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February 17 - 23, 2010
The Maroon Tiger
Opinions
When Opportunity
Knocks: An Experience
in Teach for America
21 st century
Morehouse, more than
just tradition
Ryan Shepard ‘08
Contributing Writer
ryanlshepard@gmail.com
E very morning I awake to
one of the most unique
opportunities I can imagine. I
have been entrusted with the
responsibility of moving 32
third graders towards their
academic goals. However, my
experience is distinctly differ
ent from the average teacher
because my students face im
mense challenges.
As a Black male reared by
poorly educated teenage par
ents, I will never forget the
obstacles that I faced growing
up. My ability to attain an ex
cellent education was the fac
tor that allowed me to trans
form my life. My concern for
other young people who grow
up in under-resourced com
munities inspired me to join
Teach For America immedi
ately after graduating from
Morehouse.
When I began my two-year
commitment, I reconnected
with memories of my youth
as I became familiar with the
plights of my students. Some
are poor and/or several ne
glected. Many families strug
gle to maintain residency,
while others are haunted by
educational deficiencies.
Like many of my students’
parents, my parents were not
well educated and neither had
high paying jobs. 1 understand
the lonely shadow of dis
placement because I was once
homeless for a year. My not-
so-distant memories of life in
Los Angeles remain fresh be
cause I see myself in my boys
and girls. Children whose
lives resemble my own walk
into my classroom each day,
where they see themselves
in me and are convinced that
they too can use education as
a springboard to success.
Despite the presence of tre
mendous obstacles, we relent
lessly pursue academic excel
lence.
Closing the achievement
gap is the civil rights move
ment of our generation. All
children in our country de
serve a quality education.
Through Teach for America,
I am involved in the effort to
eradicate the achievement gap
by teaching for two years and
eventually taking my experi
ences on to my future career
endeavors. I know that I can
not eliminate this monumen
tal problem alone.
In recent years, Teach for
America's funding has in
creased, new regions have
been chartered, and the mis
sion has gained international
recognition. I am committed
to seeing more of our nation’s
most promising young people
join us in reaching our dream
of ending educational ineq
uity in our country.
Academic underachieve
ment runs sharply along racial
and class lines, with Black,
Hispanic and impoverished
children most severely affect
ed. As an HBCU alumnus, 1
know that many students on
our campuses are sensitive to
the problems in our low-per
forming schools. Subsequent
ly, we must take action.
My time in the classroom
has changed my life, while
enhancing the lives of the
children that I have been giv
en the opportunity to teach. I
challenge you to learn more
about Teach for America and
its mission in order to do your
part to close to achievement
gap in our country.
For more information
please visit www.TeachFo-
rAmerica.org.
Tre’vell Anderson
Contributing Writer
anderson.trevell@yahoo.com
I t is our duty to become
“creatively competitive in
the 21st century.” This is the
sentiment Morehouse alum
nus Michael Lomax, presi
dent of the United Negro
College Fund (UNCF), es
poused last week during his
Founder’s Day Convocation
address. His oration, in light
of staggering statistics re
garding HBCUs, focused on
the necessity of HBCUs and
their responsibility in provid
ing educational opportunity
for minorities.
Listening to him, I began
to think of what this meant in
terms of Morehouse. Each in
stance that ran across my mind
referenced Morehouse living
in the past. Lomax seems to
feel the same, using the word
‘contemporary’, to further de
scribe the way HBCUs must
have the competitive edge in
order to survive and thrive as
educational institutions.
In order to do this I believe
it is imperative that we, not
only as Morehouse, Spelman
or Clark Atlanta, but as the
consortium of HBCUs on a
whole, realize that we are not
competing against each other
for the best admission rates.
And we should not be com
peting to see who sits at the
top of U.S. News’ Historically
Black Colleges and Universi
ties Ranking list. We are not
competing against Harvard or
Yale or any Ivy-League in
stitution to develop the best
leaders of our time.
We are however, compet
ing against the notion within
our community that educa
tion is useless, that it is less
about what you know and
more about who you know. It
is our mission to combat such
notions.
According to Lomax, Ben
jamin Elijah Mays didn’t just
look backwards as to what he
would do, he looked forward
as well. He lived in the now.
In the same respect, we must
not focus too heavily on our
past in attempting to be com
petitive.
Anytime someone wants
to reference the greatness of
Morehouse, alumni from past
generations are noted. We
always recognize MLK Jr.,
Samuel Dubois Cook and Otis
Moss Jr. Don’t get me wrong,
they are all great people in
their own right and are titil
lating selling points, but what
about referencing the More
house that currently is?
We have a vast amount of
brothers still on campus and
some that graduated a few
years ago that are bound to
be movers and shakers of our
own time. What about the
Markese Bryant’s, the Jihad
Kheperu’s, and the Reginald
Sharpe’s? What about the
Jacque Pape’s, the Anthony
Miller’s, or the Katanga John
son’s? We are at a time when
there is no longer a need to re
fer to Morehouse as the alma
mater of MLK Jr., but as the
current institution of so many
others.
Lomax said it best, “Even
sacred ground can lose
ground,” especially if its in
habitants are too complacent.
It can “germinate, generate,
or nurture or it can become
arid. The future of HBCUs
is in (our) hands. If (we) are
bold and thoughtful, it will be
bright. If not - you fill in the
blanks.”
There’s nothing wrong
with being rooted in our
heritage. All I ask is that
we be rooted in our heritage
while cognizant of the pres
ent. Let’s show that we are
more than just Martin Luther
King, more than just Spike
Lee, more than just Samuel
Jackson. We are Morehouse,
a 2010 Morehouse.
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