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(Everything on this page is not TFA's thoughts but my own. )
Please be patient with the development of this page. I hope this can become an excellent resource for prospective applicants and current corps members. I am currently a first year corps member. I am teaching 6th grade at Attucks Middle School in Houston, Texas. I grew up in Houston, therefore the transition of moving has not been very difficult. However, the 100+ Houston corps is made up of members from all across the country. So, you want to know what TFA is all about? Well, let me begin by saying that this job is incredibly difficult. I mean it is BEYOND difficult. I never imagined how much I would have to give of myself to become the teacher that my students need. I wake up around 5:30 get ready and in all likelihood I will have a handout or test that I need to Xerox, so I have to race to Office Depot by 7am (cheaper than Kinko's) to make 50 copies for my students and race off to school at 8:00a. On Mondays my lesson plans for the entire week are due (that is 15 lesson plans) and if you are not familiar with lesson plans - you will be very soon. I teach my morning classes with flair and enjoy lunch with fellow teachers or the silence of my classroom. If I feel motivated I may grade papers but that seldom happens because that process gives me a migraine. Around 1:30 I teach my afternoon social studies lesson and the day ends at 3:30........or at least I though it would when I got this job. I have tutorials M-W until 5:00 and I am able to work with students who need extra help or simply need to make up their work. On Thursdays I have graduate class until 8:15p. and Fridays I am in bed by 9:00. I try to get to bed by 10, but that seldom ever happens. I have yet to figure to how I am supposed to balance healthy living, but I am attempting to visit the gym tomorrow after school for metabolic boost. Teaching puts the "freshmen 15" to shame. : ) Anyway, I grade what seems like thousands of papers, read four novels, answer my cell phone to field homework questions and write loads of worksheets, quizzes and exams. However, my students are amazing! They demand so much of me. They wrote research papers based on their novels, Roll of Thunder Hear My Cry, Hatchet and Treasure Island. If you haven't read any of those books, I highly suggest you pick them up. We have some grammar and spelling issues, but we'll take care of it. (See my March newsletter that I sent home to parents.) I don't think I am a very good teacher, but they say that teaching is a process. Master teachers claim it takes five years to really grasp everything you have to do and I agree with that. If you are truly committed to the mission of TFA and you are willing to really give yourself to the teaching profession then I wish you all the best.
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