Teach for America (TFA) is a national teacher corps of recent college graduates who commit two years to teach and to effect change in under-resourced urban and rural public schools. TFA’s mission statement is to enlist, develop, and mobilize our nation's most promising future leaders to grow and strengthen the movement for educational equity. TFA believes that all kids deserve a chance to reach their full potential, and education is one of the most effective ways to give them that opportunity. From 2014-2015 I acted as a campus campaign coordinator (CCC) for TFA. CCC’s are campus-based interns working as a part of the TFA recruitment team and are charged with building awareness of educational inequity and Teach for America’s work on UW’s campus. After 1 year of service, I have been accepted to the TFA 2015 corps and am going to teach secondary science in the Four Corners region of New Mexico.

 

Self-awareness and Development: Self-understanding

If you asked me 2 years ago as a freshman if I would ever do Teach for America, I would have said no. But, one decision my sophomore year changed the course of my life. That sounds a little dramatic, but I never realized how much Teach for America has a mission statement that really speaks to me. A mission statement that is committed to solving education inequity that limits a student’s opportunity. I did not realize this problem until I witnessed it firsthand. I worked as a teacher in a rural area of Eastern Washington and one of the students I worked with, Alex, was in the 8th grade, but could barely read a chapter book and did not know his multiplication tables.

 

Growing up in a lower class Vietnamese family, my parents had very few education opportunities growing up and this prevented them from attaining their life goals. They immigrated to the United States from Vietnam with the hopes that their children would have more opportunities. Because many others in the Vietnamese community were in the same boat, I grew up in a supportive community that fostered education. They not only tutored me when I struggled, but also taught me to give back the same way they helped me. If I did not have this support, I would not be where I am today. Meeting children like Alex who did not have the support that was so instrumental to my success makes me reflect on how different my life might have been without those around me, and drives me to do whatever I can to help the next generation.

 

Civic Responsibility: Social justice

I hope to one day be a teacher in a classroom with Teach for America to be that support. I think it is a social responsibility for those who have succeeded to give back however they can. Being a teacher for Teach for America means to not only be an educator, but also a mentor that can show students growing up in low income that they are not alone and that they can succeed as well.

 

Civic Responsibility: Diversity

Growing up in the Seattle Area, I always thought of myself as someone who promoted not only my own culture, but people from a variety backgrounds, beliefs, and experiences as well. I participated in cultural events such as Folklife, but looking back, I realized that a lot of my friends and people I interacted with where Caucasian or of Asian descent. Part of this might be attributed to the suburban neighborhood I grew up in and the strong Vietnamese community I learned to love. Even in college, I tend to drift towards Asian American students. We all have very similar ways of thinking and doing things. One of Teach for America’s core values is diversity. TFA acts on their belief that the movement to ensure educational equity will succeed only if it is diverse in every respect. In particular, TFA value the perspective and credibility that individuals who share the racial and economic backgrounds of the students with whom they work can bring to our organization, classrooms, and the long-term effort for change. Since join the TFA recruitment team, I have met so many new amazing people from various backgrounds. Next year I’ll be going to New Mexico with a high population of Hispanic and Native American students, a population that I have never worked with before. I hope TFA will help me continue to expand my cultural competencies in the next few years.