Hello all,
I hope that your fall is off to a great start. As always, I feel a pang of nostalgia at this time of the year, wishing I was spending my days as a college student and knowing the privilege of being at a place like Smith. This blog will serve as my connection.
I will make this introduction short and sweet. I grew up in a small town in Ohio, just south of Cleveland, where I attended a run-of-the-mill public school. It served me well, moved on to Smith, where I found a new world and level of education that I had never previously experienced. I graduated with a degree in sociology and joined Teach For America in New York City, teaching third grade for 2 years in Washington Heights. I then became a recruitment director for Teach For America, to inspire and move other outstanding college grads to join me in the mission to eliminate educational inequities. I like to say that my tombstone will say one thing- that is that I used my life to create equal access to educational opportunities for all students.
After working at Teach For America for three years, I moved on to become the Director of College Placement at the Bronx Lab School. We are a small school housed in the Evander Childs Campus, now serving 9-12th grades. This year will be our FIRST graduating class, and my repsonsibility is to ensure that all of the seniors apply and are accepted into college. Piece of cake, right? I used last year to get our "office" up and running and now this year I am leading the way to ensure that our students find the best fit for their post-graduate life. I like to think that I'm in the business of changing lives.
I look forward to your thoughts and questions and hope that you'll see one of my students at Smith next year!
Best,
Amy
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13 comments:
Hello Amy,
Hi my name is Telma Tavares and I am a junior here at Smith. It is so refreshing to read your blog and realize that you came from Smith and you are taking on the same things I want to tackle. My education has opened up my eyes to so much inequity and sometimes it frustrates me knowing that at this moment in time I can't do too much.
Then I read a story like yours and I know the opportunities to be a catalyst for change are endless. I am always confused as to whether or not I want to be a teacher, a guidance counselor, a principle, or any other education worker. What I do know is that my passion lies in education.
The school you are a Director for sounds extremely interesting. It must be both exhilarating and scary to be working with the first graduating class. I wonder what are the demographics of the students in this school? If there are any girls who are interested in the prospect of an all-women's college I would be willing to be in contact with them.
I wish you the best of luck throughout the year!
--Telma Tavares
Dear Ms. Christie-
Thank you for this wonderful introductory post. I still remember you as a Smith student: brilliant, passionate, and hungry to both figure out what was wrong and impatient-- oh, so impatient-- to jump into the work head first.
I am grateful that you will be working with us again this semester. We have so much to learn...
Thanks Amy!
Sam
Hello Ms. Christie,
My name is Eileen Woodward and I am an Ada here at Smith. I have the thrill, and the fear of being a senior this year, and as such have just embarked on my first semester of student teaching. I have three children and two grandchildren and I hope someday that whatever situation blesses or befalls my grandchildren and all children, that their educational opportunities are second to none.
I would love to hear more about your experience with Teach For America. I applaud your meritorious dedication to education, and am certain your life's goal will be fulfilled.
Thank you for taking the time and energy to enrich our learning experience this semester. (I think I will need all the help I can get:)
Best,
Eileen
Hi Amy,
I really appreciate you posting here and letting us into your world. The senior program you are starting sounds very promising and I hope for the best results! I wish every school had an office whose goals were the same as yours. It can be very confusing for parents who have never applied to colleges to help their children find the starting place in the process.
I look forward ot hearing about your accomplishments sand those of your students in hte program,
Thanks again,
Rita
Hi Amy,
Thank you for your introductory post, I got a good idea of your background from it.
I have a question about Teach for America, and you seem like the person to ask. Is it true that Teach for America does not accept Education majors? I recently heard this from one of my professors, and I was wondering what the motivation for this would be. Does Teach for America, perhaps, have their own agenda/perspective in education that is uncompromisable?
Thanks a lot.
Abbi
Dear Ms. Christie,
I am going through the Teach for America process now, and it is so wonderful to read about a teacher from the corps who made education her life's work. Wonderful job, I am really looking forward to reading more about your experience!
Hi everyone!
Thanks for your feedback and comments. Just a few things to share...
Demographics of my school? Our population is 65% Latino/Hispanic, 30% African-American/Black, and 5% 'other.' 95% of our students receive free/reduced lunch, and roughly 80% will be the first in their families to go to college. Unlike some small school, we have open admission. We serve every student who wants to be at Bronx Lab. By that, I mean, it's a school of choice- so we work hard to be honest and upfront about what our school is about so that students, in middle school, can make informed choices about where they go to high school.
Teach For America: I'm happy to talk about it as much as possible. Sam and I had many conversations about it when I was applying my senior year. It is NOT true that Teach For America doesn't accept Education majors. It is true that there are applicants who apply, who are edu majors, that don't get accepted. That does not mean that Teach For America won't even look at your application if you're an education major. Does that make sense?
I will say that I don't think that every person who decides to go into education wants to work at schools that Teach For America serves. My sense, and this could be completely unfair, is that Smith doesn't encourage or discourage students from going into urban or rural schools. I think that Sam had a huge influence on me in terms of thinking about where young, energetic teachers could be most "valuable" and really have an impact on students. This is not to say that if you work in an affluent, suburban school that your job is not challenging and that they needs of your students aren't great, but it's still a different way of working in education. There are different challenges.
So, Teach For America is about making those inequities, or the awareness about them, something that happens outside of an classroom or course you take in college that talks about the inequities in education. For example, I don't think that my Smithie friends were blind to the problems that exist in urban and rural education, but they certainly weren't up in arms about it, and some might attribute that to the fact that they were government, or biology, or art majors- then a "disconnect" happens. Sure they supported me, but do they see the connection between government and education? Are they really "upset" about it? I don't know. So, long story longer- those who apply and join Teach For America must want to commit, both in the 2 years that they teach, and for their lives, that they will work to fight that inequity. It's not easy. I think you have to own it. I think it's about really wanting to find the solutions and be proactive and operate with humility and respect, while teaching at the same time. I believe that both Education majors and non-education majors can do that.
Phew. I'm done. Sorry for my rambling- I hope that makes sense.
Sorry - one more thing- I will say that all of my friends from Teach For America are still doing amazing things. My friend Dan works for the LAUSD with one of the 8 board members. My other friend Alisha works for Scholastic doing curriculum and assessment developement for teachers. Meg just became the Englis department chair at her original placement site in Newark. She's been teaching for 7 years. I don't think any of these people would've gone into education without Teach For America. Their energy, accomplishments, and drive are changing the lives of so my students. That's what it's all about.
hi ms. christie!
I am a senior education and psychology major at smith. I am student teaching this semester in a second grade classroom at the Smith College Campus School. it has been really exciting to see the community start to build within the classroom over the past week.
It is interesting to read your comments about teach for america. Like abbi, i had also heard that teach for america does not tend to choose education majors or those who are likely to go into teaching anyway. I understand that they really need energetic young teachers in the urban schools and i would love to try to make a difference. i feel like i don't have quite the right personality to do that kind of work no matter how much i admire those who do it. i am glad to be learning more about urban education issues in this class.
good luck this year teaching your class. i am sure you are making a huge difference in their lives.
Becca-
Thanks for your post. Congrats on your decision to work in education in your undergrad experience. That's an incredible commitment.
I just wanted to clarify- Teach For America does and has accepted education majors, no doubt. I think the point is not to assume that just because you're an education major, that one is automatically a good fit for Teach For America. I have some friends from Smith who are amazing teachers and they love what they do and the challenges they face in non-urban, non-low-income school areas. That does not, by any means, discredit what they do in education. Teaching will forever be, in my book, the most difficult job any person can have. Period.
I just don't think it's for everyone- edu major or not- to do this kind of work, and that's okay.
Again, congrats and I hope your experience at the campus school is awesome. My first year of teaching, I was able to bring my third graders there for the day and they loved it- such a great school!
Best of luck,
Amy
I enjoyed reading all of the new entries again this week, from both my Smith classmates and the teachers at Gun Hill Road.
Perhaps one of the most important services a school can provide is a sense of security and belonging for its student body. When the students look back on their years at Gun Hill Road with fond memories, all your hard work will be fully appreciated! You teachers seem to be emotionally invested; the students can't help but notice how much they are cared for.
Running Gun Hill Road provides a unique opportunity for a "lesson within a lesson". This new, creative and entrepreneurial endeavor is a perfect template for the students to observe.
I look forward to seeing what sorts of plans the first graduates of your school set out to make!
Hi Amy,
Thank you for telling us about your experiences. I always wonder how I can have better ways to express myself in the teaching profession. What's the best way to positively influence someone? Is Teach for America only for middle school? Or does it include elementary and high school? Thanks.
Sincerely,
Kendra
Dear Amy,
Thank you for your information on teach for america. I am a junior at Smith, majoring in sociology. Though I'm not interested in becoming a teacher per se, I have an intense interest in child welfare. Thank you for sharing your experiences.
-Emily
Hi Amy,
I am currently a senior here at Smith. I am student teaching but am
trying to figure out if I want to go on to be a teacher or not. I know I love working with children and that I want to pursue some field that will allow me to do so.
In reading your blog, I was reminded a lot about my high school. I went to the Boston Arts Academy and when I was a freshman, the school had its first graduating class. I remember how excited everyone in the school was, but also how nerve racking it was. Throughout my years at BAA, one of the teachers biggest goals was getting everyone to at least apply to college and show them that they had potential to go places. I believe that this feeling of hope and support meant the world to many of my friends even if they didn't go on to college. I admire you for taking the initiative of creating this office and opportunity for your students.
I wish you and them the best of luck on this journey!
Karen
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