Thursday, June 30, 2011

9-5

Sorry for the delay in posts, and the shortness of the present post. You see I've recently entered the work force. I am an officially active Teach For America 2011 Corps Member. I started about a week and a half ago and I'm not sure if I've really slept since then, much less had time to make a post. As you might have guessed Teach For America is a program that cultivates...anyone?...yes, that's right, teachers. I've been learning the ins and outs of program management, investment plans, curriculum writing, lesson developing. Basically a four year education on education in about 6 weeks. To say the least, it's ambitious. And with such high goals the idea of a "job" goes out the window. No longer does the work and personal life exist (except on the ever coveted weekend). Teaching, apparently isn't that easy, and it takes a lot of time, effort, and caring on the teacher's part. So the whole 9-5 idea is basically a joke...wallstreet? please. Try Sesame Street. Up at 5:15 and I don't get a break in my day until 9 or so at night. For all you English majors out there that means about 16 hours of work a day. Or to put it another way two full work days in a single day. But, I'm thinking this is the boot camp of teaching. They'll beat you down for the next 5 weeks and you'll come out in the fall cleaning up and destroying the evil Achievement Gap with ease. This theory would be great except that the leaders continually remind us scrubs that we will inevitably fail, it will be hard and we won't get it for a few months. I'm determined to prove them wrong. I will be prepared, I will be confident, and I will be a great teacher--Just as soon as I get a few hours where I don't have to think about the next poster I need to make.

1 comment:

  1. It seems to me that you are saying that if you fail, if you don't get it at first, then that negates the possibility of being a great teacher. A lot of great teachers who have come through TFA flopped at first, mainly because you truly have no idea what you've gotten yourself into. Don't discount the experiences of those counseling you who have been through this before, who have watched years of Corps Members struggle and yes, succeed, in the art of teaching. A dose of humility will go much farther with the students you're working with then a refusal to fail. Just thinking out loud.

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