Week 2

Where do I begin? This week posed some major challenges, and I learned that teaching in the inner-city is NOT easy. Of course I didn't think my job would be easy. All the stories about lack of resources and lack of motivation were accurate. Reading all of these accounts and experiencing them first-hand are two TOTALLY different things. Reading Kozol inspired me to do something about the education problem. Now that I am here, I have to actively combat the bureaucracy and other challenges, and I can see how difficult my career will be.

You should all know a few things about DC public schools (DCPS). The first is that they rank dead last among the 50 states and 3 territories counted for public school systems. In recent years the school system has undergone varying changes, not the least of which is the controversial hiring of a new Chancellor (Superintendent). I liken the actions Michelle Rhee is taking to shaking a snow globe. She's a mover and a shaker, and she is certainly doing something different, but it is impossible to predict where the snow will actually land. Her success remains to be seen. She has enforced stricter accountability for teachers (a good thing since over 40% of the District's teachers aren't actually certified to teach the subjects they are currently teaching). At the same time she is in favor of hiring greater numbers of teachers from programs like TFA (certainly questionable since the vast majority of TFA corps members are NOT certified when they enter the classroom during their first year). I digress.

My school happens to be one of the better schools in the city. Students have to apply and interview to attend, and then they must maintain a 2.0 GPA to stay. This school, however, is not immune to either the administrative policies Rhee implements, or exempt from the pool of schools that have their own inner-city horror stories.

This past week (a short one due to the inauguration) proved what I am up against. On Wednesday I taught of class of 9th graders who were entirely unmotivated. Mind you, this is a World History and Geography class, and we're learning about explorers with NO MAPS in the classroom. The copies I made for them were done on paper purchased by my cooperating teacher. In fact every teacher has to buy his or her own paper, white board markers, erasers-supplies for the classroom in general. To solve the map problem I went to Barnes and Noble to find wall maps I can mount on the classroom wall to use. (The ladies behind the counter were appalled that I am teaching geography without maps; I did get the educator's 20% discount).

Thursday was my wake up call. I had a student in my second period US History class go off the deep end. She is clearly unhappy about having a student teacher (apparently teenage girls have attitudes and become VERY territorial when another female invades their space). In any case, she lost it-throwing stuff, slamming things, swearing, yelling, and screaming. I should also mention she was carrying on about me, while I was sitting right there. My only option was to not react. I didn't, but my first instinct was to cry and run out of the room. This is the class I like the least (big surprise), and this class will be the most challenging for the rest of the semester.

The students were required to attend a safety and security assembly on Friday at which hardly anyone listened, and the students hardly understood the importance of the message the administration was trying to teach. They were more concerned about making fun of the speaker than they were about listening to why they were there.

SO WHAT?
Well I can honestly say that I was not entirely prepared for this. Granted this was somewhat of an exceptional week, and the first time you deal with an incident is always the hardest. Regardless, it was rough. I sincerely considered cutting my losses and moving home (sorry, dad). Thankfully I have a support system in place to carry me through. My cooperating teacher, the other members of the social studies department, my supervisor, friends going through the same experience, and, to some extent, my professors at American. I also have a background that constantly reminds me that although I am not prepared for the isolated events inside the classroom, I have the knowledge and the experience to at least deal with the situation. And I can't forget about my passion to actually make a difference in the world of American public education. Keeping these thoughts at the back of my head pushes me through.

TFA Connection:
In my own experience, I could not succeed in the classroom with only six weeks of summer training. This has taken, literally, years of preparation and convincing that in fact I AM needed in the toughest classrooms in the country. I agree that you cannot learn to teach merely from books, but you cannot walk into a classroom on the first day of teaching and have no idea what you are actually getting into. I wouldn't wish that on anyone, and I wouldn't want my own kid having a teacher with such little preparation. This is the fundamental level I will refer to again and again in the coming weeks: the balance between skills training through theory-based college/graduate level classes, and classroom experience with the safety net of an experienced cooperating teacher.