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Institute Day 1:

ACRONYMS

If I needed to sum up institute so far in one word, if would have to be acronyms.  Our end of day “fun” was an acronym assessment, which was a PARTIAL list of 18 acronyms!  Sitting in on a TFA “Core” (being an instructional session, led by either your CMA, SD, CS, or LS) is like listening to a foreign language class.   You’re being pumped full of info on the TAL rubric, the AIM, the Takeaway, the CMWBAT objectives, etc., etc.!  But in all reality, once you master the lingo, you realize just how much support is built into this structure.  Though we are challenged by lack of sleep, scarcity of caffeine, and an overwhelming sense of barely keeping above water….we persevere for our students’ sake.  My School Director is amazing, and all of the staff at my placement site (H.S. for the Creative and Performing Arts) are working like crazy to bring us all the help we need to become great teachers.  After all, the Institute Chant:  Philly ’08….Good to Great!! (I just love Cheezy stuff like this)
Flexibility
As 700 CMs (Corps Members) settled into institute headquarters yesterday evening, the operations team put into motion plans that have been in the works since spring.  They have been  working tirelessly to make sure everything from our internet, to our boxed lunches, to things as mundane as parking passes are taken care of… all on top of planning to turn this bunch of recent college grads into teachers!  This being said, the biggest advice I have learned so far is to BE FLEXIBLE.  As I arrived at my high school placement this morning (along with around 70 others) I was astonished to find that I would be teaching SPANISH II, with my half semester of Spanish and a few trips abroad.  I made my SD (School Director) aware of my concerns, and she assured me that something would be worked out…then I set off to start preparing for the worst case scenario, a.k.a. me actually teaching Spanish to real students!

However, after a few hours, the entire situation had been rectified, and I was placed in Social Studies (which I will thankfully be teaching in English), and a REAL Spanish teacher took my spot.  Though I missed the first day with my new CMA (Corps Member Adviser), I realized that the operations team had a lot on their plates as well.  Even if I had to silently freak out for a day about how much Spanish I could feasibly learn in a week, I knew that, in the end, I would be supported to the fullest extent of their collective abilities.  So when you show up expecting to teach English and instead find yourself facing a class whose fluency far outstrips your feeble “traveler’s” Spanish….relax, be flexible and know that TFA won’t put you in a boat you can’t row!

You did WHAT?

Lastly (and this applies to regional inductions as well) listen to your fellow CMs and be proud of the group in whose company you stand.  I have been amazed to hear of CMs who founded their own companies, formed international charitable organizations, worked for elected officials, or even ran for office themselves.  The accomplishment of this group is humbling, and moreover inspiring.  The people who join TFA have often passed up opportunities to be here, or perhaps have family and friends who don’t understand why they would “just teach” when they could easily do X or Y.  Looking around at breakfast and seeing the incredible, talented, and gifted individuals who have made closing the achievement gap their mission, one cannot help but feel privileged to work at their side.

It may sound like I have completely given in to the indoctrination and am already lining up for my free glass of laced Kool-Aid… but it really is an awesome thing to know that in one week, 700 new teachers will set out on the hardest and most rewarding challenge of our lives:  To become teachers….the toughest profession we will ever love!

Days until I face my first students: 6!!!!!!!

So this is kind of a post-dated entry, but the record is there, nonetheless.

I just spent Monday and Tuesday in Baltimore at the BCPSS Hiring Fair. WHAT A MADHOUSE! It is a mark of just how desperately Charm City needs something like TFA, even if it is only to funnel teachers into the district. Dr. Alonzo (Superintendent of BCPSS) began the fair with an address to all of the applicants, and brought forward the fact that every school year BCPSS begins with 850 vacancies!

Many of the attendees were current BCPSS teachers who were told by their schools that they would not have jobs the following year. After an entire row of librarians raised their hand to ask why their schools were eliminating their libraries (and all positions within them), Dr. Alonzo responded that “We sent a memo to all schools last week telling them to hold off on any decisions regarding libraries. The budgets have not yet been approved. In all likelihood, they have not yet read the memo and will hopefully let you know that your position is not “for sure” eliminated!” What kind of administration gets a memo from the Superintendent and DOESN’T READ IT! I can see a day, two days, but a week? Clearly the organizational teams at some schools are…lacking!

This huge demand for teachers resulted in a rather confused, chaotic environment. Some teachers were being hired on the spot after a 5 minute interview at best. The lines for each school were like a meat processing plant, simply looking if you were certified in an area of need, and then moving on. I was repeatedly asked if I spoke Spanish (my placement is French) because, though they had a vacancy for French, they really “want to kill two birds with one stone, and have someone who can teach both!” While I was trying to interview with a principal at one school, another man came up to us from a neighboring table, interrupted us to ask what my content area was, and then, looking frustrated, told both of us “Uggh, I don’t need French, I’m looking for ENGLISH.”…..YIKES!!

After the fair, I “booked” one interview for the next day at Carver Vocational Technical High School, and was waiting for a call from Northwestern High School. Note that, when I say I “booked” an interview, we made it clear that I was leaving B’more the next day, and would need to see them in the morning, to which he nodded and told me to sign a sheet. I then went to stay with three current CM’s for the night. To anyone who is traveling to their region, and has been offered housing with current CM’s…TAKE IT!! It was so helpful to hang out and talk with current teachers in a really relaxed environment, and to hear all of the insane things that happen in their schools. No one in the TFA career track is going to tell you some of the things they are putting out on the table, and you have to know, after all, we did sign up for this…or so I thought!

The title of this entry should be a clue to what is coming next, the things we heard about some schools in the district were completely crazy. I should preface this by saying that I am not at all dissatisfied with my decision to join TFA, even after hearing how rough some of these schools can be. But, I think everyone needs to know what they are up against. We heard stories of teachers quitting in their first week. One female CM quit because a gang member she offended the day before fire-bombed her classroom, meaning he threw a bottle full of lighter fluid into her room (molotov cocktail). Her principle merely encouraged her to “put out the fire and call the police”. The other, a male CM, quit after a student pulled a knife on him because he didn’t like his tone!

We found out that most of the schools in Baltimore do not have metal detectors, nor do they lock the doors. One of the most violent schools in the district, a four story six stairwell behemoth, has only two obese hall monitors to try and control the 1100 students. We are told about the problems our students will face at home, in their city. We know about low test scores, and teacher shortages. None of the recruiters I have talked to thus far are quick to point out that a lot of the problems barring student success…follow them to school!
I can only imagine how hard it is to try and teach in these schools, let alone try and LEARN here. We heard stories of cafeterias so violent that students don’t like to even eat in them; students who have to carry weapons to school, simply to survive the trip through some of the neighborhoods they walk and ride through each day! Teachers assaulted by students, and, more sadly, students assaulted by teachers! More than anything, these two days have shown me that the achievement gap isn’t just a problem in education, it’s a problem that needs work in so many other areas: urban development, public safety, school security, administrative problems, home welfare, etc. I don’t think the achievement gap is impossible to overcome, but it is certainly going to take a lot more than a couple of ambitious young teachers. We represent merely one link in the chain, and, with luck, others will follow our lead and become interested in fixing the problems in whatever ways they can.

I am still hopeful, I am still glad I have chosen to become a TFA corps member, and I am still looking forward to the beginning of my teaching career. But I leave Baltimore with a touch more awareness of the problems we face. Am I still naive? OF COURSE! Until the day I stand before my students, I have no idea what it is going to be like. No amount of stories, preparations, training, or reading can get us ready for what we are going out there to do. But it doesn’t hurt to be realistic about the challenges, and if we don’t seek out the truth about the schools we are about to enter, we’re going to be even more shell shocked when our bubble bursts.

My favorite thing from the Charm City Corps so far, group chant……. B’more, HARD CORPS!

Lessons to Learn: Voices from the front lines of Teach For America by Molly Ness

This is a collection of stories and views from people across the spectrum, from teachers to parents, and even some students of the TFA experience.  It seeks to provide insight into the individuals that make up the movement and their impact on the community.  The best part about this book…it really is Fair and Balanced (at least something still is).  It doesn’t shy away from TFA critics (even when they come from within the organization itself) and it admits the flaws that the organization has worked through and with which is it still struggling.

Molly tries to paint an accurate picture of the immensely complex system of individuals who have made TFA what it is today, and to show that both critics and advocates have legitimate claims.  Molly recognizes the fact that TFA has changed a great deal since the experiences of some of the corps members interviewed (including some of the charter corps of 1990), and that it continues to grow and improve with each passing year.  I highly recommend this book to anyone who has recently, or is considering joining TFA, as well as parents whose children are embarking on their journeys.

If nothing else, this book makes me realize how many stories, good and bad, are out there.  TFA will place its 18th corps group this year, and, with a network of over 17,000 individuals, the stories of success and failure are copious.  This book reminds us that we are a part of something bigger than us, bigger than our classrooms, and even bigger than this organization.  TFA alums go on to do amazing things, in education and beyond.  We have the opportunity to go out into this world and make an impact that will resonate forever.

With alumni in sectors ranging from business and health care, to policy and international affairs, TFA will continue to be the impetus for change in years to come because of each and every corps member who has joined its ranks.  To my fellow first year CM’s, good luck, and may we merit the task for which we have been chosen.  To those who have come before us, thank you for setting the groundwork on which we will stand, and for raising the bar for us and our students.

Days until institute: 56

Links to more information or to buy Molly’s book…

Next on the reading list: Teach Like Your Hair’s on Fire by Rafe Esquith

Waronker’s example reminds us what can be accomplished when everyone in our students’ lives works together. Even when we are nervous, or even afraid of what we will face, perseverance will see us through. We can make a difference, and the students benefit!

Thanks to Halle for sending this one along!

As anyone who knows me can confirm, I have basically been obsessed with Teach For America since discovering the organization very late into my senior year.  After I’d finished Wendy’s Book, there was no question in my mind that this was exactly what I wanted!  I only hope now that I can live up to the responsibility of teaching, and help to get us closer to our goal: One day all children in this nation will have the opportunity to attain an excellent education.

My advice to anyone even considering applying to the corps (I haven’t even started teaching yet, and already I am advising others…) submit your application at the first deadline possible.  Though it doesn’t hurt/help your chances of acceptance, it does help to know what you will be doing next year at an earlier date. I feel as if my entire life was on hold while waiting to hear back. I filled every “future plans” exit survey with subtle variations of the theme “undetermined”.  But now, finally, I know where I will be, and what (roughly) I will be doing.

Now of course, I just have the tricky business of finals to navigate!

Congratulations to other fourth deadliners, and best of luck to anyone thinking of applying.  I’ll try to update this as frequently as time permits, because, when I was going through the process, I found it incredibly helpful to be able to read other CM blogs.  So, here’s another one for the books…..

 Days until Philadelphia institute: 68