The Middle Ground: My Participation in MTC

  In my senior year of college, I learned about the "good teacher shortage" in the only education course I took in college. I had also done much volunteer work in the area of mentoring and education in my four years. I was not a "privileged college kid", but I admit I was primarily led to teaching by a desire to help someone out and the hope that I could sell that to some corporation later. I do not feel badly about my motivation for wanting to teach, even after reading the response from the alleged student. Teaching in broken places is difficult and those of us who care actually put in the work to get better. I don't re-live this experience with the nostalgia of the volunteer teacher, but I also don't appreciate the negativity and sarcasm from the pissed off parent who wrote that response in her child's name. There is a middle ground here. 

     Megan Richmond probably watched Freedom Writers and Dangerous Minds too many times. We have all made a difference in our classrooms, but the scale on which this happens is not as grand as she paints it. Let's face it. We are very unprepared when we enter our classrooms. Even those of us who are not afraid of the children have major issues with organization, curriculum mapping and just the general day to day operations in a classroom. We offer a new perspective and new energy and we try to teach students as much as we know. In this way, our presence probably does just as much good as having a decent, seasoned teacher in the room. Richmond's assertion that she is the only person who cares about her kids is a bit lofty. I have made that mistake. I looked at my students' situations and assumed that no caring parent would have an eighth grader reading on a 4th grade level. This couldn't be farther from the truth. Our students have parents who love them even if we don't agree with the way they do it. It is better for us to work with them than to assume we are some lone beacon of hope. That is where we stop being effective. I have learned that it is never okay to assume that I am some hero, or that I am doing something no one else would ever do. We do what all teachers are there to do. We give them a new outlook on life. We may give them a little more exposure than they would get by virtue of being different from people in their communities. I wouldn't go much further than that. In my second year of teaching, I met several non-MTC teachers who do fantastic work and I have learned a lot from them. Again, we are not the only hope for these children. 

    Although movies like Freedom Writers has glamorized the idea of a fresh, young college graduate in saving lives in the classroom, I do believe the wave of alternate route certification programs has generated renewed interest in teacher capacity. A fresh face means a stiff learning curve, but it can be overcome. Even traditional route teachers endure a learning curve, and in my experience young teachers are eager to take it on. I really believe that teachers like us do have good intentions and they shouldn't be smirked at. After all, most people are not willing to put up with the worst working conditions and ungrateful parents and children for pennies. The parent who wrote this article sounds jaded. Perhaps her child had bad experiences with a teacher who happened to be young and uncertified, but that doesn't mean we are all hurting kids more than helping them. Mississippi Teacher Corps teachers are certainly an exception because of our training in curriculum. We put time into development and are held accountable to becoming better teachers. I would challenge any upset parent to do some research and let me know if all their child's teachers have done the same. 

     I think there is merit in both sides of this argument. In reality, we are brand new teachers, but then, so is every new teacher. Being an alternate route teacher is not a wholly selfish thing, but I also wouldn't say I was my students' one great hope. As a teacher in the delta, I feel that my students should be grateful that I or any other teacher is here. Education is not given freely everywhere and the conditions of the schools scares away most decent talent. Simultaneously, we have to realize that our kids deserve quality and then strive to give them just that.  

    

Ambernaishia

Ambernaishia is the student all of us teachers worry about constantly. She is a naturally intelligent and well-mannered student amid the sea of "fine with failing" classmates. There are times in class when I feel sorry for her because she deserves so much more than her humble surroundings. What makes Ambernaishia so special is that she doesn't make a spectacle of how much further ahead of her students she really is. Her two best friends include a mediocre student and one of my special education students. To see her interact with them, you wouldn't believe that one of them barely understands fifth grade reading material. In the schools I grew up in, that just didn't happen. This is perhaps due to the fact that inclusion was not a part of my education so students like Ambernaishia's friend Tabara would never have been in the general population. Still, she walks humbly, knowing she is a cut above the rest. It is not that she is oblivious to her gifts. I know her mother takes care to help her understand there are higher expectations for her, and she rises to the occasion every time. 

Aside from humility, Ambernaishia has a drive to succeed that is absent in most of my students from this year or last year. I recently had my classes write narratives that included personal folklore. As we neared the end of the project, I scheduled a work day for students to focus solely on their narratives. Most students took it as an opportunity to goof off and I had to constantly redirect students to their assignments. Ambernaishia not only remained on task, which I appreciated, but she was meticulous about included every detail I taught that week. She mastered the narrative, and asked me to check for mastery at every step of the story. Her work ethic is a daily dose of happy in an otherwise hopeless situation. 

Perhaps her greatest asset lies in her mother. I frequently run into her around town and she never fails to ask, "How's my girl doing?" She will literally interrupt my workout at the gym or dinner at the mexican restaurant in town, but I appreciate it. She is involved with every aspect of her daughter's education even though she has an unpredictable work schedule. This alone places Ambernaishia lightyears ahead of her counterparts many of whom have absent parents. 

Unfortunately there is a caveat to her amazing talent. She is being educated in perhaps the worst condition possible. She reads on a 10th grade level, has some promising analytical skills, but no one to nourish that. Even teachers often forget to challenge her because she is alone in her league. The district has a hand in discouraging her talent as well. The low standards promoted by policies like, “no grade in the grade-book lower than 50”, teach kids that mediocrity is acceptable. Literally, no grade can be lower than a 50. Not just the nine weeks grade, but daily grades.  Why continue to strive for excellence when no one expects or encourages you too. I have also heard teachers blow her off when she asks why she received a “B” instead of an “A” on assignments. She is screaming to be held more accountable and we are letting her down.