Here we go. Another cliche yet compulsory blog. Why should someone join the Mississippi Teacher Corps? Luckily I have experience with this speech lately because I convinced my two best friends to apply. I was elated upon their acceptance a couple weeks ago, but the more I thought about it, the more little twinges of guilt started nagging at the back of my conscience. Behind every hard sell I gave them, there is a darker truth that they'll have to discover in their own way. But I promised them it's worth it.
Hard sell number one: It's a free Master's.
Anyone who says they weren't motivated to apply to this program because of the Master's is lying. Of course it's appealing and of course it's something in which we all take pride. But here's the other side of it: If the degree is the only reason you commit to these two years, you won't make it. When you have a thirteen-year-old curse at you, or when you break up a fight between your favorite students, or when a kid you really thought had a chance gets expelled, you won't be thinking about that degree. When your alarm goes off two hours after you stopped planning tomorrow's lesson, that degree won't provide you with any caffeine. If you make it through the two years, complete with Saturday classes from 8 to 5 plus a full-time job, then and only then will you reap the rewards of the degree.
Hard sell number two: You'll meet some amazing people.
It's true. I've met some truly amazing people over this last year and a half. My classmates are easily some of the most intelligent, thoughtful, and genuine human beings I've been blessed to meet. They care about their students. They've shown me new perspectives. We've kept each other smiling even on those January Saturdays when the guys' faces grow scruffy and the girls' hair looks like it hasn't been washed in days. The other side? You'll drift away from those you have now. You won't talk to your family as much because all they want to hear about is your new job and your fun classes - all you'll want to talk about is nothing. Your friends won't understand your new schedule or your blase attitude towards topics you used to spend hours discussing. I'm not saying that your MTC classmates will replace your friends. You will eventually strike a balance. Your friends will get used to the new you and your family will always be there.
Hard sell number three: Do something that matters.
Ok there's really not a downside to this other than the fact that on most days, you won't think anything you've done matters. The kids will complain about the workload but that's only because they're used to subpar teachers. They'll fight your rules at first but that'll change when they realize you have them because you care. Your principal will complain about first year teachers but eventually he or she will realize that you're better than the alternative. You'll have kids disrespect you, yell at you, refuse to do your assignments, and fail to grasp the material. But what matters is that you keep coming back. They're not used to that and if you accomplish nothing more than showing those kids that someone cares about them, about their education, then you've accomplished something that matters. So when I say that the degree won't wake you up in the morning or console you when you feel stomped on, the little victories you experience every day will.
Hard sell number four: Change yourself.
I'm absolutely not the person I was a year and a half ago. And that's a good thing. It's not that I was a bad person... none of us were or we wouldn't still be here. But this experience will change you; it'll make you think more critically about this country's problems, about life, about people. It'll make you more compassionate for those from a background different than your own. It will teach you how to manage time and stress in a way that makes your worries in college seem laughable. You'll come out of it with so much more than an impressive resume complete with a Master's degree and two years of experience in a tough school. You'll come out of it as a better version of yourself, equipped to keep growing, keep thinking, keep helping. You will have built life-long relationships with people you never would have befriended otherwise, and at the very least, you'll have some really fantastic stories to tell your grandkids.
Hard sell number one: It's a free Master's.
Anyone who says they weren't motivated to apply to this program because of the Master's is lying. Of course it's appealing and of course it's something in which we all take pride. But here's the other side of it: If the degree is the only reason you commit to these two years, you won't make it. When you have a thirteen-year-old curse at you, or when you break up a fight between your favorite students, or when a kid you really thought had a chance gets expelled, you won't be thinking about that degree. When your alarm goes off two hours after you stopped planning tomorrow's lesson, that degree won't provide you with any caffeine. If you make it through the two years, complete with Saturday classes from 8 to 5 plus a full-time job, then and only then will you reap the rewards of the degree.
Hard sell number two: You'll meet some amazing people.
It's true. I've met some truly amazing people over this last year and a half. My classmates are easily some of the most intelligent, thoughtful, and genuine human beings I've been blessed to meet. They care about their students. They've shown me new perspectives. We've kept each other smiling even on those January Saturdays when the guys' faces grow scruffy and the girls' hair looks like it hasn't been washed in days. The other side? You'll drift away from those you have now. You won't talk to your family as much because all they want to hear about is your new job and your fun classes - all you'll want to talk about is nothing. Your friends won't understand your new schedule or your blase attitude towards topics you used to spend hours discussing. I'm not saying that your MTC classmates will replace your friends. You will eventually strike a balance. Your friends will get used to the new you and your family will always be there.
Hard sell number three: Do something that matters.
Ok there's really not a downside to this other than the fact that on most days, you won't think anything you've done matters. The kids will complain about the workload but that's only because they're used to subpar teachers. They'll fight your rules at first but that'll change when they realize you have them because you care. Your principal will complain about first year teachers but eventually he or she will realize that you're better than the alternative. You'll have kids disrespect you, yell at you, refuse to do your assignments, and fail to grasp the material. But what matters is that you keep coming back. They're not used to that and if you accomplish nothing more than showing those kids that someone cares about them, about their education, then you've accomplished something that matters. So when I say that the degree won't wake you up in the morning or console you when you feel stomped on, the little victories you experience every day will.
Hard sell number four: Change yourself.
I'm absolutely not the person I was a year and a half ago. And that's a good thing. It's not that I was a bad person... none of us were or we wouldn't still be here. But this experience will change you; it'll make you think more critically about this country's problems, about life, about people. It'll make you more compassionate for those from a background different than your own. It will teach you how to manage time and stress in a way that makes your worries in college seem laughable. You'll come out of it with so much more than an impressive resume complete with a Master's degree and two years of experience in a tough school. You'll come out of it as a better version of yourself, equipped to keep growing, keep thinking, keep helping. You will have built life-long relationships with people you never would have befriended otherwise, and at the very least, you'll have some really fantastic stories to tell your grandkids.
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