Eric Giles is a Clemson and Teach For America alum who currently works with TFA as a recruitment manager. At Clemson, he was heavily involved in student government, and served as the president of the Phi Delta Theta fraternity. He recently sat down with us to articulate his views on the issue of educational inequity.
Eric Giles, TFA Recruitment Manager
What do you think is the biggest misconception about educational inequity?
People expect educational inequity to be something dramatic and outrageous. Sometimes it is, but the vast majority of the time, it is normal kids and normal families trying hard to get a great education. Unfortunately, through a combination of challenges associated with poverty and low societal expectations, these kids who try so hard do not get a fair shot at an excellent education. For example, living in a neighborhood with a high poverty rate is associated with a learning loss equivalent to a full year, and graduation rates are as much as 20% lower in those communities than in more-advantaged ones.
In your own words, what is Teach For America all about?
These kids don’t need a best friend or a parent – they have all that. They need a transformational teacher. A leader who is willing to do whatever it takes to put their students on a different educational outcome. For example, I saw my kids needed more time in school to get caught up so we voluntarily extended our own school day by working in the morning, lunch, after school, on Saturdays and Monday nights at McDonalds.
Too many people think Teach For America is about just being a “teacher”. When I joined TFA, people asked me, “why would you go through college just to be a teacher?” and “Eric, you already have a job, why do you need to do Teach For America now?” These students missed the point. I’m not joining TFA to teach, I’m joining TFA because I want to be on the frontlines of our generation’s greatest social injustice. That frontline is no longer on the streets of Memphis or in our court house – it is in our schools, and that is where I want to be.
What would you say to a college student who is on the fence about applying to TFA?
Coming out of college, you have the choice of doing something safe or doing something great. Greatness comes from putting others before you. It comes from empowering others to be stronger, even if it means it is tough on you sometimes. There are very few times in a life when you have such a choice between safety and greatness. Students coming out of college have that choice and when they reflect on how they live their life, I hope they join the camp of those who chose to be great.
Davidson College Teach For America 