Somebody from my class quit Teacher Corps earlier this week. It would be very easy to sit here and bash that person, but it would also be a waste of time. Not really much that can be done now but hope that the district can fill her position before school begins in two (!) weeks.

Perhaps it took a bevy of courage to leave the program, perhaps it would have taken more courage to stay. I don't know. I can't tell you what this girl was thinking. I do know that the people I most respect stick things out when they hit a rough patch. Best advice I ever received: "The true mark of a man is how he reacts when everything around him is falling apart." Then again, I know from experience that those helping others must always be mindful of their own feelings and desires; if they don't fully believe in the task at hand they will not perform as well as they should or could. This fact certainly holds in regards to those people working with children; a kid can see through your bullsh*t quicker than anyone.

As for the person who left, I can't say I knew her well, or really at all. She did not seem to make a concerted effort to integrate herself into the Teacher Corps Class of 2006. There was a certain social awkwardness displayed by this young woman from day one. I think you could make an argument that this occurrence is good evidence pointing toward the need for interviews in the selection process, but perhaps such a connection would be an example of me seizing on a singular situation that proves my point. Regardless, I hope all works out well for her, but mostly I hope the kids whom she was scheduled to teach this year are assigned a teacher that will excite them, inspire them, challenge them, and do a better job than this young woman would have.