Education majors aren't the only students joining together to teach across America with the Teach for America program that gives underprivileged children the educational opportunities of higher income families.
Teach for America is an organization that invites college seniors, graduate students and transitioning professionals to apply for the program and teach in some of the nation's lowest income communities in an attempt to solve educational inequality.
"Our mission is that one day all children in our country will have the opportunity to get an excellent education," said Steven Sheffield, campus campaign coordinator for the organization at Auburn. "We give these people the opportunity to provide educations to students who don't have those opportunities because of a low income background."
In America, income levels determine the schools that children go to and often discrepancies can be seen in the academic experiences between higher and lower income families, according to the recruiting manager, Miles McCauley.
"These statistics happening all across America are an outrage, so Teach for America is dedicated to ending that inequity through two ways," McCauley said. "Part one: we are finding empowered young leaders on college campuses across the country that are invested in this idea, and have a proven track record of results and leadership regardless of what their major is."
Part two, McCauley said, is working toward change that these students will then become part of the alumni movement after teaching. McCauley said these alumni will then be life-long advocates for education reform no matter where they are.
"We have seven competencies that we are looking for," McCauley said. "We are looking for strong academic achievement, proven evidence of leadership, belief in the capability that all students can achieve the ability to build relationships across lines of difference, perseverance in the face of challenges and strong organizational ability."
Akilah Williams, junior in business, said she learned about Teach for America as a sophomore and has been thinking about it ever since.
"I really do want to do it. I love the entire concept about it," Williams said. "I love the idea of taking students who are interested and putting them into areas that are lacking resources and just teachers in general. But on multiple occasions I have heard that their tests, like their entry tests, are really hard."
The application process starts with a one page resume and a 500-word letter of intent. Step two is a thirty minute phone interview, and then step three is an online critical thinking activity. An in-person interview completes the process.
"It's a pretty rigorous, yet informative, application process," Sheffield said. "We have five application windows throughout the academic year. Each application process is identical and you can apply at TeachforAmerica.org."
Although the process to get in might be tough, Sheffield said the students who have worked with Teach for America find it a great experience that helped them learn a lot about themselves.
"They say they love it," Sheffield said. "They are the first to admit that there are a lot of challenges within the classroom, especially for students who don't have an education background, but they say they love it. They love working with their students."
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