Alumna of the Month: Elizabeth Savage
Elizabeth Savage, MTC Class of 2005
The Mississippi Teacher Corps Alumna of the Month is Elizabeth Savage. Elizabeth is a member of the Mississippi Teacher Corps (MTC) Class of 2005 (MTC designates classes by year entered, not completed). You can read Elizabeth’s blog here.
Where are you from? Where did you go to school? Where and what did you teach?
I was born and raised in Portland, Oregon. I attended Wesleyan University in Middletown, Connecticut. I spent two years in Cameroon, West Africa, as a Peace Corps Volunteer. In 2005, I joined Teacher Corps. I taught English IV for two years at Gentry High School. Gentry is in Indianola, Mississippi, a small town in the Mississippi Delta.
What have you been doing since the Mississippi Teacher Corps?
Since Teacher Corps, I’ve been teaching at the Academy of the Sacred Heart in New Orleans. New Orleans is a great place to live, and I’m lucky to be here.
Why did you join the Mississippi Teacher Corps:
I joined MTC for the same reason most people do: to make a difference. After Peace Corps, I was waiting tables at an upscale restaurant, making far more than I ever have as a teacher. It was fun, but I felt unfulfilled. To remedy that, I returned to service. In Cameroon, I had been teaching English as a second (or in most cases, third or fourth) language, so I already had some experience in the classroom. As it turns out, joining Teacher Corps was one of the best decisions I ever made.
What was the greatest challenge?
For me, the greatest challenge was dealing with the administration. The students could be a challenge, but at the end of the day, they were just kids. They will do a lot for a teacher who treats them with consistency and respect. I didn’t always find that the same was true of my administration. I encountered excellent administrators during my time at Gentry, but I also encountered a few administrators who didn’t have the students’ best interests at heart. This was painful to see, all the more so because it was so totally out of my hands.
What was the greatest reward?
The greatest reward was witnessing the change in my students over the course of the year. For many students at Gentry High, stability at home was not a reality. Motivating these students was very exciting for me. I could see the results of my hard work on their faces; the deep concentration on a student’s face as she worked on her research paper, the wild-eyed exuberance of the student playing the role of Grendel, the intense stare as a student willed me to call on her, the proud, beaming smile as a student turned in his best work; all of these faces told me that I was doing my job. Every teacher appreciates the responsible, self-motivated students, but I really value the converts, the kids who really make a turnaround. At Gentry, I witnessed moments of epiphany. These moments didn’t happen all of the time: many days I came home exhausted and frustrated. Whenever I saw that love of learning on a child’s face, it made it all worth it. These were the moments when I knew that I was making a difference. These moments made Teacher Corps one of the most rewarding experiences of my life.
How has the Mississippi Teacher Corps impacted your life?
Teacher Corps has changed the way I think about education. As members of the program, we had the advantage of firsthand experience in the field. In class discussions that often continued long after class had ended, we examined the problems faced by teachers and students in public education. We considered the other side of the coin, too: policy, funding, regulation, and all of the challenges faced by local and federal governments. Our guest speakers were among the most influential in the field: current and former State Superintendents, Deans of Schools of Education, policymakers, innovators, and even the former governor shared their thoughts and experiences on this complex and many-layered issue. Teacher Corps gave me a clear picture of some of the problems we face, not only as educators, but as citizens of the United States. I believe that children deserve equal access to high-quality public education. Unfortunately, equal education is not a reality. During my time in Teacher Corps, I was on the front lines of this battle. Now that I’m not teaching the underprivileged, I feel that it’s my responsibility to remain engaged in the struggle. I continue to support equal education with my time, with my money, and with my vote. I bring this issue into my current classroom through facilitating research and dialogue. Because of Teacher Corps, I will continue to fight for equal education. I will never stop making a difference.