TO THE EDITOR:
In response to Jagir Patel’s editorial, “Assault on the teaching profession,” I would like to address several concerning implications he draws about teaching as a career.
As an incoming Teach For America member who has not taken the traditional route to becoming an educator, I take offense at his assumptions on my ability to be successful in the classroom.
Patel makes it obvious that he believes being an effective, passionate teacher is necessarily dependent on pursuing a degree in education. However, as many of us know, deciding on a definite career path in four years is difficult.
Since arriving at UNC, I’ve discovered a wide variety of passions — writing, politics, advocating for social policies and teaching. And although I will not graduate in May with a degree in education, I don’t feel like spending 800 hours in a structured program would have further convinced me — or deterred me — from realizing I am meant to teach.
Contrary to Patel’s supposition, I am also well-versed in education policies, despite the fact that I am not enrolled in education courses.
While being familiar with psychology, pedagogy and policy is nice — and certainly applicable to the profession — a textbook is not what is ultimately going to allow you to reach that one student who can’t seem to grasp his multiplication tables, or the student who is two grade levels behind in reading.
Being successful as a teacher is about flexibility in your approaches. It’s being able to apply your real-world experiences to your student interactions. It’s being able to engage your classroom creatively while also maintaining high expectations for success. And yes, as Patel suggests, it’s about possessing a joy of learning — something that isn’t contingent on what your diploma says.
In terms of quantifiable measures of success, studies have shown that Teach For America members have produced classroom growth rates that either equal or exceed those of their traditionally educated colleagues. Beyond standardized testing improvements, TFA recruits are committed to instilling in their students a challenge-seeking mentality and the same joy of learning we possess.
