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Academy Gives Teens Taste of Teaching

By HEATHER HADDON

J. R.Qureshi, 15, now swallows his youthful pride and gives grammar his undivided attention. J.R. may not be fascinated with the present verb tense, but he might have to explain it to a classroom of his peers in the near future — or next week.

“I don’t want them to be bored and put their heads down to sleep,” said J.R., a Bedford Park resident. “I need to keep their attention.”

J.R. and 15 of his classmates are getting some advanced lessons in English, and classroom management, through the veteran Pre-Teaching Academy. Run in conjunction with Lehman College, the program immerses students at the High School for Teaching and the Professions (TAP) in the ways of teaching, and then lets them try alongside their own instructors.

“It gives them the confidence to stand up and talk in front of others,” said Pat France, a high school teacher who has worked with the Academy since its inception. “If you can face a group of teenagers, you can do anything.”

Hundreds of participants have performed that feat since the Academy began at Walton High School in 1984. Founded by the Lehman Center for School/College Collaboratives, which runs a variety of mentoring programs, the Academy is the second oldest teaching magnet program for teens in the country. It has received top marks in state reviews and been duplicated in other municipalities nationwide.

Based on its successes, the program grew in 2002 into TAP, a small school located on Walton’s third floor. The school’s current batch of juniors hit the ground running, many of them helping their TAP teachers last fall before they received formal training. After their trial by fire, participants are now learning pedagogy basics through the Academy class, held afterschool once a week at Lehman.

“You don’t want your students to spit back stuff like robots,” emphasized Laura Tringali, the Lehman project manager, while discussing teaching techniques. “You want good answers.”

Participants construct their own lesson plans, dividing concepts into concrete chunks and then figuring out how to motivate their peers to care about them. “We learn how to ask questions that open conversations, not stop them,” said Abdul Abdullah, 17, from Sedgwick Avenue.

Abdul wasn’t so comfortable speaking in front of others before he started the program. He’s quickly adapted. “Before, I was very shy,” he said. “Now I’ve learned how to talk to people.”

While training students how to teach, the Academy builds critical life and career skills. Participants gain confidence, learn to plan ahead and think on their feet, and above all, improve their writing skills. Academy participants write four times the state average on most weeks, according to Tringali.

“I write much better now,” said Mabel Joseph, 16, who won last week’s WOW (Writing of the Week) award for her essay about teaching art.

How much Academy participants actually do in the classroom depends on their sponsoring teacher. While some instructors just have their helpers grade papers, most students also get to teach certain lessons and work with small groups.

Stumbling through that process gives participants what many high school kids lack — a deep respect for their teachers. “When the kids laugh, I want to get involved also,” J.R. admitted. “But this gives you a different point of view. It shows you why you don’t want to be disrespectful.”

About a quarter of Academy participants go on to teach, many in city schools. Others enter careers in business or law, and almost all attend college. Students who complete the program receive college credit, and get a lot of SAT preparation.

Chris Serverino, 16, credits the Academy with pushing him to do more than play video games after school. “Most of my friends don’t care about college or the future,” said Chris, a Sedgwick Avenue resident who wants to be a criminal justice lawyer. “This has developed me as a person.”

While trading the jabs and wisecracks common among teens, Academy participants generally seem to like each other, and their instructors. “Sometimes we have to kick them out at 5 [o’clock],” Tringali joked.

Academy instructors get an enormous sense of pride from watching their students develop. “It’s a treat to work with these guys and see how far they’ve come,” Tringali said. “There’s so much more going on in here than just learning to teach.”

J.R. is fully aware how far he’s progressed. “I’ve been pushing myself, and it’s worth it,” said J.R, who just won a COW (Content of the Week) award. “To think I wanted to drop this class,” he exclaimed.

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