The Decision - How to explain to your loved ones that you are not, in fact, crazy

For the most part, I have been on a bullet train into medicine since...well...since before I could remember having any objections to this beaten path. My family expected that the next logical step in the progression would be medical school - because, after all, "you want to be a doctor, don't you?" When I broke the news that I was strongly considering this program, all hell broke loose.

Aside: I want to be clear. My ultimate goal is to go into medicine - it is my dream to work with programs in global health such as Doctors Without Borders. In a way, I believe that I will be teaching, in one capacity or another, for the rest of my life.

This situation is not unique to my experience, though. Many students who entertain the idea of teaching in under served schools before pursuing other career goals are shot down at the behest of family. It is for this reason that I have composed a list of logical arguments for all to use when convincing their family and friends that they are not crazy for following this path.

Talking points:

1) Timeline: It's only a two year mandatory commitment. This is extremely important!!! If you entered college at 18, you are 22 years old (or there abouts) when considering this program. In two years, you will only be 24 years old - not exactly collecting social security (not like our generation will have a crack at that anyway) and certainly not past the age where going back to graduate/professional school becomes unfeasible.

2) Support: TFA has been around for 20 years and, even in this economic downturn, are expanding their regional representation to New Orleans (and rural Louisiana), Mississippi, and are even running an International Pilot Program. Ergo - they know what they are doing. They know who they are catering to. And they know how to support their volunteer teachers. These are the reasons that they have done so well since their inception and will continue to do well with the help of willing and able teachers.

3) Building communication skills and becoming independent: If you think about it, this program gives you a prime opportunity to learn how to communicate and lead effectively - attributes that are important in just about any career. More importantly, however, is the idea of becoming independent.

As college students, we have lived in a bubble for the last four years. There is no way for us to anticipate just how scary the wide world is unless, of course, we just jump into the deep end and learn how to swim along the way. What I look forward to most about this program is the chance to get my feet on the ground financially, emotionally, and intellectually, before pursuing medical school in the future. As a teacher, especially in areas where dedicated teachers are a hot commodity, you will be forced to think on your feet all of the time, to react swiftly and effectively, and you will do this all without the assistance/safety net that you had in college. You will be in the real world and, to quote Dan Akroyd, "they expect results!" This opportunity is replete with life skills to be learned and educational mountains to be climbed. The opportunity cost of ignoring programs such as this might not be evident to you until later in life, but will the sacrifice (in this case, choosing to pursue a career directly out of college) have been worth it in the long run? Will you ever get a chance like this in the future?

4) Leveling the playing field: For those of you who grew up in a suburb or went to a private school, you can attest to this (despite initial ambivalence towards the idea): your elementary and secondary education was great. You learned enough to make you eligible for college and you were prepared enough to succeed to the point of graduating college. Stop me if I am wrong here, but doesn't everyone deserve that sort of chance? Is it morally right that a child's educational attainment will be determined by the zip code in which they live?

I hope that you are as outraged as I am by the idea. But the point is that we have a real shot at helping people here! We are in a unique position as the young, active Americans who believe in equality and, yet, are acutely aware of the pains that it will take to achieve this equality. I daresay that, if you recognize that there is an educational gap in America and do nothing to help fix it, then you have become part of the problem. This is not to say that TFA is the only way to help out in the fight, but rather, to point out that action of any sort is necessary and none are without accountability.

In the future, I will be posting more of these talking points, especially as I become inculcated in the program and in education in general. I encourage all to reflect on their own motivations for wanting to join programs such as these and talk very candidly with family and friends about your ideas for the future.

My advice is this: there is no one right path to follow, but it is important to do good, not only for yourself, but for humanity. This world has fallen to pieces and it is all of our responsibilities to put it back together.