On Wednesday, I drove down to Eugene to attend an introductory meeting for people interested in the middle school and secondary education program at the University of Oregon College o' Education.
Sitting in the classroom with about 25 other people, I read about five minutes of the fourth book of the Dark Tower series before an older man entered the room. Thus, the introduction began.
I noticed that the guy, whose name I now can't remember, was wearing a black polo shirt, with a Carl's Jr. star on the left sleeve. That was odd to see on someone who used to be a social studies teacher and now works at the College of Education.
I thought, "If he's also serving Famous Stars, this doesn't bode well for us."
Everyone in the room introduced themselves, their major or degree, and what they were interested in teaching. I was alarmed to hear that about 8 or 9 of the attendees wanted to teach social studies, the subject that I want to specialize in. After running through some frequently asked questions about the program, the program guy finally started talking about what I was most interested in: the number of students accepted into the program.
The previous year the school had accepted 90 out of 150 applicants. This year, in order to make the program more manageable, they were reducing the number to 75. Because the group of 75 has to be divided equally among subjects (basic and advanced math, all the sciences, English, second languages, and social studies), competition was high for spots and especially for placement in one certain subject. Of course, with the number of grads in near-useless liberal arts degrees, it was social studies.
Confirming my thoughts on the suggested experience one should have before applying, the program guy said that volunteer work in teaching or mentoring is highly valued. Seeing how I have no relevant experience, I saw that my chances for acceptance were quickly dwindling.
After he finished his presentation, we got to ask him questions. When he responded to my question about my chances (2.7 GPA, which he said wasn't bad, and no experience) he said that if I got in 8-10 weeks of volunteer work at the local juvenile detention facility(where Kip Kinkle resides) or with mentally disabled kids, I might have a better chance of getting in the school.
Well, I'm not so eager to go to school that I'm willing to work with kids that need that much help, and I already have some volunteer work planned at OPB. I am considering a different path toward a job in teaching, although it may not be that much better in many people's eyes. I'm thinking about applying for Teach for America.
At TFA, I would be sent to one of the worst schools in the nation, in some of the toughest neighborhoods of major cities. I know it would be very, very hard for someone like me to make it through that, but I also realize that it would make me a better teacher.
Currently. I'm doing a little research into the program to see what some corps members experienced. I'm reading a corp member's blog about her experiences in rural North Carolina and also a book written by an alumni of TFA that is a collection of more than 100 interviews of TFA grads, officials and others. Turns out they have pretty high standards for admittance into the two-year program, with admitted applicants having an average GPA of 3.5 and SAT scores of 1310. However, I really want this opportunity and I'm going to give it a shot.
If I do make it in, I know my idealism about turning a crappy school around is going to be shot to hell, and I bet I'm probably going to want to quit. But, my dad made a comment today that made me smile about my decision to apply. If I'm accepted and find myself regretting my decision and thinking about calling it quits, I'll probably remember his words.
"Well, when I was your age I spent two years in Vietnam," he said. "I think you'll be able to do the same in L.A."