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Doing Whatever It Takes as a First Year Teach For America Corps Member

January 22, 2010 by Jeremy Jones

Dan Pierce's Classroom Eight months ago I was studying in an immunology lab with PhD’s, attending fraternity parties, and getting ready for my college graduation in Virginia. Today, I am teaching Punnett squares to thirteen year olds, sending out RSVPs to professional development meetings, and holding tutorials after school so that my students can do well on unit exams. In a short time, my life has completely changed.

Before applying to Teach For America in December of my Senior year, I spoke with plenty of current Corps Members and Alumni. No matter the region, no matter the grade level or subject, they all had the same thing to say to me, “It is the hardest thing I have ever done in my life.” At the time, I thought that there was no way this statement could be true. My vision of a teacher’s life was much different than the current reality.

I arrived in Houston on June 4^th for TFA’s summer institute, ready to begin my new life. I was in a state that I had never visited before and surrounded by people whom I have never met, yet I was excited. At the registration table I received an envelope with my teaching assignment: 7^th Grade Science at YES Prep. I had received an e-mail with this information a couple of months previous, but still wasn’t sure what YES Prep was all about. From my searches online I knew a couple of things: 1. YES Prep was a charter school, and 2. All (100%) of graduating seniors had to be accepted to a four year college. The latter part seemed particularly awesome, but I still wasn’t sure what to expect.

After completing summer institute, exhausted and optimistic, I had only a few days before I would visit my new school for the first time. 100 percent every day I quickly learned that YES Prep was a different kind of school. YES Prep is a place where nothing less than 100% effort is accepted – from the students and teachers alike. In fact, this can be observed on the two signs posted in every classroom: “Whatever It Takes” and “100% Every Day.”

Although I don’t experience the same problems that other TFA Corps Members face at their respective placement schools, working at YES Prep is by no means easy – and it’s not meant to be. Getting all of our students to college isn’t an easy proposition. While my friends at other schools complain about discipline issues, lack of student involvement, and low attendance rates, I have my own challenges. As I said before, the first thing that I see when I walk into my classroom at 6:30am is the big green sign saying, “Whatever It Takes.” This means staying after school until 6:00 to help Hector, who doesn’t understand how offspring inherit genes from their parents, or skipping lunch to help Destiny, Jaime, and Alex work on their biome poster project. Sure, the hours at YES Prep may be longer, and you may have to plan a little bit harder, but you get out what you put in. I know that my students really want to be there. I also know that my coworkers value the work that I am doing in my classroom.

Aside from classroom instruction, I have had many other opportunities to become involved with the students and the staff. During the fall semester I was the YES Prep Southwest wiffleball coach, teaching the fine art of swinging a plastic bat at a perforated ball every Tuesday and Thursday. On one weekend, I got to take high school students camping and a month later I found myself in Phoenix, conversing with Bill Nye at a National Science Teachers Association conference. YES Prep is full of options to increase both your involvement with the students as well as your professional abilities.

Eight months ago I packed up my truck and moved 1400 miles to a city I’ve never been to, to teach at a school I knew very little about. This was certainly a gamble, but I couldn’t be happier. Whenever friends and family approach me and ask about my new life, I tell them how lucky I am to be at a school like YES Prep. YES Prep is my new home now, where we give 100% every day and do whatever it takes.

Dan Pierce and Bill Nye Daniel Pierce is a 7th Grade Science teacher at YES Prep Southwest. Dan is a graduate of William & Mary College in Virginia where he studied Biology and Chemistry. He is a 2009 Teach For America Houston Corps Member.