A Modest Counterexample

Maybe I've been doing too much geometry lately. Or maybe I've just been so immersed in Teach for America culture that I can't tell the difference anymore. But something fired inside me yesterday when I read an article in USA Today blaming "ill prepared" TFA corps members for the loss of older, "more experienced" teachers in the lowest performing school districts across the country.

Immediately upon reading this article, I thought of a million counterexamples. In the geometry world, we use counterexamples to prove that something is untrue. For example, if I were to say that all dogs are golden retrievers, you could say that some dogs are terriers to counter my statement. By implying that all TFA corps members come into the classroom ill prepared warrants at least one counter example: me.

I started this journey not knowing a thing about education. I am the first to admit that I entered my classroom this summer completely under prepared. I didn't know what a lesson plan even looked like, I had no idea how to manage a classroom, and most importantly, I didn't know how to teach. The craziest part of all, though, is that I made it. I learned on my toes, I was supported from a million different angles (colleagues, two advisers, a director and a principal), and I had all the resources I could ever want or need at my fingertips. Sure, we learned as we went. Yes, we made mistakes. Is there any first-time teacher who doesn't? But at the end of the day, guess what? I made a difference.

That's right. My students went from scoring 22% on their diagnostic exam to scoring a 70%. They went from throwing paper planes across the room to being attentive, engaged scholars. They averaged a 32% on the diagnostic exam to a 70% on the final. More importantly, though, they went from assuming they'd wind up in prison to talking about college; they went from believing they were dumb to knowing they were smart; they went from hating school to not wanting to leave. So yes, I made a difference.

This whole "institute" thing is short. It's five weeks. We are thrown into a classroom and we have no idea what we're doing. But until you're here, and until you experience this, you have no idea the valuable knowledge that we gain from this training. No, it's not traditional teacher training. It might be out of the box. But did any great leaders ever think inside the box?

So, my counterexample is me: I am a Teach for America corps member, and I am more than prepared and supported to enter my classroom in the fall.