Patty Cordes graduated from the University of Delaware in May, 2004, with an Honors B.S. in Economics and an Honors B.A. in Political Science.  Since graduation, she has taught 6th grade in Camden, NJ as a Teach for America Corps Member.

Marcus Jamison is a thirteen-year-old with more responsibility than many adults three times his age.  His mother works from early in the morning until late at night, and it is up to Marcus to get himself and his 8-year-old sister Shyla prepared for school, fed, and to and from Cream School each day.  Prone to getting himself into trouble, he needs a lot of encouragement to focus on school work.  I met Marcus last year as his 6th grade math and social studies teacher at Cream School.  I'm one of about 80 Teach for America Corps Members working in Camden, NJ -- the most dangerous and second poorest city in this nation. 

Teach for America is the national service corps of outstanding recent college graduates of all academic majors who commit two years to teach in under-resourced urban and rural public schools. When I joined Teach for America , I joined my peers from across the country in a powerful movement to end educational inequity that students like Marcus face every day.  Marcus had never made the Honor Roll before, and his frequent outbursts in class made him a constant discipline problem and caused him to miss a lot of class work.  I learned, though, that giving Marcus attention in other ways and at other times would make a crucial difference in Marcus' 6th grade experience, and maybe (hopefully) far beyond.

Marcus loved computers.  Using after school computer time in my classroom as an incentive for good behavior, Marcus chose to do better.  He and Shyla often stayed to play games and use the Internet, sometimes for hours.  Frequently, I interrupted their afternoon reward time with homework and skills review, which they didn't seem to mind. I watched Marcus' confidence grow in class; he was like a brand new student. 

Though I called his home several times, I had never spoken to or met Mrs. Jamison.  But when February report card conferences came around, Marcus must have convinced her to come to the school down the street that she had only visited a handful of times over the years. When Mrs. Jamison saw Marcus' report card and learned that he made Honor Roll, tears quietly began to roll down her face.  "Marcus told me he's been doing better, but wow," she said as she left my classroom that day.  Marcus continued to achieve at high level as he finished up his 6th grade year. 

Nine-year-olds in low-income communities are already seven times less likely to go to college than their counterparts in wealthier neighborhoods.  Hopefully, students in Marcus' generation will have a much better statistic to boast.  Every day, my experience in Teach for America is challenging, inspiring, exhausting, and demanding.  I work long hours and try to forge individual relationships with each of my 100 students, and many days are frustrating and overwhelming. I remind myself that I must be just as relentless in my work as I tell my students to be in theirs. I remind myself to set high goals and not give up, just as I demand my students to do. I remind myself that Marcus Jamison, and countless others like him, are why I Teach for America.