...subject to change

have you ever been experienced? well, i have.

For my experience blog," I wanted to see how my two years stacked up to the well-known-by-now explanation of MTC offered in every Ben Guest email.  In it our fearless leader tries to describe MTC and the MTC experience.  It reads:

"The Mississippi Teacher Corps is the most competitive teaching program in the country. The two-year program, designed for non-education majors, recruits college graduates to teach in the Mississippi Delta and other 'critical-needs' areas, and offers a host of benefits, including teacher training and certification, a full scholarship for a master's degree in education, job placement that includes full pay and benefits and, most importantly, the opportunity to make a difference in the lives of students in one of the poorest areas of the country."

Let's start at the beginning.

"The Mississippi Teacher Corps is the most competitive teaching program in the country."

This undoubtedly refers to the process for admission.  Luckily, I took the advice of Dave Molina and called Ben myself to let him know how much I wanted to be a part of the program.  And look, I'm here!

One reason I selected MTC is because it did not seem "competitive."  Every Teach for America (I don't abbreviate this because I want to get to 1200 words) person I talked to seemed like their classroom experience was a competition.  Yes, I want to be better than any teacher around me, but not at the kids' expense.  Instead, I have been surrounded by people who I look up to and want to emulate precisely because they are better than me at many things.

"The two-year program is designed for non-education majors,"

Thank God it recruits non-education majors.  We all started in the same place: with no actual knowledge (except Sealand, I guess).  At least four years ago I knew I wanted to teach, but I also knew that I didn't want to take any education classes at the school across the road.  Instead, this program allowed me to continue doing what I loved in college and then pursue what I wanted to do after college.  Win-Win.

"recruits college graduates to teach in the Mississippi Delta and other 'critical needs' areas,"

This is something that I really have come to understand.  Even though I entered this program with a pretty good understanding of the situation in Mississippi, I was not quite aware how descriptive "critical needs" actually is.  These kids are in critical need of new buildings, integration, dedicated teachers, money, jobs, activities, tutoring, books, housing, technology, good administrators, and the list goes on...

Little did I know that I would also be in critical need.  I critically needed time to myself, time to work on lessons, supplies for my classroom, boards that erased, kids who were prepared for my class, etc.  These types of schools and the people who attend and staff them are in critical need of so much.  It is draining to be there day in and day out.

At the end of two years I'm simultaneously excited about a third, non-required year at my school and wondering how I'll have any energy when next year comes to a close.

"and offers a host of benefits, including teacher training and certification, a full scholarship for a master's degree in education, job placement that includes full pay and benefits"

Let me tell you, I don't know if I'd still be here without the benefits.  It's not that you get a full salary.  It's what you can do with it.  My MTC experience has been aided by the people in my class as well as the Classes of 2007 and 2009.  The summers and weekends of "training" have been among the most memorable parts of my experience.  Whether it is the shenanigans at the Super 8, melees in Memphis, or the brouhahas at Bofield's, every time we get together we have a good time.  That may not have been possible in a program that didn't force us to get together.

Additionally, I couldn't have been happier about my job placement.  Parks, Karl, Basile, Liz, Lisa, Peter (close enough), Sharon, Brent, Trevor, Darnell, and Golda were great to work with the last two years.

"and, most importantly, the opportunity to make a difference in the lives of students in one of the poorest areas of the country."

Did I make a difference in my two years at my school?  I am not going to lie.  I didn't feel that way every day.  I may not feel that way most days, but looking back on these two years, I know I've made a difference in some small way.

I wish I could put it into words that would be profound.  I wish I could make this the blog post that makes people realize what they are doing is good no matter what they are going through.  All I know is that I feel like I've made a small difference for some of the kids.  That is enough for me.

...

So if I had to describe my Mississippi Teacher Corps experience, what would I say?

"The Mississippi Teacher Corps is the most challenging and rewarding teaching program in the country.  The two-year program, designed for people who want this challenge, may actually seem like three or four years, at times.  You will teach in districts that have more critical needs than you have ever dreamed and more than you can come close to meeting.  The benefits include the most rewarding challenge of your life and a collection of friends and moments that you will never want to be without.  You will get a master's degree which will be of secondary concern when you come to realize that your energy will be better spent in a classroom full of children rather than a classroom full of adults.  Lastly, YOU WILL MAKE A DIFFERENCE.  It will be small, it may not be noticeable, but it will be a difference."

to the mtc class of 2010

The following is in the spirit of the great Baz Luhrmann.

Ladies and Gentlemen of the MTC class of twenty-ten,

If I could offer you only one tip for the future, sunscreen would be it.

The long term benefits of sunscreen have been proved by the Mississippi Volleyball Corps scientists whereas the rest of my advice has no basis more reliable than my own meandering MTC experience…I will dispense this advice now.

Enjoy the power and beauty of consistent classroom management; oh nevermind; you will not understand the power and beauty of consistent classroom management until second year.  But trust me, in 20 years you’ll look back at blogs about yourself and recall in a way you can’t grasp now how much possibility lay before you and how fabulous you really wrote…..You’re not as bad as you imagine.

Don't worry about the future, or worry, but know that worrying is as effective as having your kids solve an algebra
equation in your social studies class.

The real troubles in your classroom are apt to be things that never crossed your worried mind: the kind that blindsides
you at 9 AM on some idle Tuesday.  (Didn't have to change that very much.)

Do one thing every day that scares you.  (This one either.)

Teach.

Don't be reckless with your students' trust; don't put up with students who are reckless with yours.

Reteach.

Don't waste your time on the grading.  Sometimes you're ahead, sometimes you're behind.  This can be long, and in the end, just throw it away.

Remember compliments you receive; forget the insults. (If you succeed in doing this, tell me how).  (I second that advice.)

Contact the parents of the good kids; this will make you feel better at the end of the day.

Have fun.

Don't feel guilty if you don't know what you want to do with your life. (Why else would you be here?)  The most interesting people I know didn't know at 22 what they wanted to do with their lives; some of the most interesting 24 year olds I know still don't.

Play plenty of volleyball this summer.  Balance work and the summer -- you'll miss it when it's gone.

Maybe you'll teach history, maybe you won't.  Maybe you'll have good children, probably you won't.  Maybe you'll teach 40 kids in one room; maybe you'll dance the funky chicken on your first football pep rally.

Whatever you do, don't congratulate yourself too much or berate yourself, either.  Your placement was half chance, so was everybody else's.

Enjoy Oxford: use it every way you can.  Don't be afraid of it or what other people think of it; it's the greatest town you'll ever know.

Volleyball...even if you have nowhere to do it but at a random Oxford apartment complex.

Read Wong and Wong's The First Days of School (even if you don't follow it).

Do not read The Reluctant Disciplinarian; it will only make you feel unprepared.

Get to know all your students; you never know when they'll be gone for good.

Be nice to your classmates: they're your best link to new ideas and the people most likely to stick with you in the future.

Understand that friends come and go, but hold on to those you make in MTC.  Work hard to bridge the gaps of geography and lifestyle, because the more overwhelmed you get, the more you need the people you surround yourself with in the summer.

Live in Jackson/Batesville/Holly Springs/the Delta once, but leave before it makes you hard.

Live in Oxford TWICE, but leave before it makes you soft.

Travel (to Memphis, New Orleans, and everywhere in between).

Accept certain inalienable truths: students will fail, principals will call random assemblies, you too will be "lame"; and when you do, you'll fantasize that when you were young, your grades were reasonable, your high school principal was great, and children respected their elders.

Respect your elders (including the principal).

Don't expect anyone else to support you.  Maybe you have a trust fund, maybe you'll have a wealthy donor choose you, but you never know when either one might run out.

Don't spend too much time working or by the time your two years are up, it will seem like 5 years have passed you by.

Be careful how you spend EEF money, but be patient with those who supply it.  Advice is a form of nostalgia; dispensing it is weird for me, but it makes good material for a blog.

But trust me on the sunscreen.  Also, play a lot of volleyball this summer!

the original