The date is May 1994. I have just received my Bachelor's Degree in Elementary Education. It is a moment I have been anticipating for the past four years. I am excited and nervous; excited to finish my college education, but anxious about what I will do next.
I am 22 years old and I receive a letter from the School District of Philadelphia telling me the date to come there to pick a school. It is a few weeks away. I am apprehensive, unsure if I am ready to embark on my chosen career.
Not ready yet... so I joined the NSCC
Something inside me said, "No, it is too soon." For my entire life I lived in one house venturing only a few miles away from home. I want to be a teacher, but I need more time to mature and experience life. I hesitate, then respond in writing to the District to pass over my name, but keep me on the list.
I really didn't know much about the NSCC when I applied for a job. All I knew is I would work in a school with students, probably tutoring, and I would earn an educational award that would help me pay back the $10,000 I just accumulated in student loans.
Training
Corpsmember pre-service training took place in October. It was fun to meet all the diverse people at the residential training. I met people from California, Washington, and Texas that became my best friends. I trained with my team and we were looking forward to working together. The training was very intensive, but fun. The week was over before you knew it and we embarked on our year as corpsmembers.
In the Classroom
At school we developed a tutoring program, helped individual students in the classroom, organized a drill team, and held a black history month contest. I spent most of my time tutoring first graders and working with students in a second grade classroom. To be honest, I loved tutoring the students, but I dreaded working in the second grade classroom. I found it hard to sit back and watch, helping only from the sidelines. I just earned my degree and I wanted to put all of the theoretical knowledge I learned to work. I knew I had to wait, though.
Heading to Boston
Every month I looked forward to seeing my friends assigned to other sites and catching up on what they were doing at their schools. I was also one of two NSCC members selected to participate in the New Generations Training Program. I headed to Boston where I met talented people from all across the United States who were working hard to make a difference in the lives of others. The training was outstanding. That same year, I headed to Washington, DC to help build a community playground and paint houses in a low income community.
Queen of Donations
When I joined the NSCC, I didn't know what I was getting into; but once I found out, I wanted to stay. I elected to stay a second year and was selected to be a team leader. I felt that was where I belonged. We developed a drama club equipped with homemade costumes (one of my corpsmembers enjoyed sewing), a basketball league, and tutoring program. The most memorable moment that year was the school beautification project. The one-story school was located in North Philadelphia and had graffiti on every inch of the building. I was able to get brooms, paint brushes, and paint donated from a local home improvement store. My team enlisted the help of neighborhood children who attended the school to help us paint over all of the graffiti in time for a brand new school year. That year I became known as the "Queen of Donations" because I was good at writing letters to acquire donations of needed supplies including the beautification project supplies, basketballs, fabric, and even a cordless phone.
Seeing the School from a Different Perspective
I saw the school from a different perspective; I saw how the school ran and how difficult the job of a principal is. I worked very closely with the principal keeping her abreast of our latest activities and serving as a liaison between her and the team. I came to know her as a person. It gave me a respect for principals that has carried on since I became a teacher.
The Final Year
My third and final year with the NSCC was the best ever. The highlight of the year was when we hosted college students from Kansas on an alternative spring break. My team joined with two other NSCC teams and we held a March Spring Break camp at a nearby church. The college students from Kansas stayed at the church and worked side-by-side with corpsmembers to offer the sixty children an instructional program of reading, science, art, and sports.
My Name Comes Up Again
Time passed and my third year with the NSCC drew to a close. Ironically, I received a letter from the School District of Philadelphia stating that my name came up on the list again. This time I was ready. I was sad to leave the NSCC, but I realized I was ready to take on new challenges.
I selected a fourth grade teaching position. Even though the first four years were hard and any new teacher will tell you that, the experiences I had with the NSCC reminded me that I could achieve anything. I believe if I had not joined the NSCC and began teaching right out of college, I would have quit within the first three months like several of my college friends.
Seven years later.
It is now seven years later and I am proud to say I participated in national service with the National School and Community Corps. I don't work with the first and second graders anymore; actually I have been in the middle school grades most of my career. I always think back to my time with the NSCC and believe I would not be the teacher I am today without that experience. I have been very focused on the curriculum; in the near future, I plan to create service projects and coordinate with local businesses as I did with the NSCC.
Ms. Zalewski is currently an elementary school teacher in the School District of Philadelphia. She has recently earned her Master's Degree in Education.
