The Most Noble Profession of All

Finally, to go along with the moral, social and personally satisfying advantages of the job, students have financial incentive to teach. One of the best initiatives included in the recently-passed Higher Education Act is one which forgives loan debt for students who go into teaching careers. Under the new legislation, after three years one's debt is partially reduced, and after six it is erased completely. I happily read this news last week, glad to see that after a summer of teacher-bashing here in Massachusetts, the federal government is taking concrete economic steps to encourage students to go into education. Maybe this will give all those seniors preparing to schmooze at consulting receptions a more civic-minded career alternative, I thought to myself.

"But Harvard isn't a teacher-training school," a friend pointed out. "Students don't come here just to graduate and go into some public high school or middle school." The more I thought about it, the more I realized she was right. Students at Harvard have bigger plans than just teaching...right?

In most cases, yes. Lots of us want to be lawyers, doctors, millionaire business tycoons. But a small minority on campus--approximately 40 students in all--are enrolled in a joint program between the College and the Graduate School of Education (GSE) entitled the Undergraduate Teacher Education Program (UTEP). Students divide their coursework between their College concentration and education requirements at the GSE, including classes on child psychology and teaching in secondary schools. They finish the program by actually student-teaching in the Boston area for a semester. When they graduate, they have enough credits to apply for certification to teach in Massachusetts, leaving only the hurdle of passing the now-notorious state board exam, one which all of Harvard's test-takers passed this summer.

The convenience of earning a teaching certification on top of a bachelor's degree in four years would seem to be a tempting alternative for students interested in public service and education, but the program's numbers are fairly low. Do Harvard students ever really consider teaching as a career alternative?

"Should Harvard encourage more students to teach and especially more to do UTEP? Definitely yes," Elizabeth Hodder, the program's coordinator, wrote me in an email. "UTEP gives some fine and very talented people the opportunity and preparation to project that understanding and talent in their schools." She adds, however, that "it takes more than good-will to be an effective teacher."

William K. Moss '99 of Leverett House, who will finish the program this year, says, "The Boston public schools could definitely use some great minds. There is a brain drain in our nation, and Harvard students could do a great deal to alleviate that...In general the great minds of our nation are drawn to more lucrative careers...Instead, I wish that students who obtain world class educations, like the one Harvard offers, would consider sharing their mental wealth with the next generation."

As Harvard students, we are ostensibly the recipients of the finest education and opportunities the country has to offer. We have a greater social responsibility than most to give something back in exchange for all we have received. The Higher Education Act seems to have removed one of the financial obstacles of teaching in the country's public schools.

So what's the problem? Returning to my friend's comment, why don't more Harvard students come here with the intention of going into the classroom?

One answer might be the lack of respect the teaching profession is given throughout the nation. Moss points out, "Teaching is in a state of quasi-professionalism. Teachers are technically professionals with professional training, but they are not making professional salaries or earning professional respect." One of the best ways to change the attitudes of politicians who use teacher bashing as the main plank of their campaign platforms or of those who view teachers as unskilled laborers covered in chalk dust is to get into the classroom and improve the education of our nation's children. Harvard would do well to promote the UTEP program more aggressively and use the Office of Career Services to advocate teaching careers. Who better than the "World's Greatest University" to take on the negative stereotypes of teaching and change them for the better?

This is not to say that everyone at Harvard should chuck their career plans in order to teach. But we should all think about it. "You have to feel, not just know, you are needed, and also you have to test your interest and love for kids," writes Hodder. We are not all born teachers, but I think all of us have some capacity to share knowledge and make a difference. Even if you are really set on talking that job at Goldman Sachs, you can still tutor in math during your free time. Even if you were meant to be a lawyer, you can still take a few years off to teach history before entering the courtroom. And if you are meant to be in the classroom, share your desire to teach with your friends. None of us would be at Harvard without the influence of our teachers, and we are hardpressed to find a more noble profession, or a more rewarding one.

Susannah B. Tobin '00 is a classics concentrator in Lowell House. Her column appears on alternate Thursdays.