From student to teacher

Noah Levine came to Northeastern Illinois University in 2024 with the thought of becoming an elementary school teacher.

“I used to work at an elementary school as a special ed classroom assistant, and it was what I knew,” Levine said. “I loved working with the younger kids. I liked the whimsy and the idea of laying the foundation for their whole educational lives.”

Then, he started substitute teaching in high schools and found his calling.

“I think when it came down to it in practice, what I was really excited about was being able to dive deep into content in a way that felt more possible with older kids,” Levine said. “I realized that I liked teaching teenagers more than I thought I did.”

A graduate of Tufts University, Levine came to Chicago in 2019 from the suburbs of Boston through a fellowship program. He was placed with a nonprofit organization and part of his work was in an educational capacity, which led him to apply to Northeastern’s Daniel L. Goodwin College of Education.

“When I was applying to graduate schools, I kept hearing about Northeastern, both as a really affordable option — so that was definitely huge — and for its diversity of faculty, staff and students,” Levine said. “I liked the idea of being in classes with students from very different backgrounds from me, especially when it came to relationships to school and schooling, and intergenerational classes, learning with and from classmates who are at really different stages of life than me.”

Instructor of Secondary Education Barbara Dillon supervised Levine’s education clinicals, which are field experiences education students are required to undergo in order to earn their teaching licenses. She noted his presentations and written work exceeded expectations and his skills as a good listener and consistent, thoughtful speaker, coupled with his discipline and ability to take feedback well, make him a good student as well as a good educator.

“When I observed Noah during his clinical experience, his ability to connect with students was impressive, as was his ease and adeptness in front of a classroom of high school students,” Dillon said. “Noah taught lessons at his clinical placement that were quite complex and rigorous. He did so with a sophistication that seemed well above what I would expect from a clinical student. He was an outstanding student and is a well-spoken, motivated, caring human being.”

Levine shared that Dillon’s educational style continually motivated him to pursue his career path.

“Going to Barbara’s class was one of the most joyful educational experiences I've had,” Levine said. “I think it transported me back to all my favorite parts of English classes in grade school and I think I had been missing that.”

Levine noted Dillon’s class was a supportive environment to try new teaching techniques and strategies to help students engage with materials.

“Barbara gave me hope that it really is possible for kids who maybe haven't loved reading before to fall in love with it,” Levine said. “She provided some creative strategies, like independent reading at the beginning of class and ways for students to engage in poetry that were very heartening.”

As Levine completes his student teaching at Senn High School and prepares to earn his Master of Arts in Teaching – Secondary Education from Northeastern this May, he is looking forward to his summer job as an Assistant Director of a youth summer camp and becoming a full-time high school English teacher, hopefully within Chicago Public Schools (CPS).

“Northeastern has a well-established College of Education with close ties to Chicago Public Schools and community organizations in Chicago,” Levine said. “The professors I've had at Northeastern have really pushed me in terms of thinking expansively about what schooling can and should look like — everything from what a democratic classroom really looks like to integrating arts into my teaching practice.” He continued, “I've been spending so much time and energy learning about and getting to know the CPS ecosystem, I would love to be a part of it.” 
 

Top photo: A headshot photo of Noah Levine.