I’ll be honest and say that I came to Mississippi because I have questions. I know whom I serve, and the Lord’s been pushing me in a certain direction in this life, but I don’t know if or how Teacher Corps will factor into that. Some of the people I’ve talked to seem to have a dismal outlook on the state of education in this poorly educated State. Their downcast eyes are a good sign: it means they don’t have their head shoved some place “where the sun don’t shine”; it means they can see some real problems. But pessimism might also a bad sign: it might mean they, or others along the way, put too much trust in their ability to correct the problem; it might mean they have lost sight of their first goal—seeing things in their true colors now but only dreaming in gray-scale. I won’t provide answers or too much detail now, because it’s my third day in Mississippi. This is only to record the thoughts swirling in my head.
One question that I hope to have a better view of by the end of this Internship is about the capability for programs like the Teacher Corps to keep teachers in these really desperate places. I’ve thought of it, and many coming into the Teacher Corps think of it: What can I do to get the experience and get out of there as soon as possible? It’s easy to look at the Teacher Corps and ask what I can get out of it, instead of looking at the student and asking what I can give to him. I plan on being rooted and grounded in a community. If I go through a program like this one, I don’t want to be passing through. These kids have enough people passing through their lives. What if I could be a real part of that poor, rural community? If I really believe that I have something good to offer people, my biggest question for myself should always be, “How much more can I do to touch another life?” What if I could be fixed there, fixed in their lives? What if I’m at my students’ sports games, or am their coach? What if I go to church with their parents? What if I see them at their job at the grocery store? What if I live next door? I’d rather (it’s easy to say now) have students passing through my life on their way to something better than have me passing through theirs and leaving them in the dust. My question is whether programs like the Teacher Corps produce people who want to remain teachers in the Deep South, or whether we all see it as a stepping-stone to our plans for Ph.D.’s and future publishing opportunities.
More on that in the months to come.
One question that I hope to have a better view of by the end of this Internship is about the capability for programs like the Teacher Corps to keep teachers in these really desperate places. I’ve thought of it, and many coming into the Teacher Corps think of it: What can I do to get the experience and get out of there as soon as possible? It’s easy to look at the Teacher Corps and ask what I can get out of it, instead of looking at the student and asking what I can give to him. I plan on being rooted and grounded in a community. If I go through a program like this one, I don’t want to be passing through. These kids have enough people passing through their lives. What if I could be a real part of that poor, rural community? If I really believe that I have something good to offer people, my biggest question for myself should always be, “How much more can I do to touch another life?” What if I could be fixed there, fixed in their lives? What if I’m at my students’ sports games, or am their coach? What if I go to church with their parents? What if I see them at their job at the grocery store? What if I live next door? I’d rather (it’s easy to say now) have students passing through my life on their way to something better than have me passing through theirs and leaving them in the dust. My question is whether programs like the Teacher Corps produce people who want to remain teachers in the Deep South, or whether we all see it as a stepping-stone to our plans for Ph.D.’s and future publishing opportunities.
More on that in the months to come.
1 comment:
Pip, I love so much of what you said in this post. I'm planning on teaching overseas through the Peace Corps after I graduate, so a lot of the same questions apply. Will I be passing through the lives of my students, or will they be passing through mine? Thank you for sharing your deep thoughts, as they are provoking some questions in my mind about my own future in teaching. Love and prayers!
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