"Why I Teach for America..."

Back in 2004, after graduating, I spent the summer in New York City, teaching high school Biology during summer school and learning all the tricks of the trade in order to enter the classroom in Baltimore City in the fall as a proud Teach for America teacher. At the end of our training institute, there was a powerful pump-up rally; there, a few new TFA Corps Members did a presentation where they read entries from their personal journals they had kept during the weeks of our training. And at the end of several journal entries, when the presentation was coming to an end, each person ended their last reading with the words, "and that is why I Teach for America..."

Emphasis was placed either on the word "I" or "Teach" by each person and the dramatic endings were followed by sustained applause as we were all so pumped to enter our own classrooms.

Well, what follows in this entry is a "Why I Teach for America..." moment. Enjoy!

Today, while subbing at Edison High School, from where I graduated in 2000, I had the opportunity to return to a Bio class for which I subbed on Tuesday as well. Third period came along and all was going well all day - the kids were beautiful and dedicated (for the most part) to learning. I explained the project to 3rd period and started passing out the handouts. My style as a sub is akin to being a stand-up comedian - we get our business taken care of, but we also spend a lot of time laughing! I tell jokes and I'm willing to put my pride aside to let the kids laugh, both at me and at funny things about my life.

So imagine how touched I was today when one of the kids in 3rd period, let's name her Elizabeth, announced in between laughs to the class, that when she came in to class on Tuesday (the other day I subbed for her class), she was having a SUPER lousy day. She said she was extremely pissed off and was just waiting for me to say something to her, anything, so she could be justified in letting me HAVE it. But then, she said, I was so funny and fun and lively and happy, that in her bouts of laughter she totally and completely forgot about what she had been mad about from earlier in the day. She said I helped her feel totally better about her day and that she appreciated me very much for that.

And THAT...is why I...TEACH FOR AMERICA!