Teaching corp uplifts urban students

Young people growing up in low-income communities are in need of great teachers and role models.
And the stakes are higher than ever. Only one in 10 students growing up in poverty will attend college. And for those lacking a college degree, many doors of opportunity are firmly shut.

Young people need mentors and guides to help them invest in their own future. And they need to see firsthand that it can be done: that people just like them can go to college, earn a degree and go onto have a meaningful career.
When I graduated from the UNM and joined Teach for America’s Phoenix corps, I got a chance to show my students just that.
A growing number of UNM alumni are joining Teach for America’s efforts to close the achievement gap. My time at UNM has proved invaluable in shaping who I am as a scholar and a person. It has provided me a launching pad to a fulfilling and meaningful work. And now, as a Teach for America teacher, I can help a new generation of students reach for those same stars.

During my first year as a teacher, I faced many challenges in the classroom.

College prepared me for some of these, but I have also had to learn as I go along. Fortunately, my summer of training and professional development with Teach for America has armed me with the tools I’ve needed to confront these challenges head-on.

As a first-year teacher, I was responsible for 26 students. The very first week in the classroom, I realized that my students looked to me as a role model and trusted adult. Many of my students shared a background similar to my own and, as a result, felt comfortable confiding in me. While I had envisioned a recess spent inside the classroom with me as a consequence for students who failed to turn in homework, my students considered it a coveted honor, so it became a reward for excellent academic performance.

My students and I worked, laughed and socialized almost every lunch and recess. Together we formed a collective bond that we all used to balance our lives. When my twins from Bosnia’s mother were diagnosed with a serious illness, we talked on the phone each night to get them caught up to speed. When I had sisters come to school hungry, I found a way to make sure they were fed even on the weekends.

Now, as I embark on my second year teaching, I have new sets of challenges and new lives I am responsible for, but I am proud to again serve as an influential figure in their education and in their lives.

I know it is my responsibility to push them to new heights and make sure they believe they can achieve at the highest level. It is my responsibility to get them where they need to be, because realizing their academic potential cannot wait until next year. In the year I have with them, I am going to make sure they are on equal footing with their more affluent peers and help them blossom into future world leaders.

This year, Teach for America’s national teaching corps is more diverse than ever, with a richness of experience and culture. Thirty-two percent of the 4,500 members of the 2010 teaching corps are people of color, 28 percent are Pell Grant recipients, and 20 percent are the first in their family to attend college.
I have met so many amazing people, from so many walks of life, all united in their quest to help their students get the best education possible. And I have become convinced that Teach for America is a fantastic opportunity for UNM seniors and grads who have the double benefit of an excellent college education and a shared background with many of their students.

Teach for America is more than just my two-year commitment to teach.
It is a way for me to bring my experiences and skills to a new generation of students in communities of color — and that’s how I’ll impact our children for a long time to come.