1. …if you got rejected from TFA.
2. …because you realize MTC is ten million times better than TFA so its actually a blessing in disguise. For real! I’ve talked to my TFA friends about this. I am in the same schools as the TFA teachers. We are going through the same hell BUT MTC teachers get a free macbook and a free education. Thus MTC > TFA.
3. …because you want to save the world. Ha. Well you certainly aren’t going to save the world. But I have to acknowledge the importance of this sort of spirit in some of the teachers I’ve met. They quickly learn that that’s not going to happen, but its not that they discard the thought, but rather they change it. It’s not about saving the world, but making a difference in one child’s life. I can tell you right now, I wake up and go to school every day for a handful of students. I believe that I am actually making a difference in their lives.
4. …if you want to learn a new hobby. I mean I was placed in the middle of no where. There is nothing to do but drive to Memphis and spend money shopping. You can visit other places like Vicksburg and Tunica, but Charlie and I did all that by the end of October. Hell we even have made it to Gulfport! So that means that you really have to entertain yourself. I make a lot of things. I made a stool for my classroom. I cook. I workout. But my most recent hobby has been gardening. It was an investment but totally worth it. My tulips and daffodils are starting to sprout. I am so proud of the work I have done. I am pretty sure no one has done anything with our yard in years. Its been quite the workout every Saturday. I’ve been working at it for the past two weekends and I’ve only been able to clear one flowerbed and rake a quarter of the yard. Enough about my gardening adventures…my point is living in the middle of nowhere around no one from home has forced me to challenge myself to do things I probably would never have time for otherwise in a city.
5. …if you want to dip your toes in the world of education. Even if you have a horrible two years, you come out with a master’s degree. I would almost argue that if teaching IS what you want to do as your career, then don’t do this program. Both my roommate and myself came into this program with the desire to become teachers. But because of a lot of factors we became very negative about a lot of things. I have questioned whether this is for me. I have questioned whether this is really what I want to be doing for the rest of my life. I have questioned whether there is any way to save these schools other than just shutting them down. I am not saying that I don’t want to teach after this program. I do. I think that I am not being given the tools to reach my full potential so I am curious to see if I can actually teach and I think that requires a better school. But just be forewarned that this will really change the way you view education.
Someone recently said something that has really hit home to me in recent weeks. “Even if I never touch education again, I know that schools like this exist. I know to be grateful for what I have and the education I had growing up.” I have a little over a year to go. Who knows where I will be after that, but I will always be able to look back on this experience, and hell, just be proud of myself for making to through in one piece!
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