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Page 3 • Friday, December 6, 2002
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By Heather Campbell
THE BATTALION
Eric Dickens, a Class of 2001 English major, had planned to
take the corporate route after graduation, but found his true pas
sion in the classroom.
“I had interviews with Dell and IBM and wanted to do
something computer-oriented and go to grad school,” Dickens
said. “But, after I heard about Teach for America, I knew that’s
what 1 wanted to do. I realized I needed to do something with
the fortunate experiences 1 had and I wanted to open doors
for others.”
Dickens, who is in his second year
of teaching ESL (English as a
Second Language) at Cullen
Middle School, said he wants to
make a difference through his
teaching position.
“I teach in the third ward,
which is a low-income area.
It’s a challenging experience,
but someone once said, ’We
got our excellent educa
tion, now it’s our turn to
give it back.’ That’s the
reason 1 joined,” Dickens
said. “The kids I see
everyday were born in a
certain part of town and
just because of that have
limited opportunities.”
According to teach-
foramerica.org, the program
targets ‘outstanding recent
college graduates, of all aca
demic majors, who commit
two years to teach in public
schools in low-income commu
nities.’ Teach for America
allows graduates to defer many col
lege loans during the two years of teaching. In addition, the
organization does not require teaching certification from its
applicants. Instead, those admitted to the Teach for America corp
can obtain certification during their two-year teaching tenure.
Teach for America originated in 1989 when Wendy Kopp,
then a student at Princeton University, established the idea for
Teach for America in her senior thesis and received a seed grant
from Mobil Corp. to get the program started. Since then. Teach
for America has recruited more than 8,000 people to assist in
providing a higher quality of education in public schools.
Jeremy Jones, a junior political science and English major,
knew he wanted to be involved in education. What he didn’t
expect, however, was to become involved while in college.
“I was sitting in class last fall and saw (a sign that read)
‘Teach For America, MSC 230, 7:30pm,’” Jones said. “(I) knew
that I was going to be in the MSC, so I decided to stop by for
some info on the way to my other meeting.”
Jones never made it to his original destination, but he
did leave the Teach for America meeting wanting
to make a difference in public education.
“There were only nine people at the presen-
Aa Bb
LORI GREEN • THE BATTALION
tation, which frustrated me,” Jones said. “With the state of educa
tion in public schools today and the high concentration of leaders
at A&M, I felt like the room should be saturated with movers and
shakers anxious to apply.”
Jones said he expressed his frustrations to Molly Stauffer,
central recruitment director, who hired him as as the Texas
A&M campaign coordinator two weeks later.
Stauffer said she sees Teach for America as a way for Aggies
to give back to the community.
“I know that Texas A&M has a deep commitment to leader
ship and service, and Teach For America will give Aggies a
chance to make an immediate impact in the classroom. (The
program) also sets students up for future success, in whatever
career path they choose,” Stauffer said.
The popularity of the program is ris-
ing. Last year. Teach for America had a
| s 300 percent increase in applicants,
and a 500 percent increase for the
jP first deadline this semester.
Jones said his favorite aspect revolves
around the kids and helping them.
“The program works, and after four-
\ - teen years of service we have seen the
social changes it has created,” he said.
“There are Teach For America alum work
ing in Washington D.C. and in the top graduate
W schools around the nation, not only fulfilling
✓ # their personal aspirations, but working for social
equality as well.”
Yet the giving back is not without challenges.
“It makes everything I’ve done at A&M seem
easy,” Dickens said. “Classes were nothing com
pared to this. The challenge I fall upon most often
is finding a way to motivate kids who haven't been
reached out to. A lot of times, their past teachers have
been there for the wrong reasons and haven't truly want
ed to help them learn.”
For Dickens, however, teaching has been a reward
ing experience.
“It's worked really well for me. I have a lot of good
% relationships with kids and get letters from the ones I
had last year,” Dickens said. “I had a kid who had a
detention today and walked out on me. I have to keep
pushing them and reminding them that I'm not doing
this to be mean but so that they'll do better."
Teach for America is open to all majors and anyone
can apply online at www.teachforamerica.org.
Mtice fo
* - *
The Last MSC Aggie
Night of 2002
Come watch
Aoamo Two Spy
Liqiud Youth
Battle it out in the FINALS of MSC Town Hall's ill ^ fci
In the basement
ALL NIGHT LONG
Battle of the Bands in Rudder Theater
midnight drawing for $250
Show your moves & win S150
for 1st Prize in our
Break Dancing Contest
in the flagroom
Free Billiards
Free Dance
DanceiRevolution
Free Popcorn
«&Socia
Enjoy
(^uttune- ^
presented with MSC ACE
Show your talent & win $150
for 1st Prize in our
Karaoke Contest
in the flagroom
For more information contact 845-1515
Seem* Cr&ftH
————
Show
A&M ID
at
7heck-in
locations
around the
MSC
Friday, December 6 9pm - 1am— In the MSC