On Sunday, June 22 I officially became part of Teach for America's 2008 NYC corps. And as I looked around the auditorium at St. John's University at the sea of eager and fresh faced newly minted college grads I wondered what the hell I was doing. Would I really be able to be a part of a group that for all of its best intentions reeks of noblesse oblige? Well since I'm down for educational equity (and am in need of a jawb) I'm in for the duration. But the 5 week training institute which is meant to be a crash course to prepare us to go into some of the most under-served schools in NYC is also going to be a social experiment for the 550 cohort (many of whom still think the City is as gully as it was in the 1970s and 1980s. This ain't the Wire).I wonder if my fellow corps members fantasize about being a kind of Michelle Pfeiffer to their troubled inner-city black and Latino youth. Or maybe Hilary Swank's turn in "Freedom Writers" was more their fancy. You know, the unassuming white suburban teacher is the only one who can get through to the ghetto youth. They swoop in and give them something they never had - hope and in the end they choose the pen over the gun. Bamp. Either way, the story is tired. None of us know what the hell to expect or anticipate. The only thing I do know is that I hope my future students believe in me as much as I already believe in them.
I'm more of the Stand and Deliver school of model movie teachers anyway.
