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My first post was rather brief, so I figured I ought to write a longer, more reflective post that will shed some light on my decision to join TFA as well as my unusual blog title. I had never even heard of Teach For America this time last year. I didn’t even hear about the program until this last fall. I was planning on becoming a teacher, but I figured I would just graduate from college and get my credential. Then, one September day, I was sitting in my school’s cafe with a friend of mine. We were talking about our plans for after graduation. We are both future teachers and he mentioned TFA as something he was considering. I was intrigued. I asked him for some more explanation and he told me that it placed passionate college grads into some of the lowest performing, and therefore highest need, schools. I was sold instantly. The high school that I attended was in one of the poorer neighborhoods of my town and I witnessed, firsthand the vast educational inequality that exists in low-income areas. I was in the International Baccalaureate program, which was placed in the school for the purpose of boosting test scores and bringing in extra funding. While I had some excellent teachers and received an education that made college a breeze, many of the students who were not in the program were treated very differently. My husband and I were high school sweethearts and he was not an IB student. One day, he went to the college counselor, hoping to walk away with a stack of college and scholarship applications. He had made an appointment ahead of time so that he could get the help he needed. He will be the first person in his entire family to earn a bachelor’s degree (he is already the first to hold an associate’s degree.) Instead, he was unceremoniously bumped when an IB student walked in without an appointment and asked if she was busy. Rather than telling the IB student to make an appointment and that she was busy with another student, she handed my husband a junior college application and showed him the door. I am so proud of him because he did not let this get in the way of his determination to receive an education. He has put himself through college and will graduate this spring with a bachelor’s degree in chemistry and an associate’s degree already mounted on the wall next to a pharmacy technician’s certificate. He is currently waiting to hear back about his applications to graduate school where he will earn his doctorate of pharmacy. As you can see, I am incredibly proud of my husband!

There is a point, though. My husband has more determination and drive in his pinky finger than most college students have in their whole bodies. He may not have let this college counselor discourage him, but what about the countless other students who are told that they aren’t good enough to go to college. I do have to say, I love my high school and it has made a point to try to higher well-qualified teachers, but they cannot completely eradicate long-standing prejudices that lead people to make assumptions about the kids that come from “those areas.” The low expectations that are held for many students from low-income neighborhoods just perpetuates the idea that the students cannot succeed, which can so badly hurt the students that they give up. When I heard about Teach For America, I knew that I wanted to be a part of a team that is really making a difference in the lives of students. I want to be an agent for educational reform, and I am proud to be a corps member of 2010.

Now, as promised, here is an explanation of my blog title “98 3/4%”

One of my favorite books as a child (and now) is “Oh The Places You’ll Go” by Dr. Seuss. I have always loved it because it takes an optimistic, yet realistic stance and encourages the reader to shoot for the stars. In the final pages, 98 3/4 % is the guarantee of success followed by the promise that you will move mountains. I’d say 98 3/4% is a pretty strong guarantee of success, and I know that there is a 100% chance that I will push that mountain with every ounce of determination that I have.