Academics in The City

Meeting up one afternoon, three teachers exchange their thoughts about their work. Listening in on their conversation, these youthful veterans have plenty to share about how they grapple with the education system, while at the same time advancing their knowledge and skills. In the end, though, these deeply passionate professionals-Ceciel, Christina and Nicole-all agree that their career is the most valuable gift they could give the next generation.

CECIEL SHAW: I'll get this started by saying I'm 27 and will be completing my MA in learning dis/Abilities from Teachers College, Columbia University in July. I got into teaching through work at a non-profit camp/experiential education program. Initially, I thought teaching was a way in which I could foster positive/progressive change in my community and in the country as a whole. Being in education in NYC for the past five years has somewhat jaded me-the MA program I'm in is quite political and many of the theories I've grappled with have re-framed my views of society.

Sometimes I think education can be an incredible field that can help develop more peaceful, critical people; other times, it seems very depressing: lack of teacher interest, inflexible administrations, shameful treatment of students who don't fit the norm.

I can't take on the question about adult ed right now-I have to go work on projects due for classes.

What about you all?

CHRISTINA JIMENEZ: I'm 29 and am also completing my MA in the learning dis/Abilities program from Teachers College, Columbia University. I worked in foster care for three years (in NYC) before I ended up teaching at a charter school in Brooklyn, in an inclusion classroom. As a caseworker, my favorite part of the job was working with families/teachers/ courts to get the children in the best educational setting possible. I loved visiting schools and seeing the kids in their classrooms, and I saw the role of the teacher and guidance counselors (sometimes) to be very supportive of the children and their families, and I was inspired by that. I fell into special education because I was working as a teacher at a charter school in a K-2 classroom and, although the programs were intended for "special needs" students, they all benefited greatly from the reading and math program that we used.

I realized that if I wanted to be an educator, I better learn how to meet the needs of all students, regardless of IEP or disability classification. That's how I ended up in grad school for kids with learning disabilities.

On the post grad work, I have very mixed feelings: first, in order to teach (permanently) in NYC schools, you need to have a MA (right, Nicole?). So, there isn't much choice with going back to school, but there are many ways to do it.

After college, and those first few years out, many of my friends were going back to grad school and I kept saying I wanted to wait and see; to be sure I really wanted to teach before I got myself into it...But then when I decided to go back, I started in a different program at Hunter College and then hated it. I'm finally completing this program at Teacher's College part-time (3+ years) so I can teach full-time during the day.

Ultimately, I needed to go back to school to get certified to teach, but the three of us are old for our program-right, ladies? Many, if not most, people at TC go back to grad school right away and they are significantly younger, so that affects the kinds of conversations/experiences we have there.

I dont know what advice I would give per se because I don't wish, necessarily, that I went back to grad school right away-wouldn't have known necessarily that I wanted to be a teacher then-but it's hard. As a teacher, we are paying a lot of money to go to TC and the financial payoff isn't much. It's not like we are in a career where our salary increases significantly when you have a higher degree; the way it is for say, people in business and law. Hands down, I'm a better, more thoughtful, reflective teacher than I was before-because of my grad studies.

NICOLE (last name withheld): I definitely share the same sentiments as you two. I have found myself involved in education for the sole purpose of making societal changes. I have been teaching for eight years, am 33 years old and work at P.S. 287 in Fort Greene, Brooklyn. I began teaching in San Francisco, Calif. I've always worked in Title 1 schools because I want to center my work in the "marginalized" communities of America; the innocent children of America who don't get an opportunity to make the choices that their lives put them into: violence, crime, poverty and, overall, the struggles of being a part of a community that is oppressed. I know it sounds so corny, but I really mean it.

I see so many other educators around me look with disdain at the children. In fact, I think they hate them and the community in which they live. I have so much love for my children that I work for that I wish I could give them everything.

Teaching, the gift of reading, writing and speaking is what I can give in my capacity.

It's been an interesting experience being at TC with hypothetical teachers and quite annoying at other times. We are the ones reflecting on the practice, the system and the injustices that come along with it. I don't quite understand what pre-service teachers think about it all, you mentioned that it's just theoretical and that worries me. For us, with our experience, we can see the daily injustices of the education system so the theoretical reading helps us to re-frame our thinking.

We can go back everyday and apply the reading in the real world. It has been an incredible experience. I never thought that graduate school would transform my teaching and me as a person so much. I have new visions of what education should be, but this is problematic.

Ceciel, you mentioned how grad school has been the place for intellectual stimulation, and there is no doubt that it has stretched my thinking in new directions. But the problem is now that I do not fit into the "medical" model, the traditional teaching of my school and thus, I feel intellectually isolated.

The reality is that, as an educator who works in an oppressed area, I went to an Ivy League school, I learned so much that I no longer fit into the school environment. This has left a desire in me to move on. So, essentially, going to TC has created the potential of a good teacher leaving a school that needs a teacher like me.

I hope this is making sense. It worries me. How do we remain in our schools with so much new vision and hope for a transformative, critical pedagogy when our coworkers and administrators can't even speak the language we do?

I have been at TC for two years and not one person on my staff has looked to me for advice. I'm not saying I'm the best teacher of the staff, but when one of your staff members attends the second best graduate school of the country, you'd think that others would look to you for answers. I am not appreciated, nor am I intellectually challenged at my school.

So why do I stay? Because I love my kids, and they need me for at least another year. But then I must consider leaving. It's sad that schools are just workplaces; they're not sites of research, best practices or even professionalism.

I have worked in four different schools (the others were in San Francisco), and this is the most intellectually deprived school I have yet to work in. I think this is a dilemma of going to grad school. What do you then do with the knowledge you have gained? Who will listen? Who will join your crusade for change? Who will believe you when you speak of hegemonic practices within your school?

Every time I read for class, I think to myself and write notes in the margins about ideas that apply to my school, ways that we, as a staff could apply the theory, but I don't bother because no one listens, no one sees the problem.

Our school has tested well, and that's all that matters. It doesn't matter that all the families are being evicted from the projects, or the violence, or the struggle of our children and families to survive in poverty. No one cares. I can't stand it.

My anguish is the result of going to grad school at TC. I've learned too much. I guess there's truth in the saying: "ignorance is bliss." I also worry about finishing TC and losing that part of my life that has challenged me, transformed me and provided an intellectually stimulating environment for which to grow as an educator and individual.

I've already begun to think of how I could continue on for doctoral studies, but time and money make it seem impossible.

CECIEL: Nicole, I'm feeling way inspired after hearing your thoughts on children. I guess my experience with post-grad work has left me feeling bothered/frustrated by the inequities in the education system. What you said reminded me of the responsibilities and joys that come with being an educator. But to further the discussion about my own education, I have a similar experience as Christina: It took me a long time to decide that I wanted to go to grad school for teaching (going back to school seemed right, but what to study took a while to figure out).

Teacher's college has really met my need for intellectual stimuli (good readings, conversations that helped me develop my voice, professors with academic and/or teaching experience). The philosophy taught in the learning dis/Abilities program has also been life changing. I'm excited that I have the language to discuss the need for all students to receive an equitable, inclusive education, no matter what learning struggle they may have. I also appreciate being able to argue for the responsibility of teachers, administrators, the education "system" to ensure that students are given all and any instruction that they need.

On a less positive side, there were moments in which the "Ivy Leagueness" of this school stood out in an abrasive way. A few examples: many of our fellow students are young and from wealthy backgrounds, our tuition is very expensive, some programs are not flexible with their students who work full-time.

For those beginning or continuing their studies as an adult, I guess I would explain my experience as extremely demanding (emotionally, mentally and physically) but also a real gift (I loved learning with a community and on my own).

Having loving friends and family and knowing when to give myself a break is a huge part of my success, as well as the laughs (and complaints) I've shared with my peers (especially you both, Christina and Nicole!) during this last year of the program.

CHRISTINA: Love all around ladies. I am so thankful to have the opportunity to be able to go to graduate school and to be challenged academically in a way that constantly questions my beliefs (and behavior) as an educator. This conversation makes me wonder about the difference between being an educator and being a teacher...That would be a good one for the train ride home. Hmm.... I feel very lucky to have had a post-grad experience (academically at TC, emotionally with my friends and peers in the program, with other educators and my experiences teaching in the classroom) that I think makes me a very reflective teacher, or (in a good way) an obsessive one. The program reminds me that, for our children and families, it's certainly not the disability or the label that is important, it's how we, as educators, respond to that label.

Not only is it how we best meet the needs of our kids and their families, but it's how we constantly challenge our students to think about the world, beyond the classroom. One frustrating part of post-grad work, especially at TC, is making sure it connects to the real world.

I think, for us already as educators, the grad work helps support my experiences in the classroom, or re-frame them. For those grad students who have never taught before, I imagine it's quite "academic" and theoretical. But I feel blessed to have the opportunity to constantly connect the theory with the practice. Alright, this has been great. Gotta go ladies!