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.
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