NYCTF articles we have to read...

Some more on the NYCTF interview process.

We were given two articles to read.

The first article (available here) was a hit piece on the NYCTF program and on teaching in NYC in general. Don't bother reading it. I'll sum it up for you: TEACHING IS AWFUL! DON'T DO IT! YOU'LL END UP CURLED UP IN A FETAL BALL, CRYING, CURSING MANKIND....

... that was the basic gist of the article.

I'm not going to say that I think teaching will be easy. I'm positive it will be absolutely strenuous and it will take years ... YEARS ... to really figure out what the hell I'm doing. That said, I think the subject of this article was, oh .. I dunno .. perhaps a little too emotionally unsound to be going into teaching, and maybe a little nutter-butters? Some people just aren't meant to teach -- she strikes me as one of those people.

But I shouldn't let hubrous get the best of me. This is all like someone without kids saying, "What's the big deal? Raising kids is easy!" I could very well end up curled up in a fetal ball, crying, cursing mankind. And when I do, I will absolutely link back to THIS post as proof of what a moron I am.

The second article (available here) is the exact opposite. It's all about how teaching is inspirational and wonderful and, though full of setbacks and various ebbs-n-flows, is just like in the movies, and you're Michelle Puh-Feiffer.

Neither of these articles is overly illuminating. I wonder why people think that, in trying to hash out an issue, putting up to extreme examples of thoughts on that issue is a good idea. Teaching is likely neither of these two things, but somewhere in the middle.

I'm guessing, based on these articles, there's going to be some group discussions at the interview where we have to talk about the hardships of teaching and how we think we'll deal with them, etc. I'm feeling pretty good about having to have a discussion about that, especially with the chance that I may be having it with a bunch of young'ins who've never been out from under Daddy's waistcoat, haven't worked full-time while going to school at night, haven't budgeted their expenses, paid rent/mortgages, planned a wedding, and on and on and on.

Ewww .. that came off as a little snarky. But really, i think that to a 23-24-25 year old, teaching will seem brutle and unbearingly strenuous.

That's all for now -- next big date is just around the corner. I find out on Monday if I advanced to the in-person interview stage for Teach for America.