Enlisting Committed Individuals

One of my students who used to get "F"s proudly told me with a shy smile on his face, "Miss, I think math is actually fun." The most difficult part of teaching is witnessing the extent of hardships my students have to overcome, compared to their peers from different backgrounds, in order to achieve their goals.

Equal access to an excellent education for all children is a matter of human rights and justice. If we are to live up to our moral value of equality as a nation, we must be actively engaged in closing the achievement gap. We are falling behind in a global competition as we produce fewer and fewer educated young adults.

The support from the staff and the resources they provided or directed me to have been extremely helpful, from institute through the first year of teaching. The support you can get as a corps member ranges from classroom materials, tips on classroom management or lesson planning, to emotional support, and even scholarship or field trip opportunities for my students.

As a first year corps member I faced challenges that trump any other difficult situations I’ve been in. Overcoming these has proven to be extremely rewarding. I initially envisioned saving the world myself, but now I see my everyday work as chipping away at the problem along with thousands of others, without whom my effect would be void.

My kindergarten class has had conversations about how our skin is different colors, how our hair looks different, how some people are boys and others are girls, and how some people are taller and others are shorter. We then agreed that we're all the same because we're all nice and caring people, and that differences are just on the outside.