YSP Alumni Spotlight – Claire Chatinover
We interviewed YSP Alumna Claire about her experiences with JEP and TFA – Originally Published October 21, 2019
Thank you so much for sharing your experience with our current participants, Claire. Tell us, what was YOUR first JEP or YSP assignment?
My first JEP assignment was for Foshay Learning Academy teaching 4th and 5th grade science. I started at the young scientists program in the spring of my freshman year and I continued all the way through my senior year.
How did your time with JEP/YSP help prepare you for life after college?
My time at YSP not only prepared me for life after college it influenced what I ended up pursuing. At Foshay I fell in love with teaching, specifically teaching science. I followed this passion and applied early for Teach for America. As a TFA teacher, I was placed in an elementary school so I taught every subject, however the subject I felt most grounded and confident in was always science. After my first two years, I still teach however I now zero-ed in on science and teach only 7th and 8th grade science! There were many different people who joined my TFA corps, but I felt strong in my decision because I had had experience in an actual classroom. Not only did it impact what I wanted to do, but it also taught me what it looks like to have kids feel heard in a classroom. During YSP students were able to step into the role of scientists, I also got to watch the teachers I worked with, Ms. Tigolo and Ms. Brown inspire their students with reading and even math. Seeing all of this I knew as a first year teacher and more I wanted my students to feel as special and inspired in my classroom as they did during YSP and during all classed at Foshay.
Do you want to tell us a little about your experience teaching with TFA?
Teach for America is a non-profit that recruits people from all over the country to teach in low socio-economic schools. Their goal is to ensure that one day all students will have access to an equitable, free and excellent education. For me TFA was a hard decision, I both spoke to the recruiter at USC and asked for a lot of advice from my peers and mentors. Overall, I decided that TFA was the correct fit for me because of the experience I had at YSP and during Troy Camp. I already felt like a teacher, and though I knew I would have a lot to learn, I felt that I was ready to take that jump. To prep for being a teacher TFA has you go to a summer institute and work from 8-6 teaching in the morning then taking graduate classes in the afternoon. This is intense, however after that summer I felt ready to lead a classroom in New York, while honoring the cultural assets my students brought to our classroom and teaching with intentionality behind my choices. During your 2 years, TFA supports you by sending a mentor who watches you teach and gives you feedback. Overall, TFA has many strengths and weaknesses, however my experience, the learning I got to take part in, and the people and students I met all still inspire me and I am still proud to say I am a teacher.