Ben Guest Assignment: Read 10 Things You Must Know about TFA Before Applying, and write a reaction explaining what MTC can do to better support participants who are struggling or thinking about quitting.
Teach for America and Mississippi Teacher Corps are both alternate routes towards teaching certification, and therefore share many commonalities. By approaching a career in teaching via this manner there are inevitably going to be drawbacks, but based on the aforementioned article, it seems as though MTC provides support that far exceeds that of TFA.
The author describes in explicit detail all of the ways in which summer training is designed to break the spirit and ensure that only the toughest, most dedicated, make it to the actual school year. After a few anecdotal musings about the horrendous sleeping conditions and the endless lines for the copying machine, she goes on to account how awful it is to go for so long without getting paid, and then how much worse it is having to buy your own school supplies on top of already being broke. Unfortunately for her it seems as though she chose the wrong program, as MTC does an excellent job of addressing all of these issues.
The summer training for Mississippi Teacher Corps, albeit fairly stressful, is extremely supportive and provides a wealth of essential information. Participants take a class that provides the knowledge necessary to become proficient at lesson planning, teaching, and classroom management; all the while participants are teaching summer school, at least one or two lessons a day to hone their skill, and receiving constructive criticism from alumni of the program that have proven themselves tremendously successful. Aside from providing such excellent training, MTC further eliminates some of the problems seen with alterate route programs by paying participants two fairly large summer stipends, as well as a reimbursement at the beginning of the school year for school supplies purchased at the end of summer.
As my undergraduate education approached its end, Teach for America was actually my first choice, so much so that I didn't even think about applying to any other programs until I was rejected. Now, getting rejected by TFA, being forced to search for an alternative graduation plan, and getting accepted by Mississipi Teacher Corps is one of the things I am most thankful for in life. MTC offers great incentives, a free MacBook, summer pay, and a free masters degree comprised of classes specifically tailored to our teaching situation, just to name a few, and it really is an incredibly supportive program. Getting rejected by TFA, for who knows what reason, might just be one of the best things that has ever happened to me.
Saturday, January 29, 2011
Thursday, January 13, 2011
Catch 74: The Plight of Mississippi Schools
The picture to the left does a pretty good job of summing up the problems with North Panola High School. Right about now you're probably asking yourself how that makes any sense, so let me explain.
The existence of that crudely painted "74" shouldn't be possible. Every morning the students and their bags are passed over with a metal detecting wand as they walk into the building. The fact that such a degradation can be found within one of our restrooms is evidence that someone isn't doing what they're supposed to be doing. In this case it was only a can of spray paint that made it into our school, but what if in the future it is a gun or a knife? The not-so-recently added "74" that unwelcomely adorns a bathroom stall in the restroom of my hall exemplifies what is wrong with our school; the problem with our school is that plans for success are continually drawn, yet they are rarely, if ever, actually fully implemented.
It's safe to say that those overseeing our school probably want what's best for it, but with no real strategy or implementation, how can things be expected to change for the better? There's no point in using a metal detector if we're not investigating the cause of an alert. It's a waste of time to hold weekly assemblies reminding the students of the rules if the rules are not enforced. And it doesn't make any sense for the administration to criticize teachers for lost instructional time when the primary reason for instructional time being lost is pep rallies and fanfare.
The administration can make all the grandiose claims they want about the path towards school improvement, but none of it means a thing if those claims are not backed by substance. The "74" that further defiles the already dirty restroom across the hall from me has remained untouched for almost two months, and that's not likely to change any time soon; it serves as a constant reminder of the lack of execution our school continually exhibits, a problem that if left unchanged will inevitably be the death of our school.
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