Why You Shouldn’t Join the Mississippi Teacher Corps

What I’m going to do for this post is list some of my worst experiences.  If you think any of these might cause you to break down in front of a class or seriously consider quitting instead of pushing through the bad experiences, you probably shouldn’t join the program. I reacted to most of these situations, (except for the principal dressing me down when my students could see how angry I was), with a laugh or a smile even as I was seething and/or crying on the inside.  The fact that I was able to move past these experiences and keep teaching is kind of incredible to me in retrospect.  If you join this program, you need to come in 100% committed to making it through your two years no matter how bad it gets. 

Here goes everything:

·      A kid tells you to shut the fuck up, or some such thing on average once every week or more often.  You refer them to the office, the administration does nothing, and they’re back in class two days later with the exact same behavior patterns.  The other kids take notice and realize there are no real consequences for their bad behavior.  Your bad classes get worse and the administration won’t back you up, so it’s hard to imagine those classes getting better.  Every day, you dread seeing these kids, knowing you’re failing the ones who are trying to learn.

·      Kids call you “Jew” twenty times a day no matter how much you tell them not to.  A kid calls Hitler an “OG” (Original Gangster).  (This is more specific to Jackson, MS).

·      Some of your smartest and/or kindest students can’t read or write to save their lives.  It seems unlikely they’ll graduate from high school, and even if they do and get accepted to a college, it’s hard to imagine them succeeding academically in a college environment.

·      Whenever you turn your back on certain classes, a ball of paper, a pen, pencil, piece of chalk, or staples are thrown at someone in the room and sometimes at you.  Multiple times, I’ve been hit in the head by staples.  Once, a student in one of my good classes informed me that I had some stuck in my hair, probably from the class before when I had felt a tap on my head and not realized what it was.

·      The principal walks into your classroom and dresses you down in front of your students, even after your request to talk to her later.  Kids in your bad classes hear about and/or witness this and tell you frequently that they heard principals saying that you’re going to be fired.

·      Teachers in your school express sometimes incredibly strong prejudices against gays, Jews, liberals, leftists, Yankees, African-Americans, non-Christians, etc., always assuming you agree with them.  (I usually just nod my head instead of arguing, it’s usually not worth the effort).

·      You spend hours preparing what you think is a fantastic lesson on something fun-e.g. Sam Cooke and soul music-and get through one third or less of the lesson because half the class won’t be quiet.  The other half of the class looks at you with their disappointment in your inability to reign in the class written all over their faces.  It’s heartbreaking.

·      You will see many of your smartest students who could have gotten into Harvard were they in a different school make self-destructive decisions and ruin their life chances. 

·      You will be spending two years in parts of Mississippi that may be poorer on both socioeconomic and cultural levels than you’re naturally comfortable living with.

Why You Should Join the Mississippi Teacher Corps

If, despite experience everything you’ve read and also some other terrible things you can’t predict, you’re still interested in joining the Mississippi Teacher Corps, here are some reasons you should do so:

·      A free Masters degree in a program that’s more supportive than Teach for America.  (At the same time, depending on where TFA places you, you may be able to enroll in Masters programs of outstanding quality, e.g. The Bank Street School of Education in NYC even if TFA itself isn’t as supportive).

·      You will receive a teaching licensure and be placed in a classroom within 2.5 months of arriving in Mississippi.  If you’re dying to get right into teaching, this is a fast way to do it.

·      Most of the people applying to this program are about my age and just out of college.  As my roommate during summer school said, “I’m awfully young to be living inside my comfort level.”  Even as I felt terrible this past semester, I kept telling myself, “It’s only two years, and I’ll have a lifetime of ridiculous classroom stories and two years of intense classroom experience to show for it.”  I’ll be in my low 20s when I’m done and have a lifetime ahead of me outside of Mississippi.

·      Along these lines, a veteran teacher in my school told me a couple weeks ago that it’s good I’m teaching at my school, because after teaching there, I can teach anywhere.

·      The size of the MTC is both a plus and a minus.  Your social network may not be gigantic, especially depending on how many people are placed near you, but during weekends where the program has class at Oxford, there’s a real strong sense of community and camaraderie. 

·      For all the stress they cause, working with the kids can be a lot of fun.  I have no classroom management problems in two of classes, and only infrequent ones in two others.  (Two of the classes are very difficult to control).

·      You can make a real, significant difference in some of your (or other teachers’) students’ lives.  With a couple of high-achieving juniors and seniors, I’m helping them apply to liberal arts colleges that they wouldn’t have heard of without me and I anticipate them being accepted to many of them. 

·      I coach soccer and it’ a fucking blast.  I love the kids, they respect me a huge amount.  Even given the ridiculous time commitment for a pathetically small stipend, just having 50 kids on campus who really, really respect me is huge for my self-esteem when I feel like I’m in constant power struggles the rest of the day.  Definitely coach.  I’m barely qualified to, and it’s been totally worth it, and you’ll be surprised how competent you can be compared to the other coaches. 

Obviously, it would be impossible to answer this question honestly without first saying this: you should not join the Mississippi Teacher Corps if you don’t think you can handle everything that goes along with teaching in a critical-needs school. It feels like a bit of a cop-out not to talk about what this means, but vacation is making me lazy and it's simply too big a question to answer in one blog. If you’re debating whether or not teaching in this kind of environment is right for you, read the blogs; talk to current MTC-ers and alums. It’s all there.

If you do think that this life is the one you want (at least for two years), here are a few things to consider before you commit to join us in Oxford in May.

The strength of this program, as compared to other alternate-route programs, lies in two things: the training and support, and the bonds that form in a small group of people who are going through the same challenging and downright crazy experience. If you’re more interested in doing this by yourself—if you’re a lone wolf, to borrow from The Hangover—the rest of us are going to drive you crazy.

I do have to warn my lovely little lone wolves: this is a really, really hard thing to do by yourself, especially if you are not from the area where you’re teaching. You will need to talk, and more often than not, the only people who will understand are the ones going through the same thing. If I had a dollar for every time I emailed, texted, or called an MTC-er this semester to complain, brag, congratulate, or beg ask for lesson ideas, I would be eating at Walker’s every night.

On the subject of MTC’s superior training and support: this is only helpful if you are the type to accept advice. This program has tremendous resources to offer you support. Please recognize that sometimes this support will come in the form of criticism. The system only works if you can accept that the criticism you receive in summer school, etc is meant to help you, and comes from people who were in your shoes. You will probably be terrible in the beginning. That’s okay. We all were, too. But if you reject help just because it might sting a little, you’re going to make your life even more miserable than it’s already going to be. And you’re better off leaving your spot to someone who will take advantage of what the program has to offer.

One final caution to those of you who are not from Mississippi: this is the South—for most of you, it will be the rural South—and things are different. That culture shock (particularly for those in MTC who are placed in rural areas) can be as difficult as the teaching stuff. You can read more about this here, but in my experience as someone Not From Round Here, the less I compare Mississippi to other places I’ve lived, and the more I make an effort to find things I love about it, the happier I am. Two years is a long time to be in a place you don’t like. At the risk of reducing a very complicated state to a few stereotypes, if you can’t picture yourself shopping at Wal-Mart or watching the latest Cannes Palme d'Or winner on Netflix instead of in a theater, understand that things are going to be just a little bit harder.

I was going to write about a situation at my school today that upset many of the MTC teachers, but I think Brent  did it better than I ever could...

You should not join the Mississippi Teacher Corps for the money.  Teaching is one of the most under paid professions on earth.  You hear about it from time to time as a student, but when it is actually you, you feel it.  You should not join the Mississippi Teacher Corps to change the world.  In teaching, you touch lives, the live of young people.  Some of those young people will probably look up to you; therefore a person joining the Mississippi Teacher Corps should only look to change the path of, at least one student, not the entire world.  You should join the Mississippi Teacher Corps, just to be doing something.  If you do not have the drive, the commitment or toughness to stick it out, by November 3, you may be a distant memory.  There are many other reasons a person should not joins the Mississippi Teacher Corps, too.

Money is a pretty big issue to most people in the world today.  The economy is in a recession.  To be frank, money makes the world go around… All the hours I spend each day, week and month planning goes unaccounted for in the pay.  Sure, I do coach, but coaching is totally different.  Time, Time Time!  This Mississippi Teacher Corps thing we do, along with being involved in our school takes time.  Leaving before sunrise and not getting home until after sunset is a lot.  It is what I do as a teacher.  It also goes unnoticed when the check is deposited into the back account.  One reason not to join the Mississippi Teacher Corps: the Money.

Another reason to not join the Mississippi Teacher Corps is to change the world.  The world will still be the same when you join and after you are done, too.  If not, it will not be directly relating to your teaching or membership in the Mississippi Teacher Corps.  The feeling may be that, “No one cares that I spent 12 hours planning this lesson…” The fact is, we teach in areas where there is a critical need for a teacher.  There could be a number of reasons for such, but the students’ dispositions in such an area, could be effected as a result.  You will have opportunities to develop relationships and change some things and even help people, too. Ultimately, the world as a whole, as a direct result of what you do, will not change.

If a person has no idea about what to do with their life and they decide they want to join the Mississippi Teacher Corps, just to be doing something, do not join.  To be a member of the Mississippi Teacher Corps and be successful, there has to be commitment.  If there is no form of commitment, it will not last.  You may survive throughout summer school.  August may fly by, without a hitch, but by the time you get into the thick of things, when the students are being their WORST and they know what gets to you, they may choose to work on your every nerve.  If you are not committed, you will not last.

You should not join the Mississippi Teacher Corps without first thinking about it.  Think long and hard.  Is this what you want?  If not from Mississippi, think about that, too.  It is not easy but so far it has been one of the most rewarding experiences of my life.

You should not join the Mississippi Teacher Corps for the money.  Teaching is one of the most under paid professions on earth.  You hear about it from time to time as a student, but when it is actually you, you feel it.  You should not join the Mississippi Teacher Corps to change the world.  In teaching, you touch lives, the live of young people.  Some of those young people will probably look up to you; therefore a person joining the Mississippi Teacher Corps should only look to change the path of, at least one student, not the entire world.  You should join the Mississippi Teacher Corps, just to be doing something.  If you do not have the drive, the commitment or toughness to stick it out, by November 3, you may be a distant memory.  There are many other reasons a person should not joins the Mississippi Teacher Corps, too.

Money is a pretty big issue to most people in the world today.  The economy is in a recession.  To be frank, money makes the world go around… All the hours I spend each day, week and month planning goes unaccounted for in the pay.  Sure, I do coach, but coaching is totally different.  Time, Time Time!  This Mississippi Teacher Corps thing we do, along with being involved in our school takes time.  Leaving before sunrise and not getting home until after sunset is a lot.  It is what I do as a teacher.  It also goes unnoticed when the check is deposited into the back account.  One reason not to join the Mississippi Teacher Corps: the Money.

Another reason to not join the Mississippi Teacher Corps is to change the world.  The world will still be the same when you join and after you are done, too.  If not, it will not be directly relating to your teaching or membership in the Mississippi Teacher Corps.  The feeling may be that, “No one cares that I spent 12 hours planning this lesson…” The fact is, we teach in areas where there is a critical need for a teacher.  There could be a number of reasons for such, but the students’ dispositions in such an area, could be effected as a result.  You will have opportunities to develop relationships and change some things and even help people, too. Ultimately, the world as a whole, as a direct result of what you do, will not change.

If a person has no idea about what to do with their life and they decide they want to join the Mississippi Teacher Corps, just to be doing something, do not join.  To be a member of the Mississippi Teacher Corps and be successful, there has to be commitment.  If there is no form of commitment, it will not last.  You may survive throughout summer school.  August may fly by, without a hitch, but by the time you get into the thick of things, when the students are being their WORST and they know what gets to you, they may choose to work on your every nerve.  If you are not committed, you will not last.

You should not join the Mississippi Teacher Corps without first thinking about it.  Think long and hard.  Is this what you want?  If not from Mississippi, think about that, too.  It is not easy but so far it has been one of the most rewarding experiences of my life.

A person should join the Mississippi Teacher Corps to be different.  When given the question, I wonder…it is more than teaching; it is more than the money, more than anything I have ever done.  Anyone can go to school.  The thing is, can anyone teach?

On the surface, join the Mississippi Teacher Corps for the MACBOOK!  It may not come for a few months, but when it finally arrives it is all worth it.

On a serious note, join the Mississippi Teacher Corps for a challenge.  It is a challenge like no other.  Going to college, playing football and being a black young man in the United States is nothing compared to teacher at Byhalia High School.  That’s a joke.  Along with the afore mentioned list of things, it, teaching is ranked right there with them.  In life you face challenges.  Teaching is just another challenge.  It is nothing like college, vastly different from playing football and could never compare to growing up black in the United States.

Having to wake up each and every morning to teach gets old.  Someone once said it is the hardest thing you will ever do in life.  I have beg to differ.  It is not the hardest thing.  There are many other things, I would say, that are harder.

Join the Mississippi Teacher Corps for the challenge.  I had never in my life thought I would once become a teacher.  On this day, December 18, 2009, I would say I am a very good teacher.  Although not great, I am good.  Since a teacher is never a finished product, I do not feel bad at all about it.  As long as a person can commit to something and give it there all, they will be fine.

Aside from the challenge, you build relationships.  Some may look at this and say, “What? Coach Huff is antisocial…” I would not say I am antisocial but I may keep have my mouth closed and mind my business more so than not.  The thing is, by being a teacher and a coach, I see a lot of people.  Once I joked with my friends about now being a teacher, “I have to speak to people.”  I cannot walk around all day hushed, as if I do not see my students, coworkers or my players.  Now I have transformed into a social butterfly.  In summation, if you do not like people or talking and being sociable, the Mississippi Teacher Corps may not be for you.  Back in college, I went minutes upon minutes without talking to people.  At Byhalia High School, from the moment I arrive at 6:44am, I am swarmed with people, people people.  Therefore Coach Huff puts on his best “smile” and greets them with cheer.

The Mississippi Teacher Corps is more than a master’s degree.  The Mississippi Teacher Corps is so much more than a Macbook computer.  The Mississippi Teacher Corps is a challenge. It is something I had never dreamt of doing in life.  Now that I have had a taste of it, I will keep my plans as they are today and pursue my doctoral degree.

This reminds me of the "We are the Fighting Irish" ads they play during ND football games.  Danielle Hall, Notre Dame and MTC alum, is featured in this recruitment/information video about the Mississippi Teacher Corps:

Como Elem.