Education department prepares for Trojan Shadow Day

The Department of Education and Behavioral Sciences is inviting high school students and Troy students interested in education to their first shadow day of the semester. 

Shadow day is a day in which education students are let into the classrooms of the education department while class is in session, so they can experience being on the other side of a lecture firsthand. The students will also be able to talk with professors and see their offices and the way they manage all that goes on behind the scenes. 

“Attending the shadow day allowed me to understand and recognize that being an education major is not just coloring and doing crafts every day, but instead it is doing research, exploring STEM, learning how the brain forms and works and so much more,” said Emma Henry, a senior K-6 collaborative special education major from Tuscaloosa, Alabama. “It gave me confidence in my school and major choice, as I knew after leaving that attending and graduating from Troy University meant that I would be prepared with the best resources and tools that would allow me to be the best educator I could be.” 

With this event, the education department hopes to prepare students for their future as college students studying education, as well as their eventual professional paths in education themselves. 

“There are so many unknowns when prospective students are making one of the biggest decisions of their lives,” said Cathy Keck, assistant chair of the department of teacher education. “We hope that spending time in our classes with our students and faculty will help excite them about the next chapter of their lives while impacting their college choice in a positive way.” 

Allowing students to experience the field of education and encouraging them to explore their interests in the field is just the first goal of this event, though. The much more forward-thinking mission is to continue to build a system that our society is reliant on. 

“An uneducated society is a society that is easily oppressed,” Keck said. “Teachers are difference makers.  

“They have the opportunity to give hope and help create well-rounded human beings.” 

For Henry, this impact on the children is the exact thing that fuels her desire to become a teacher after graduation. 

“I want to be a Special Education teacher because of the small victories—the things that may often get overlooked,” Henry said. “The lightbulb moment when a student finally grasps a concept, the look of success and pride as they hold their head a little higher and stand a little taller.  

“Teaching is more than just teaching academics. Though it is a majority of the job, it is also teaching students how to regulate their emotions, being their biggest supporter and advocate, holding them accountable, making them feel like someone when they feel like nobody and so much more.” 

Through their interactions with the faculty and current students at the education department, interested students won’t just be taught what it is like to be a teacher. They’ll be taught that, for many teachers, choosing a career in education is choosing to be a turning point in the life of your students. 

“There is so much more to teaching than academics,” Keck said. “Academics are absolutely important, but we teach about kindness, collaboration, the importance of a learning community and being a good community member, where everyone is accepted and celebrated as an individual.” 

“The impact of a good teacher reaches far beyond the classroom walls—it ripples through generations,” said Angela Carpenter, lecturer of elementary education. “Teachers influence how students see themselves and how they contribute to society.  

“That’s why teachers are not just important — they are indispensable. They light the path for all other professions and nurture the promise of a better tomorrow.” 

The first shadow day of the semester will be on Oct. 30, and the next one will be on Nov. 20.