Student achievement outweighs obstacles
I am writing in response to the article about my involvement
with Teach for America (“New Teachers Overcome Obstacles:
Marjorie Clark,” News, June 1). First, I am concerned about
how it portrayed my role in an inner city school and the students
there. Are the students tough? Definitely. Have I had a few call me
names? Sure. But most of them are great individuals. Most of them
do not engage in the egregious behaviors described. My students
have met many of the high expectations I’ve set for them this
year.
Second, my problems with Teach for America were exaggerated.
While we only have four formal observations per year, we are
supported formally and informally in a variety of other ways. I did
not use that support system early in the year. That things got a
lot better in the spring was partly due to support from other corps
members as well as staff.
Teach for America is the type of program pushing the type of
social change that I advocate.
Marjorie Clark
Teach for America
Diversity issues serve entire campus
The article “Diversity key to Students First!”
(News, May 30) only begins to describe the meaningful work that
Students First! does. Yes, it focuses on issues regarding equal
access for underrepresented communities. Yes, its candidates and
supporters often come from cultural organizations and projects
working on outreach to minority high school students.
This does not mean that their platforms only serve minority
students and cultural organizations. We all benefit from having a
diverse campus, learning from one another, and sharing our varying
experiences. Students First! does the entire campus a favor by
critically analyzing admissions policies and pushing for fair
access to the university.
Focusing on diversity means addressing an issue that affects
campus life itself, but also has far-reaching influence into
communities beyond just UCLA. It means addressing substantial,
critical problems of institutional inequality.
Lizzy Keegan
Second-year, sociology