Submitted by Leslie Harrits, Sep 17, 2007 16:36

The Teaching Fellows Program attracts a population of young people who have been supported and nurtured every day of their lives by parents, teachers, coaches and mentors to succeed at one thing: education--specifically, higher education. They HAVE succeeded at education; indeed, they have never known failure. They have never considered that it was the support they received, not their inherent superiority, that allowed them the success they have known. They enter the NYC Schools planning to enlighten it, and encounter two things they had never considered: 1) students who have not been nurtured to succeed at school since the day they were born, and 2) the possibility of their own failure. How could they fail? They are they! It must be someone's fault. They blame the school, the students, principal, the parents, their fellow teachers, the Teaching Fellows Program, anyone but themselves. Teaching in an urban school demands vast resources of intelligence, creativity, patience, and devotion. True urban teachers never give up. Whether or not they master it quickly, all true urban teachers understand that it will be a lifetime process of continual learning and continual growth. It will involve reflection and a humble spirit. The Teaching Fellows program need not be discontinued, or lengthened, but it should stop looking for academic superstars and start looking for people who love learning, love students, are ready to risk failure, and are in it for the long haul. It should stop telling them how great they are, and start preparing them for the realities of dealing with underpriveleged young lives.

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