Well, here I am, wrapping up my four-year career with the University of Oregon. What an experience it's been. More on that later. For now, welcome to my blog, where I'll keep a record of my next two years as a teacher with Teach for America. I accepted my invitation to join the corps in January of 2009 and, to be quite honest, I had no idea what to expect. What I did know was that this was an incredible opportunity to make a difference in my first two years out of college. And when I say make a difference, I mean REALLY make a difference. Between teaching children to read and opening their minds to new people and new ideas, I think I'll be pretty busy but extremely content.
I've been placed in the Alum Rock Union School District in San Jose, California (40 minutes south of San Francisco) where I'll be teaching Special Education.
I am ready for this opportunity, but at this point the butterflies are far outweighing any excitement I might feel. Am I really ready to be a teacher with limited training and almost no experience? Hence, the title of this blog: A Relentless Pursuit. This is one of Teach for America's core values, but it is also a phrase I will try to live every day. Not only will I work to make sure my students are holding themselves to higher standards than they ever thought possible, but I too will strive every day to find the dedication and enthusiasm to become more than a teacher: I will become a mentor, a friend, an educator and, most of all, the teacher these students will remember as they're walking across the stage to get their high school diploma.
