Tuesday, November 19, 1996
OOUTREACH:
Beth Antunez, member of national teacher corps, recounts her
experienceBy Lena Hicks
Daily Bruin Contributor
Twenty-two-year-old Beth Antunez and her third grade class begin
their weekday mornings at Tibby Elementary School at 8:00. The day
ahead at the Compton school includes journal writing, language
arts, math, and other academic activities.
"What we’re doing now in math is counting money. We start times
tables in January," Antunez said.
Antunez, a 1996 UCLA sociology graduate, has hopes of one day
obtaining a master’s degree in educational policy. But presently,
she dedicates her time as an elementary bilingual teacher, a
position she received through the Teach for America program.
Teach for America began in 1990, through the vision of Princeton
University graduate Wendy Kopp. In 1994, the program became a
component of AmeriCorps, a domestic Peace Corps initiated by the
Clinton administration. Teach for America’s purpose lies in
education  it seeks to give children in neglected school
systems a chance to learn.
"Teach for America is the national teacher corps of recent
college graduates from diverse backgrounds, who commit to teach for
two years in our nation’s most under-resourced, teacher-shortage,
urban and rural public schools," said Greg Good, the executive
director of Teach for America’s Los Angeles headquarters.
Antunez heard about the program during her freshman year at
UCLA. During her senior year, she attended an information fair and
gained more insight on the program. Soon after, she made Teach for
America one of her post-graduation options.
"I didn’t know that this was an option  teaching right out
of college. The whole ideology of being able to make a difference
… was appealing," she said.
The selection process begins with an application, consisting of
three letters of recommendation, two essays, and an academic
transcript. The interview also weighs heavily on the selection
process, in which the applicant gives a five-minute sample teaching
session. The program receives 3,000 applications a year, but only
accepts 500 of the those, Antunez said.
Once she was accepted into the program, Antunez attended a
five-week training session in order to prepare for the approaching
school year in the fall. Although teachers state their preferences,
the program decides on their nationwide locations.
"L.A. wasn’t my first choice," said Antunez, who is a native of
Southern California. Although she had preferred the East Coast, she
now feels fortunate to be so near home.
"It’s good to have a support network that’s close by … to have
my family and friends," she said.
The hiring school districts determine the amount of pay given to
the teachers, said Kelly Kane, the program director of Teach for
America’s Los Angeles headquarters.
"They’re paid the same as any other first-year teacher," Kane
said.
Kane expressed that along with a regular salary, teachers
receive an extension on loans through the AmeriCorps program.
"They are able to receive forbearance of federal loans for each
term of service with AmeriCorps," she said.
The maximum period of eligibility of forbearance and service
through AmeriCorps is two years. However, participation in Teach
for America is indefinite, Kane said.
"People can stay on and teach as long as they want," she said.
"Fifty percent stay on to teach for a third year."
In addition to its many benefits for just graduated students,
many Teach for America volunteers agree that being a teacher for
the program poses a challenging task, considering that the school
environments rest in underprivileged areas.
"Teaching in the South Bronx, or the Mississippi Delta, or
Compton is extremely challenging. Our corps members teach in the
toughest, most difficult schools in the country," Good said.
Antunez faces her own challenges in her third grade class. She
speaks Spanish, but is not fluent. Although many of her students
are bilingual, some have difficulty with the English language.
"It’s much easier for me to speak in English than in Spanish,"
she said. "So that’s a challenge for me."
But through the obstacles, Antunez is able to find contentment
in what she does as a teacher.
"No matter how bad the day is, there is always a kid who does
something amazing  the light bulb suddenly comes on in their
heads," said Antunez, currently working on her teaching credentials
at Cal State Dominguez Hills. "I’ve only done it for two months and
I love it.
Although Antunez finds happiness in her work, some question why
she would want to work in a community such as Compton.
"I’ve gotten so many reactions. ‘You teach where?’ or ‘Why are
you doing that?’ The stereotypes are because people have never been
here," she said.
But many like Antunez are aware that a shortage of teachers
exists and education is undervalued. At Tibby Elementary, more
books and classrooms are greatly needed, especially for the five
third grade and nine first grade classes at Tibby, Antunez
said.
"Sometimes these kids haven’t been encouraged to learn in
school, haven’t been encouraged to learn to read, and haven’t been
exposed to the value of education. And that’s what I think I can
offer them," she said.
Two components of the Teach for America program are to mitigate
very desperate teacher shortages and to create a generation of
leaders for tomorrow, Good said. He feels that through the program,
teachers grow personally as well as skillfully.
"They become a part of a large, national movement … a single
vision. They also benefit from taking on what will be the greatest
challenge they’ll ever face," he said. "You have to figure out how
to inspire 30 people everyday, and that’s an amazing skill."
Late last week, arts and crafts releasing color and imagination
covered Antunez’ third grade classroom. On one side of the
classroom hung a quilt made out of construction paper occupied by
drawn rainbows, houses, hearts, trees and suns. Above the quilt,
read ‘Nuestra Colcha’ or ‘Our Quilt’.
"I read a story about a quilt in Spanish. Every person made a
square. Each square shows something that’s important to them,"
Antunez said.
At age 22, Antunez does not know exactly what lies in her
future. But today, she finds fulfillment in helping to better the
education for young people.
"It’s such an opportunity for me to grow as an individual, to
grow as a person  to actually do something for the first time
in my life that is actually real," she said. "I just hope to be
able to say that I am a good teacher and that I’m making a
difference."
GENEVIEVE LIANG
Beth Antunez, a 1996 graduate from UCLA, now volunteers
full-time for Teach for America, part of the AmeriCorps service
programs tree, at Tibby Elementary School.