waiting to teach, classes, and such~

I really need to work on the time spacing between each of my entries. Once a month is pretty pathetic :) especially since I have SO much on my mind these days.

This summer, instead of relaxing, which I now really wish I had done, I decided to start taking courses in my Masters in Teaching program at Manhattanville College. It's a small school in Westchester, NY (near my home) and has a joint program with the school where I will begin assistant teaching in the fall, Greenwich Academy. Classes at Manhattanville have been alright - sort of a hit or miss situation actually. Some classes are extremely thought-provoking and get me really excited to start teaching. Others are, well, shitty. I mean, really really shitty. The sad thing is, that seems to be a trend among many Education programs throughout the country. Apparently teacher preparation is not something most schools take seriously...such a huge tragedy...

My Foundations of Education class has been one of the greatest blessings in my life. After taking this course I can honestly say that I feel "called" to teach. Yes, the more and more I sit in discussions I think to myself: "Our society is so f'ed up!" I often leave class wondering why the idiots in government offices get to make horrible decisions that destroy young people's lives without asking the very people whose lives they impact for their input. I become infuriated with the damaging effects of No Child Left Behind, and even more upset that it doesn't look as though this act will go away any time soon. Sometimes I want to run away from it all because I do not want to have to one day sit in a classroom and teach my students how to pass some dumb standardized test that does not in fact measure whether my students KNOW anything. And even still, I know that this is exactly where I am supposed to be. Maybe precisely because there are so many problems in the education system.

One thing we talk about in class is the fact that teachers are highly de-professionalized in this society. In countries throughout the world, like France or South Korea, teaching is a highly revered profession that is supported by the government. School is valued with the utmost importance. In France students are in school until 5 pm - a brilliant idea if you ask me. Teachers are paid in these countries to get educated and trained for the very demanding work that lies ahead. Some private schools in the U.S. do the same, and many also hire mostly individuals who received their Ph.D.'s. In the public sector of education, however, teachers acquire most of their training through mediocre programs that do not actually prepare them for the classroom. And then the supplementary programs offered teachers are often irrelevant to their classroom settings or do not give teachers the help they feel they truly need.

Many people do not regard teachers as professionals, maybe because the programs that prepare teachers are so shoddy, or perhaps society's inability to regard teachers as professionals is the reason for the mediocre programs... Either way, I hate it when people talk like anyone can teach a classroom. I once witnessed a lawyer try to tell a teacher how she should run her class. I wanted to turn and ask him: "when was the last time you taught an elementary school class?" One of my professors recently told me that she got into a fight with some business guy who felt that teachers got paid too much. Umm...hello? You wouldn't have gotten to where you are if it weren't for your teachers! And how much do you make again? His justification was that teachers get 2 months off, so it has to be an easy job right? He should try and run a 1st grade classroom in the South Bronx for a day...

I know that I am going to have to deal with these types of criticisms for a while. Even now I often get asked, "You're going to be a teacher after you graduated from Brown University?" Like somehow teaching is a waste of an Ivy League education... I hope I can overcome these ridiculous comments and just continue to do what I know is right for me. And that is to teach and hopefully change some lives. With all the problems going on economically in this country and the persistent neglect of the education crisis that continues to grow, I think schools are in need of more and more dedicated and passionate teachers. I do not know that I will be the best teacher in the world...I hope I will be the best I can be. But I know that I have the right drive and heart needed to teach my students well. I don't want to just be a good teacher. I want to be extraordinary, so that my students can realize how extraordinary they are as well. I know I have a lot of work and growth ahead of me...and I just cannot WAIT to get started :)