AUGUST 2, 2000
CAREER SWITCHES
Voices of Those Who Made the Grade | Why they want to teach: Excerpts from the personal essays of New York City's teaching fellows
| More than 2,300 people applied for a chance to teach in some of New York City's worst public schools, with a starting salary of just under $32,000. They come from many backgrounds, including law, medicine, business, and the nonprofit world (see BW Online, 8/1/00, "A Classroom "Calling" for Midlife Career-Changers"). Because the Board of Education has only 325 slots in the Teaching Fellows Program available, officials relied heavily on cover letters and personal essays to select the candidates. Here's a look at what some of the successful applicants wrote about why they want to change careers:
Regina Matthews, journalist
"I am an African American reporter and writer who has made her living through words. My passion led me through a B.A. program in literary criticism at Yale. As a journalist, I have had to cultivate many of the same qualities one needs to be a good educator. My experiences have also led me to search for a more direct way to contribute to underprivileged communities. I believe I can help inspire a similar love of learning in children who might otherwise think the opportunities I had lie beyond their grasp....I am in my early thirties, and like many of my generation, I have watched from the sidelines for too long. I know I have a contribution to make to today's children."
David Levin, realtor and freelance writer, 41, father of two New York City public school students
"Men are a rarity in elementary-school education, not only as teachers but also as volunteers. The Teaching Fellows Program is asking us all to strengthen that weakest link. I am not so naïve as to think that this is going to be easy. Still, I do have hope.
In all my children's years in elementary school, they've only had one male teacher, and neither one of them ever had a teacher who was actually a parent. There is a certain intuitive way of talking to children that becomes second nature when you actually have kids: To treat them firmly, with genuine respect, and without condescension. The challenge of your Teaching Fellows is going to be learning the fundamentals of teaching and the art of classroom management in one short, intensive month of training. To make this work is going to require not only skillful and enthusiastic potential teachers but very strong support. I am fortunate enough to have such backing, at least on the home front, where my wife supports this venture both spiritually and financially."
Elias S. Falcon, Brooklyn lawyer
"I am 29 years old and married. Because of the risks associated with changing professions, I have not previously taken the steps necessary to become a teacher. Yet I believe that the challenges I will face as a teacher are also the rewards I seek in life.
As a lawyer, I must prepare arguments and anticipate challenges to those arguments. I must rely upon my inquisitiveness and confidence in order to help clients. I must be patient and understanding in explaining the law to them. I especially enjoy that aspect of lawyering, for that is where mutual trust, patience, and respect lead to the discovery of truth. As a teacher, my goal would be to make the classroom a meaningful and fascinating place for students. I would welcome the challenge of teaching remedial skills to young students."
Vanessa Vandergrift, 28, former nanny and camp counselor
"I am due to enroll in law school this fall, but I have been questioning this decision, and I believe that this would offer a better opportunity for me. My grandfather quit school in the eighth grade because he cared for horses to help his family and was teased and told that he smelled like a stable. He left and worked full-time until the day he died. According to my mother, he always kept a dictionary by his chair, and if he ever encountered a word that he didn't know, he'd look it up. This has remained for me a symbol of the importance of knowledge and access to education.
Due to a family illness, I interrupted my undergraduate education to help care for my father. When I was able to go back, I received a scholarship....If I had not had such indefatigable teachers and mentors who helped me to believe in myself and my abilities, I never would have dreamed that this could be possible. I believe that everyone is entitled to the quality of teachers that I had. I may not be able to do anything about inequitable distribution of resources, but I can be an excellent teacher in a school where no one is willing to teach. I have had enough struggles to believe that I could handle the challenges of working in a failing school."
By Liz Willen in New York
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Copyright 2000, by The McGraw-Hill Companies Inc. All rights reserved.
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