Pierre Gooding: Helping America's future

When I went into my junior year of college, like many of my classmates, I began to plan for my post-collegiate life. I have wanted to be a lawyer since I was 10 years old, so when I thought about my career path, law school was the natural choice.

Toward the end of junior year, I had a meeting that made me reconsider this immediate path. I spent some time chatting about my future with a representative and alumni corps member from Teach for America. I took the opportunity to speak to this representative, thinking to myself (as some people do) that no conversation could derail my immediate matriculation to law school.

I was dead wrong.

When I met with Patrick, he presented me with some facts that I simply could not overlook. For example, he explained the urgent need to have people participate in Teach For America whose career goals are associated with professions outside education -- in areas such as law, medicine, science and politics.

Patrick told me that by the time the average child from a low-income area is only 9 years old, he or she is already three grade levels behind his or her higher-income peers. I remember thinking that this was certainly tragic, but what could I do about it?

I started asking Patrick questions to see if Teach For America was an option I could think about. I asked all the typical questions like, "Will I get paid while doing Teach For America? Can I defer my law school acceptance? Can I choose my location/grade level for teaching?" The answer to all of these questions was yes.

More than that though, I began to feel a sense of urgency for the students we talked about, a sense that I had a chance to impact the future of America in a way that does not present itself often. I left this meeting feeling something I had not felt in a long time: uncertain about immediately going to law school. As I researched and learned more about Teach for America, I gained a deeper understanding of the power that recent college graduates can have to affect the lives of thousands of children.

The fact of the matter is: As Penn graduates we will all have multiple opportunities to make a substantial amount of money. But how many times will we have the opportunity to help ensure that a student is able to attain the education all Americans deserve? The answer is almost never.

I certainly never envisioned myself teaching a group of students before five months ago. I know that the Class of 2006 has some of the most talented students in the world -- students who have the ability to go into a classroom and help other students understand the importance of their education for their future, while also challenging them to push themselves in developing education and life skills.

Inequity in the education system is a matter that our generation simply should not tolerate. I ask you to join in the fight to end this persistent injustice, because in the end, America's future depends on it.

Pierre Gooding is a senior in the College.

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