After I matriculated, I was sent a box of books to read before the official summer training. I received this box in the midst of my hardest, most reading-intensive semester and was none to pleased, since part of the work we had to do along with the reading involved classroom observation-- I was supposed to get a large chunk of the reading done before school let out so I could go observe. I ended up counting my volunteering (bilingual first graders 9-11 every Friday) as my observation and didn't start the reading until I had graduated.
I didn't have much choice about when I interviewed and took tests though, so I did have to make a trip up to Chicago in addition to the few I took for various weddings and other celebrations. I got into Evanston on a Wednesday night and had to be at the Teach for America office at 8 am Thursday morning. We had about an hour of introduction and breakfast, and then the interviews started at nine. They had a large room set up with dozens of tables. Each school had one or two (or three) reresentatives. School sent everyone from principles to former corps members who were just regular teachers. Each interviewee was assigned to go see schools in twenty minute increments until about noon, but those assignments changed frequently as schools failed to show up or only wanted you long enough to give you a quick look and set up a follow up interview. After an interview you'd either go to the next one or back to the waiting room, sitting under a sign for your subject area so that if any school wasn'tinterviewing someone at that particular moment, someone from TFA could quickly scan the subject area to see if they could squeeze another interview in. I spoke with 6 schools total and ended up with five follow ups - one for that afternoon and four for the next day.
The interview that afternoon was at the Howard area alternative high school, a school for kids who didn't finish at a traditional high school. The person in charge seemed to like me, but they all were a bit concerned that I look so young-- many of their students are 18-20.
Friday I had to be at the office at 6:15. THe office staff had spent all afternoon coordinating where everyone was going so that we could all carpool. That meant that the first school our car of three people went to wasn't hiring Spanish teachers and I got to just hang out while the other two met people. The principal wasn't there so they couldn't actually interview, something that was surprising then but not so much so after we'd been to multiple schools. At one school I went to, I had to explain to the principal what Teach for America was, and why I didn't have an education degree but expected to be able to teach in the fall. It was also the day after the PLAN test that all juniors have to take, so many of the schools were noticeably empty. The director of the language department at one school took one look at me and said, "um, we're really looking to hire a native speaker, so...." A couple of other schools said "we were happy to interview you, but our Spanish teacher isn't here/can't meet with you right now, so we can't hire you yet." If I ever am in teh position to hire anyone, I'm remembering this experience and being upfront with people. I followed up with those that I could, but never ehard back. The TFA office said they followed up with the school I really wanted to be at and discovered that the school only had the budget to hire someone who could teach both French and Spanish.
During the day, Tricia and I ended up splitting from Carrie, whose car we were originally in, because all three of us had extra interviews scheduled last minute. Someone from the office came to drive us and we went ALL over the city, south to north to west and back. Tricia was hired on the spot as an English teacher, and Carrie was also hired that day at a second interview.
Saturday was another early morning. I had to be at 111th Street for the Basic Skills and Spanish content area tests. Dad drove me down to be there at 8. The basic skills test is a five hour test that I sent 2.5 hours on and scored a 290/300... it's pretty basic. I spent a bit longer on the Spanish test and was on the bus to the red line a little before 5. Nora met me at Howard about two hours later, having finished her Basic Skills/school psych double heeader, and we celebrated with margaritas.
The week Monday after graduation, I got an e-mal a little after noon telling me I had an interview the next day at 3 in Chicago. I hopped online and bought a bus ticket to Union station for the next morning. I made it to CICS Ellison by about 2:15 and Mr. Gordon saw me early. I was done by about 2:45, with a second interview scheduled for the following week, and headed to Midway. I had arranged with the driver of the morning bus that I could be picked up there (a 10 minute drive from 8100 s. California instead of going back to Union Station) at 7. There is NOTHING to do at Midway if you can't go past security and baggage claim doesn't thrill you. The next day I started work.
I contacted the TFA office to ask if they could get me any other interviews for the day when I was traveling back for my second Ellison interview. They set me up with Urban Prep, the only public all boys school in the city. I rented a car for the day, changed into my suit in the Subway sandwich shop where I had lunch, and got to meet the principal of Ellison. The interview was short but they seemed enthusiastic. Urban Prep was a little strange- they asked if I was married or engaged, among other things. A few days later, Ellison called and offered me a job. a BIG relief. All told, I sat down for 14 interviews, just one shy of the TFA Chicago average of 15-- a clear indicator of the fact that the shortage in Chicago is of teacher quality, not quantity.
Wednesday, June 20, 2007
Thursday, May 3, 2007
Introduction
I'm starting a new blog to chronicle my two years with Teach for America in Chicago. I'll start at the begninning in this post. Be warned- it's a doozy.
The Decision
The whole process began last fall. The program staggers their application process to have four deadlines. I was taking the LSAT the day before the first deadline, so I applied during the second round, submitting my first application November 5, 2006. I had a phone interview about a week later, submitted my second round of paperwork December 1, and had my final interview December 4. The final interview is a day long process. You get assigned a group (there were 9 people in mine) and the day starts with each of you giving a prepared, 5-minute lesson to the group and the two interviewers. Mine was about the difference between a fact and an opinion. It went horribly, and I was fairly certain after it was over that I had botched the whole opportunity and would never be picked. After the lesson plans we had a group activity and then an individual "critical thinking" exercise. Then we signed up for individual interview times. It was about noon and mine was at 3, so I went home. I cried, felt sorry for myself, and had lunch. The interview went really well and renewed my hopes.
Less than two weeks after that, I got a phone call and an e-mail telling me the box with my materials (letter of recommendation and a few other forms I had turned in at the interview) had been lost in transit to New York. They claimed they didn't need the letter of rec. because it had already been reviewed, and the person on the phone said something like "if you want to receive your placement by the january 8 deadline, please send in your materials as soon as possible." This was reassuring, but not confirmation that I had already been picked. It was an anxious Christmas, especially because well meaning family members kept inquiring about my post-graduation plans and I hate telling people things that aren't certain. "Well, I APPLIED for Teach for America, but really who knows... that or law school?" I had been accepted to Duke at that point, and got my acceptance from GWU right around the new year. But really I spent all of winter break counting down the days until my tfa deceision.
Sure enough, on Janurary 8 I opened my e-mail to see a congratulatory message from teachforamerica.com. I squealed a bit, logged in to the site, thrilled, and found that I had been assigned to Chicago- my first choice!--to teach high school Spanish-- the LAST thing I wanted to teach. my whole body sank. I called my mom, as promised, and a few other people, trying desperately to sort through the conflict I had before me.
In spite of my now ten years of Spanish training, including a semester living in Spain, I really don't consider myself fluent at all. And I certainly did not feel comfortable enough with the language to think I could teach other people to speak it. I have lots of experience with elementary aged kids and had pictured myself all along in the 3rd-5th grade range, though I flirted with the idea of pre-k. I had preferenced accordingly, listing high school as my last choice and assuming I would get an elementary placement because I didn't major in one of teh traditional high school subjects and so didn't have the coursework necessary to teach secondary ed. That third major snuck up on me....
I talked with a lot of people over the next few days- family, friends, TFA people. Anyone who would listen, really. Just as I had convinced myself that I could be a wonderful creative, effective Spanish teacher, I got a complicating surprise. That Saturday I found a small envelope from GWU Law in my mailbox. "Dear Ms. Geraghty. We'd like to offer you full tuition for three years ($38,000 x 3), free first year housing in a swanky highrise in D.C., and a faculty mentor. Let us know by April 16." I was, quite literally, floored. I quickly stood back up from my spot on the tile to jump up and down and turn myself around aimlessly, looking for an explanation in the items in my apartment. I then had to sit back down as it dawned on me that such an offer would not likely be one that I could ask them to put on hold just for Princess Bridget. I made teh standard contacts to share the news and started what would be two weeks of not much sleep.
Teach for America had a relatively short deadline and I had 14 days to decide. I called GWU Monday just to double check that I couldn't defer the scholarship (I couldn't), but was reassured to hear the Dean's praise for Teach for America as a program. I talked to who knows how many people in Teach for America... Each person I talked with had three others who had deferred law school, or taught Spanish, or were teaching in Chicago, or were alums of U of I, or had red hair (kidding). It's a pretty amazing network of really wonderful people. That's not to say that GWU isn't- I contacted a few of their students and they were perfectly helpful and friendly. But there was really only one reason not to do TFA. Admittedly, it was large. But it was only one.
The night before the decision was due, I matriculated and submitted my "Reasons for Joining:"
"I have wanted to join Teach For America since I first heard about it several years ago. Since then, every time I've heard more information about it, my conviction has grown stronger and my affection for the program and its mission deeper. And yet I am here less than 48 hours from the decision deadline only just now submitting my acceptance.
Within a week, I received both my Teach for America placement and a non-deferrable scholarship offer from a top twenty law school worth nearly $130,000. And so I faced a moral dilemma: is it possible to place a value on the impact I could make in two years on the lives of children who have been consistently let down by the nation that promises them opportunity? Could graduating from law school debt free to enter a public interest position take the place of whatever service I could provide in the next two years as a teacher?
In the last two weeks I have slept little, thought much, and reached out to many. And my decision is ultimately based on the belief that everything else will fall into place if we follow our hearts and do the right thing. My belief in the power of education and my zeal for social justice are clear indicators to me that my decision to join is the right thing. For whatever good I may do someday as a lawyer, nothing can match the value of directly impacting, narrowing, or eliminating the achievement gap for even a single child."
I know it's cheesy. I was emotional. Give me that. But while that moment was emotional, the decision was not superficially considered. That statement is the truth, dressed in emotion and a bit of TFA lingo I picked up. I was ultimately more sure that doing Teach for America was right for me than I was sure that law school was where I wanted to be. That's not to say I don't actually want to go to law school. I may be the only person to have read One L and found myself excited rather than terrified. But those niggling doubts weren't going away. And I HAVE believed in TFA since I first heard about it. I still do. I knew I would always wonder about it later if I didn't do it now. What is it to be young if you can't take risks? While I'd like to believe this kind of idealism will last forever, there's no guarantee. Let me tell you, it's mighty powerful right now and I can do great things with so much strength. it was also nice to finaly have a definitive answer t the constant "what are you doing in May?" question.
I find it interesting that no matter what choice I had made, I would have finally lived in the same city as a sibling after 7 years of separate states. Maybe that's fate telling me either choice would have worked out. Or maybe it was just all three of us getting fed up and saying "Self, we need to get out of these backwoods and into a real city."
The Decision
The whole process began last fall. The program staggers their application process to have four deadlines. I was taking the LSAT the day before the first deadline, so I applied during the second round, submitting my first application November 5, 2006. I had a phone interview about a week later, submitted my second round of paperwork December 1, and had my final interview December 4. The final interview is a day long process. You get assigned a group (there were 9 people in mine) and the day starts with each of you giving a prepared, 5-minute lesson to the group and the two interviewers. Mine was about the difference between a fact and an opinion. It went horribly, and I was fairly certain after it was over that I had botched the whole opportunity and would never be picked. After the lesson plans we had a group activity and then an individual "critical thinking" exercise. Then we signed up for individual interview times. It was about noon and mine was at 3, so I went home. I cried, felt sorry for myself, and had lunch. The interview went really well and renewed my hopes.
Less than two weeks after that, I got a phone call and an e-mail telling me the box with my materials (letter of recommendation and a few other forms I had turned in at the interview) had been lost in transit to New York. They claimed they didn't need the letter of rec. because it had already been reviewed, and the person on the phone said something like "if you want to receive your placement by the january 8 deadline, please send in your materials as soon as possible." This was reassuring, but not confirmation that I had already been picked. It was an anxious Christmas, especially because well meaning family members kept inquiring about my post-graduation plans and I hate telling people things that aren't certain. "Well, I APPLIED for Teach for America, but really who knows... that or law school?" I had been accepted to Duke at that point, and got my acceptance from GWU right around the new year. But really I spent all of winter break counting down the days until my tfa deceision.
Sure enough, on Janurary 8 I opened my e-mail to see a congratulatory message from teachforamerica.com. I squealed a bit, logged in to the site, thrilled, and found that I had been assigned to Chicago- my first choice!--to teach high school Spanish-- the LAST thing I wanted to teach. my whole body sank. I called my mom, as promised, and a few other people, trying desperately to sort through the conflict I had before me.
In spite of my now ten years of Spanish training, including a semester living in Spain, I really don't consider myself fluent at all. And I certainly did not feel comfortable enough with the language to think I could teach other people to speak it. I have lots of experience with elementary aged kids and had pictured myself all along in the 3rd-5th grade range, though I flirted with the idea of pre-k. I had preferenced accordingly, listing high school as my last choice and assuming I would get an elementary placement because I didn't major in one of teh traditional high school subjects and so didn't have the coursework necessary to teach secondary ed. That third major snuck up on me....
I talked with a lot of people over the next few days- family, friends, TFA people. Anyone who would listen, really. Just as I had convinced myself that I could be a wonderful creative, effective Spanish teacher, I got a complicating surprise. That Saturday I found a small envelope from GWU Law in my mailbox. "Dear Ms. Geraghty. We'd like to offer you full tuition for three years ($38,000 x 3), free first year housing in a swanky highrise in D.C., and a faculty mentor. Let us know by April 16." I was, quite literally, floored. I quickly stood back up from my spot on the tile to jump up and down and turn myself around aimlessly, looking for an explanation in the items in my apartment. I then had to sit back down as it dawned on me that such an offer would not likely be one that I could ask them to put on hold just for Princess Bridget. I made teh standard contacts to share the news and started what would be two weeks of not much sleep.
Teach for America had a relatively short deadline and I had 14 days to decide. I called GWU Monday just to double check that I couldn't defer the scholarship (I couldn't), but was reassured to hear the Dean's praise for Teach for America as a program. I talked to who knows how many people in Teach for America... Each person I talked with had three others who had deferred law school, or taught Spanish, or were teaching in Chicago, or were alums of U of I, or had red hair (kidding). It's a pretty amazing network of really wonderful people. That's not to say that GWU isn't- I contacted a few of their students and they were perfectly helpful and friendly. But there was really only one reason not to do TFA. Admittedly, it was large. But it was only one.
The night before the decision was due, I matriculated and submitted my "Reasons for Joining:"
"I have wanted to join Teach For America since I first heard about it several years ago. Since then, every time I've heard more information about it, my conviction has grown stronger and my affection for the program and its mission deeper. And yet I am here less than 48 hours from the decision deadline only just now submitting my acceptance.
Within a week, I received both my Teach for America placement and a non-deferrable scholarship offer from a top twenty law school worth nearly $130,000. And so I faced a moral dilemma: is it possible to place a value on the impact I could make in two years on the lives of children who have been consistently let down by the nation that promises them opportunity? Could graduating from law school debt free to enter a public interest position take the place of whatever service I could provide in the next two years as a teacher?
In the last two weeks I have slept little, thought much, and reached out to many. And my decision is ultimately based on the belief that everything else will fall into place if we follow our hearts and do the right thing. My belief in the power of education and my zeal for social justice are clear indicators to me that my decision to join is the right thing. For whatever good I may do someday as a lawyer, nothing can match the value of directly impacting, narrowing, or eliminating the achievement gap for even a single child."
I know it's cheesy. I was emotional. Give me that. But while that moment was emotional, the decision was not superficially considered. That statement is the truth, dressed in emotion and a bit of TFA lingo I picked up. I was ultimately more sure that doing Teach for America was right for me than I was sure that law school was where I wanted to be. That's not to say I don't actually want to go to law school. I may be the only person to have read One L and found myself excited rather than terrified. But those niggling doubts weren't going away. And I HAVE believed in TFA since I first heard about it. I still do. I knew I would always wonder about it later if I didn't do it now. What is it to be young if you can't take risks? While I'd like to believe this kind of idealism will last forever, there's no guarantee. Let me tell you, it's mighty powerful right now and I can do great things with so much strength. it was also nice to finaly have a definitive answer t the constant "what are you doing in May?" question.
I find it interesting that no matter what choice I had made, I would have finally lived in the same city as a sibling after 7 years of separate states. Maybe that's fate telling me either choice would have worked out. Or maybe it was just all three of us getting fed up and saying "Self, we need to get out of these backwoods and into a real city."
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