Teacher Spotlight: Kody Spiker begins her career at Lake Superior Academy
SAULT STE. MARIE — New teacher Kody Spiker is starting her career at Lake Superior Academy, where she hopes to help students on a more personal level.
Spiker, 23, began her first year of teaching in the fall. Originally from Fairview, Michigan, Spiker knew she wanted to be a teacher ever since a student teaching program in high school ignited her passion.
"I was a teaching assistant in the kindergarten classroom and it was like the best part of my day," said Spiker. "I would help kids with their alphabets and I could sit and let them read to me for hours. I just truly enjoy it, and I would leave and I remember just walking down the hallway to go back to class and I always had a smile on my face."
Spiker moved north to attend Lake Superior State University and fell in love with the area. She decided to stay in town and build her career.
"I love it up here so much and it's perfect because it's not too far away from home. I really love it and I love the people up here, especially," said Spiker. "I love this school and area because you're always near the outside in the woods and it's very nature filled."
When deciding her major, Spiker couldn't pick between journalism or teaching, as both were things she found interesting. She decided to leave the choice up to chance and picked a piece of paper out of a hat to decide her fate, and she never regretted ending up with education.
After graduating from LSSU, she took a job at a local coffee shop where she worked until opportunity for her dream job working with young students became available. Beginning in the 2023-24 school year, she started her position as a student teacher at Lake Superior Academy, a local elementary school.
Spiker said she loves teaching younger kids who are more likely to be open to having fun with their education. Her favorite methods of teaching involve turning the lessons into a game to help students get engaged.
For a semester she taught students in the classroom as a student teacher, and in the new semester she began one-on-one teaching, helping individual students with subjects they may be struggling with. Usually she teaches English or math. She is also in charge of conducting standardized testing at the school.
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At the beginning of the 2024-25 school year, she will begin her position as a full-time English teacher. Lake Superior Academy is in the process of opening a new building on campus with several new classrooms, including one classroom for Spiker.
In her first year as a full teacher she will be teaching writing and reading, which is also her favorite subject to learn and to teach.
"I like everything but I really love writing and reading, which works out with what I'm getting to teach right now," said Spiker. "Reading unlocks everything and helps you learn more, so it's easy to get excited."
Even after only having taught a single semester as a student teacher, Spiker already has a favorite moment in teaching — the moment her class threw her a party to say goodbye at the end of the semester.
"All the kids that I taught threw a little party and they all found out my favorite food was blueberry muffins and they got me lots of them. I very much loved it," said Spiker. "They all wrote me their individual cards and it was like the sweetest thing in the world. It was very fun."
— Contact Brendan Wiesner: BWiesner@Sooeveningnews.com
This article originally appeared on The Sault News: Teacher Spotlight: Kody Spiker of Lake Superior Academy
