The World Race has been over for a little more than a month now, and I finally find myself throwing toilet paper in the toilet instead of the trashcan, which is a pretty big step. The habit has been broken – I’m transitioning back into the American way of living. I do still brush my teeth in a different way though – I hardly use any water, which was a skill I trained myself to use on the World Race. A few other oddities linger – the other day when I walked into the grocery store I was still surprised that everything was in English. But that’s about it. I don’t think about the ministries we worked with as much, and I hardly find myself thinking about my squad mates anymore – everything used to remind me of them. It makes me sad that I don’t think of them often anymore, but I know it’s a good thing. Moving on.
So what am I moving onto? What is my next step after this mission trip around the world? There are a few things I’ve thought about doing – leading a World Race squad or a Real Life trip, being an apprentice for the World Race, or Teach for America. When praying and thinking about what’s next for me, the option I can’t get out of my head is Teach for America. It’s been on my mind for three years, but only now do I feel it is time to go for it.
Teach for America compares itself to the Peace Corps. It hires the “best and the brightest” recent college graduates to teach in the low-income schools with the hopes of eliminating educational inequity.
I am not the best or the brightest. In 2005 TFA was the postgraduate program of choice for the elite of America’s top universities. But even then, two-thirds of Ivy Leaguers didn’t make the cut. A recent NY Times article said that, “getting into the nation’s top law schools and grad programs could be easier than being accepted for a starting teaching job with Teach for America.” We’re talking graduates from Harvard, Yale, Princeton – TFA didn’t hire them, so why would they hire me?
I believe they will because God is calling me to TFA, and when I get hired it will be because of him – not me. I am clearly under qualified for this kind of position, so I can’t act like it was anything I did. All glory, honor, and power belongs to him, amen.
To be honest, I’m not sure what would throw me off more: not being accepted to TFA…or being accepted. I’m reading a book right now that follows the lives of four first-year TFA recruits, and it sounds hard. It sounds draining, frustrating, and almost cruel. At one point the writer compares the TFA experience to that of being thrown into pressure cooker – oh wait, we used to say the same thing about the World Race. If I can do the World Race, I have hopes that I can survive Teach for America.
I’m going to apply with the faith that I will get accepted, and if I don’t then I’ll reevaluate my future plans. Perhaps I’ll lead a World Race team after all, who knows. I’ll be sure to keep you posted, but not on this blog. I am officially moving over to this blog site. That doesn’t mean I won’t post a thing or two on here, but my main ramblings will take place elsewhere. It’s been good, but it’s time to move on.
