What is Teach for America?
It is a nonprofit organization that trains and recruits college graduates to teach for at least two years in under-resourced urban and rural K-12 public and charter Schools. Sunflower County Consolidated School District has been a house cite for several teachers. Some current Alumni in our district are Dr. Wendy Mann, and Ms. Katisha Limehouse. This year TFA hosted their Summer Summit here at Gentry High School, where the Media Team had the opportunity to be their media team for the day.
Learn more here:
Conference Review from Co-Editor Adison Jones
My name is Adison Jones, and I am a co-editor of the media team. Today, I had the most amazing experience at the Teach For America conference. They allowed us to take plenty of pictures, videos, interviews, and headshots, which was great for exposure. This was my first time ever hearing about Teach For America, and for my first experience, I loved everything about it. I would not change the opportunity I had to attend for anything in the world.
There were so many amazing and kind teachers there, and I learned a lot about the different things they do to help themselves become better teachers. Seeing them engage, participate, and try to make a difference was wonderful. Personally, I had an amazing experience in Room 102, where the sessions focused on “From Chaos to Calm” and “Elementary PLC,” taught by two amazing women.
The first session talked about how to become a teacher who has patience and how to respond when a child may upset you. One of the main points was, “Don’t yell; talk to them calmly because you never know what a child is going through.” The teacher also explained the importance of pulling a student to the side and speaking to them in a soft, calm voice. I thought this was very important because children may be dealing with things that we do not know about, and reacting with anger may make the situation worse.
The second session focused on different ways to grab students’ attention, fun activities to do with them, and different scenarios teachers may face in the classroom. One of the scenarios was about having a girl who was shy and did not like participating in group activities. One person suggested greeting her and speaking to her in a welcoming teacher voice. When it came to the group activities, another suggestion was to allow her to work by herself or at least with one person she feels comfortable with. This showed me that teachers have to understand that every child is different and may need different approaches.
The session also helped teachers discuss struggles they may have in their classrooms. For example, one teacher explained that she was struggling to get her students to be quiet. At her school, there were no punishments, awards, recess, or parental support to help with discipline. The woman leading the session suggested creating classroom rules and finding positive ways to motivate students. She explained that children want to talk, especially when they do not have much time to do so, so teachers could reward good behavior by giving students time to talk. Students who do not follow the rules could have appropriate consequences.
I completely understand how difficult it can be to get children’s attention, especially when one teacher is responsible for an entire classroom. Having little or no parental support can make it even harder because students need consistency and guidance both at school and at home. This experience helped me understand how important patience, communication, and understanding are when working with younger students.
Overall, I loved everything about Teach For America. I am a 17-year-old high school student, and this was my first time attending a conference like this. I can honestly say that I would attend again if I had the opportunity. From my first experience, I noticed that this program has honestly helped and impacted the community in so many ways. I can see how much it helps teachers, and I would encourage many more teachers to join the program, especially if they need encouragement, support, or guidance in their teaching journey.
This experience was not only educational, but it also gave me a new perspective on how much work and dedication it takes to become a great teacher. I am grateful that I had the opportunity to attend, learn, participate, and experience something new.
Staff Experience
My experience with the Teach for America Conference was amazing. I think it was an awesome opportunity for me to grow and develop as a photographer while also making many connections and meeting so many new people. Being able to sit in and learn from people who have more experience than me was very fun and eye opening, and I really enjoyed listening to their ideas, and advice. Seeing the teachers interact with one another and learn from each other was also very interesting because it showed me how important collaboration and building connections is. I really enjoyed being in the Humanities section with Ms. Kenya Clark because the topics they were discussing were very similar to what I plan on majoring in. Being able to learn more about a subject that Im already interested in made the experience even more fun for me. Overall, working with teach for America allowed me to step outside of my comfort zone because I started out being shy, I got to learn new things and I am grateful that I was able to be a part of this experience, I believe the connections and knowledge I gained will continue to help me as I grow.
~Daziyah Applewhite
TFA Interviews
Event Photos
Behind the Scenes: Food
Thank you to Dolche Cafe (Indianola, MS) and Southern Satisfaction (Moorhead, MS) for the coffee and food served.
Behind the Scenes: Headshots
Jakara Kemp had the opportunity to take headshots for everyone in attendance at the conference. She was nervous at first but as the day went on she opened up and approached attendees by introducing herself and asking if they wanted to take headshots. As they posed for headshots she had the opportunity to meet people from various grade-levels and schools. Daziyah Applewhite assisted her with preparing attendees for headshots.
This was a great opportunity. I met with so many people and got to tell them about my goals after graduation. If I had the opportunity to do something like this again, I would.
~~Jakara Kemp
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