Hey, you! Yeah, you! When's the last time you dared to step off campus? You could have gone for anything, possibly a dinner at the Inner Harbor. What you have to realize is that every time you step outside the bubble that is the Johns Hopkins University campus, you are getting in touch with the residents of Baltimore.
But this article isn't about the kid that's trying to get some extra money by working in the harbor to pay off his satellite TV bills. This is an article about the people who never had the opportunity to receive the education that most of us take for granted. It's about the people that provide that opportunity. It's about more than 7,000 people who comprise Teach For America (TFA.)
Teach For America is made up of recent college graduates who devote two years of their lives to teaching in public schools of low-income areas, such as those in Baltimore neighborhoods. Now in their 12th year of providing a better education for those less fortunate, these college grads of all majors currently teach in 16 low-income rural and urban areas.
The idea for this organization was devised by Wendy Kopp in 1989 while she was a senior at Princeton University. Kopp disliked the fact that wealth was the deciding factor in a child's quality of education. If a child's parents were rich, he/she had a decent chance of attending high quality schools and being accepted by an accredited university. She wished her proposal for TFA would alleviate some of these inequities and hopefully initiate a long-term reform of public schooling.
The first year she called for graduates to help her set up this organization, she received a response in excess of 2,500 people. This number was trimmed to 500 people who were spread over six areas of the nation doing what they could to give children the chances that they deserve. Since then its numbers have reached the thousands, and the application process still eliminates many willing participants.
TFA is not just looking for anyone who has some free time on their hands. They are "looking for people to take active roles in education reform and look at the long term." This was said by Hopkins' own Jason Kim, who serves as an intern for TFA. "It is a non-profit organization...like the Peace Corps." Kim, a junior, gives brief presentations about TFA in upper level undergrad classes to induce those who might be interested in the organization to apply for a job after graduation.
The application process is similar to that of a college application, the next deadline being in February. According to Kim, some traits that TFA looks for in potential teachers are resident advisors and those with solid GPAs. About 70 percent of applications will be denied.
When someone is accepted, TFA provides all the necessary training that one might need before wandering into a class of underprivileged children. Members are usually not well-certified, as most school districts that need their aid are those who are so needy for teachers that they are willing to accept teachers without such certification.
What TFA members are up against is an uphill battle. Children at the age of nine in low-income areas already read at three to four grade levels beneath nine-year-olds in high-income areas. These children are also seven times less likely to graduate from college. Since it is a non-profit organization, money for the small administrative costs they have comes from donations made by people like you and me. To find out more about what you can do to help TFA or to apply for a job with them, you may visit them online at http://www.teachforamerica.org or go to the Career Center on the third floor of Garland Hall and pick up a brochure.
So take this opportunity to consider what you will do after graduation. The rewards that come from teaching one child something new can create memories and impression that reward both of you for a lifetime.
Wendy Kopp wrote a book about her successful educational venture in her book entitled One Day, All Children. Check it out for a more detailed look at Teach for America.
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