OXFORD, Miss. - With the final banquet on Friday, Jul 21, the Mississippi Teacher Corps summer training officially ended. “This is the most prepared class we have ever had,” said Dr. Germain McConnell, the MTC Co-Director. The summer banquet was held at The Downtown Grill.

(MTC Class of 2006)

Jamilia Alexander, a first-year placed at Lanier High School in Jackson, began new teacher induction Jul 24. “Visiting the classroom made me more excited about the upcoming year,” said Ms. Alexander. “If teaching is anything like the experience I had in Holly Springs [Summer School, where she completed her student teaching], I think that I will genuinely enjoy it.”

Reflecting on the MTC summer training, Mary Davenport is impressed with her fellow MTC classmates.  Says Davenport, a first-year placed in Greenwood, “Maybe the enthusiasm will dwindle as the real school year goes on, but this summer, it was so wonderful and exciting to see so many young people who care about kids, and care about education, choosing to teach.”

As members of the Class of 2006 gear up for the upcoming school year, their excitement grows.  “I can't wait,” says first-year Ashley Johnson. “I just hope that I can make a difference in a student's life. I can't wait for this new adventure to begin.”

(The Downtown Grill)

Johnson’s sentiments are not unique.  Jeremy Fiel, a first-year who will be teaching in Greenwood with Davenport and Johnson, is also excited.  “Teaching seems like it can be exhausting and exasperating,” he says, “but I definitely feel like it's worth it, and I'm looking forward to my own classes in the fall.”

The new teachers are anxious to start work.  Despite admonishments of long hours and ate nights, members of the MTC Class of 2008 are “as ready and [we] could be.”  Comments Alexander: “I have no doubt this will be a tough job; but, I am ready to take on the task.”

These new teachers remain optimistic, holding fast to their high expectations for their students and themselves.  Stuart Wulsin, a first-year placed in Greenville, remarks, “I expect my students to do better on their standardized tests than previous students at the same school; I expect more of them to go on to college than previously at the school; and I expect them to know more math and care more about the world than previously.  I will have succeeded if that is true.”

(Throw Your "M's" Up)

At the same time, however, Wulsin’s optimism is rooted in realism.  Comments Wulsin on his new career:  “Teach math. that is what I am responsible for, and that is what I must focus on at first. Once I can do that, I can move on to inspiring excitement in the material, encouraging exploration, building relationships, and other things that good teachers do. For now, I just need my students to know how to solve math problems.”

“So training is officially over and we're now left to fend for ourselves until we reconvene in about a month,” reflects Landon Pollard, who will be teaching with Alexander at Lanier.  “Am I scared? Damn straight. I think I've subconsciously been avoiding having to confront the reality of my situation.”  Facing his fears head on, Pollard says, “I feel I'm prepared. And I'm confident in my abilities.”

(Dr. Andy Mullins Speaks to the Class of 2006)

“I'm both terrified and excited,” says Fiel.  “I was made aware that our first meeting is August 1, and our kids start classes on Aug 3, giving us one workday to prepare. Yay. I guess I'll start doing stuff tomorrow [Jul 14] to get ready for the fall.  This is going to be a hell of an experience, probably in both good and bad ways. I can't wait.”

Story by Molly Goldwasser, MT Summer Intern 2006

The Mississippi Teacher Corps is the most competitive alternate-route teaching program in the country. It is a two-year program that recruits recent college graduates to teach in critical-shortage areas in the Mississippi Delta, in exchange for a full scholarship for a master's degree in curriculum and instruction from the University of Mississippi. The program was founded in 1989 by Amy Gutman, a Harvard University graduate student, and Dr. Andy Mullins, then Special Assistant to the State Superintendent of Education. Since 1989 more than 350 participants, reaching an estimated 70,000 students, have taught in critical-needs school districts as part of the Mississippi Teacher Corps.

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