After agreeing to join the committee, Johnson realized he enjoyed working within the school.

"I had a blast being able to see changes and positive behaviors within students," he said.

Johnson began looking into substitute teacher positions and applied to be on the list.

"My first sub position was with Cravens in the highly structured room and I fell in love with it," he said. "There was a position that became available in the highly structured room so I applied and felt like this is where I wanted to be."

Since working with Cravens staff and students, Johnson is now looking to apply to a postsecondary institution to receive a degree in education at the University of the Cumberlands.

"I want to go to school for education, hopefully within the special education field," he said. "Watching the kids and being involved in Cravens itself excited me to become more involved."

Johnson said he has learned more about education since being involved with Cravens.

"Coming in here and seeing how much each of these teachers care about the students has been amazing," he said. "Some people have that mindset that teachers only work so much out of the year, but we're always looking for new things to do and try."

The faculty and students at Cravens make the school special, Johnson said.

"The groups that I work with are honestly like a family," he said. "We all work together and help each other out. I don't see myself wanting to work anywhere else."

Johnson hopes to continue working at Cravens after he receives his degree in education.

"I want to keep learning as much as I can from the people and amazing teachers I am around," he said.