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Fund For Teachers

An often cited statistic states that 50% of teachers will quit within five years. In 2006’s classroom mockumentary Chalk, they claim 50% of teachers will quit within only three years. There’s no doubt that the pressures of standardized tests, classroom management mishaps, and the paper load teachers carry into their weekends and breaks leave many a teacher demoralized. But the Marcus Foster Fund For Teachers offers a revolutionary opportunity for teachers just at a time when they need it the most.

What makes the Fund for Teachers revolutionary is that it does not assume authority about what a teacher needs in order to develop professionally or deepen his/her commitment to teaching as so many schools, districts, and states are doing these days. Many imposed decisions are trickling down from the very top of No Child Left Behind, disempowering teachers left and right. Fund for Teachers grants work in direct opposition to the trend of educational standardization. According to their website “Teaching is a complex, evolving profession. Academic achievement is an individualized, teacher-driven process. Fund for Teachers salutes those who find valuable ways of transforming their classrooms and communities.” In fact, “Fund for Teachers provides grants directly to teachers, supporting their professional learning. Their experiences come in many forms, and share the purpose of enhanced teaching skills. We believe that by experiencing personal and professional potential, teachers inspire students.”

Each year in K-12 teachers in the United States are awarded up to $5,000 to pursue a professional development and enrichment plan of their own design. So far, 2500 teachers from 47 states have been Fund for Teachers fellows. Teachers are not eligible for the fellowship until they have completed three years of service in the classroom and plan to return for a fourth year. They are eligible for a second fellowship after five more years of service, if selected. Dozens of these teachers each year come from Oakland Public Schools.

During the winter of my third year teaching high school at Life Academy in Oakland, I began to design an opportunity to travel to Barrow, Alaska. Admittedly I was drawn to Barrow first because my brother had recently moved there, but it wasn’t long before I was able to make connections between the small Arctic community (population 4,400) and the large urban setting of the health-focused school where I teach. Each spring, Life Academy ninth graders take a deeper look at the eating habits of their community as they read Eric Schlosser’s Chew On This, the young adult companion to Fast Food Nation. As a result of my fellowship travels to Barrow, they will exchange information with students from Hopson Middle School in Barrow. Barrow and Oakland students alike are sure to see that despite their many differences, the rise in childhood obesity is a major concern in both locations. United in this knowledge, students from the next generation can begin to make changes on the individual level, but be connected to the larger scope of this daunting public health problem.

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