Ben Guest Assignment: Why should and shouldn't you join MTC?
Mississippi Teacher Corps is both an incredibly rewarding program, as well as an unbelievably challenging program. There are numerous reasons as to why you should or shouldn't join MTC, but interestingly enough one could place many of the reasons on either list. Mississippi Teacher Corps offers many incredible incentives, aspects that could easily sell you on joining; however, one should also make sure that they are signing up for the right reasons, since the incentives alone will not be enough to get you through this experience.
Mississippi Teacher Corps is first rate when it comes to offering incredible incentives. Once accepted and committed to the program, you are provided with a free master's degree, a free macbook, free summer housing, and three different stipends, two for living expenditures during the summer and one for purchasing school supplies before the actual school year begins. All in all, by the end of your two year commitment, the incentives alone value to roughly $22,000. On paper it sounds like an incredible deal, and in truth it really is. But if the free stuff is the only reason that you are considering the program, you will not make it through your two years; the free stuff just isn't worth it if you don't have the dedication and drive needed to work in schools such as these, and most likely you will end up quitting before your commitment is up.
If you are lucky enough, as in, if you are qualified enough to have proven yourself an exceptional candidate, to get in, then Mississippi Teacher Corps guarantees you a job with a fully salary, and in these times, employment can be a very difficult thing to find. Teaching, all though not the most prestigious jobs in this country, is secure, provides health care and retirement benefits, and involves only working ten months out of the year. For many, having an entire summer off just like when they were children is a dream come true, but there is a reason these schools are failing and that our program places us in them. Teachers are treated awful; they are forced to work ten hour days, game duty, and after school duty. And that doesn't even include all the time spent planning and grading once you finally make it home.
Finally, Mississippi Teacher Corps allows those who "want to make a difference" an incredible opportunity to do so. These students are in desperate need of qualified, dedicated teachers, and although not all of us are the best teachers right out of the gate, in most cases, we are better than what they would've gotten otherwise. Despite being immensely difficult, this can be an astoundingly rewarding experience. However, just like with my previous points, there is a catch. If you are considering Teacher Corps, you must not only be an incredibly driven optimist, but you must also be a realist. The challenges you will face are not insurmountable, but they are far greater than any previous challenges you may have faced in academics or during some other form of employment. You can not come here expecting to make a huge difference. The students are unmotivated, disrespectful, and several grade levels behind, while the schools are old, underfunded, and improperly run. If you are signing up to be the great savior of impoverished, disarrayed Mississippi education, you will undoubtedly fail. In actuality you must be willing to fight the good fight every single day, not for the benefit of the entirety of your students, but for the small handful who are willing to work up to their ability and who are destined for better things.
In short, Mississippi Teacher Corps offers so many different incentives, both materialistic and intrinsic, and these are all great reasons for considering joining the program. However, these alone can not be your sole reasons for joining. Whether or not you should join Teacher Corps is entirely dependent on the type of person you are. Are you able to remain dedicated to a seemly impossible task and endure relentless struggles? Are you willing to combat a legacy of racism that has continued to plague this area since the end of slavery and segregation? And are you the type of person that can sustain yourself off the tiniest of successes amongst an overwhelming amount of failure? If you can answer yes to all of these question, go right ahead and sign on up.
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