teachforamerica Zarah Zerin Ahmed
one day, all children in this nation will have the opportunity to attain an excellent education.
Corps Year: 2010 Undergraduate: U of Arizona Hometown: Phoenix, AZ Teaching Community: Gallup, NM School: JFK Middle School Grade/Subject: 6th Grade Science
Why did you join Teach For America · New Mexico? Educating others has always been a personal endeavor of mine, whether it is in a conventional classroom setting or not. As the Education Coordinator for the Delta Delta Sigma organization during my senior year of college, I found myself in classrooms almost 3-4 hours a week. Teach For America had opened my eyes and allowed me to acknowledge the necessity of closing the achievement gap. After this realization of the disparity, I immediately understood the urgent need to close this gap. I chose this pathway because I strongly feel that education is the building block to success and that each and every child should deserve such an equal opportunity of education and not be determined by life circumstances that one cannot control. I specifically chose New Mexico because I wanted to learn more about the Native American culture. What kinds of goals are your students trying to achieve? Seeing my students fully invested and creating big goals for themselves is one of the most satisfying accomplishments I could instill in my students. They are mostly working on becoming independent, responsible, and organized so that they can apply these attributes to any aspect in life such as succeeding in college.
What is it like to teach in Gallup? Quite frankly, I love it! I find teaching in Gallup a two-way street. Yes, I may be teaching them Earth Science daily, but in reality my students have been teaching me, as well, since day one. Although Gallup itself is quite different from Phoenix where I was raised, moving here took little adjustment and has strengthened my passion and has allowed me to focus on other hobbies of mine such as painting and playing the guitar. What has been the most memorable moment of your teaching experience? As a teacher, success for me is making a difference one step at a time, leaving the school better off than how I entered. Despite teaching the same topic all day, it is far from redundant. Understanding that each student will begin at different levels, I must strive to meet my students’ needs on an individual basis however challenging that may be. My absolute favorite experience is that teaching is constantly evolving and adapting to better suit the cause it sets out to improve. With that in mind, my favorite part is that I do not know what to expect and how every day is a new beginning for my students. In terms of memorable moments are the daily personalized drawings or letters I receive from students who thank me for believing in them.
teachforamerica
Special Education Summit
An event to bring students, teachers, parents and professionals together to collaborate for the support of our students.
On February 26th, UNM-Gallup, Western New Mexico University, Teach for America and professionals around New Mexico are joining together to offer Gallup’s Special Education Summit. This summit will offer teachers, principals, support staff, families and students a chance to come together to collaborate and learn ways to support all students with exceptionalities. The summit features over 20 different sessions, including sessions on excellent reading instruction, supporting students with giftedness, language development, inclusion and many more! Food is provided and registration is only $5. Please sign up at http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/LVG7BGT. Please call Kathleen Line at 505-863-2887 ex. 25112 if you have any questions!
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gallupjourney@yahoo.com
Sign up at http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/LVG7BGT. Please pay the $5 registration fee at: https://secure.entango.com/donate/TFAGALLUP2011 (this is new) Email Katie if you have any questions/comments: Kathleen.Line@teachforamerica.org or call at 505-863-2887 ex. 25112 How much does the summit cost?
$5 for participants Parents/guardians with Gallup McKinley County Schools can register for free thanks to the GMCS Title VII Indian Education Program!