TTeeaacchhiinngg iinn AAmmeerriiccaaBy Pia de Jong - November 28, 2018

Illustration by Eliane Gerrits

Is there anything more di0cult than being a public school teacherin America? Yes, being a math or science teacher in New YorkCity. If you are teaching in New York, you start with the problemsthat all teachers struggle with: students with behavior problems,demanding parents, apathetic parents, administrative burdens,paltry resources, long hours, and skimpy wages. Many teacherstake two jobs just to get by. Then in New York, you can throw intothis combustible stew the social issues around inequality,violence, and racism. Add to that the particular obstacles mathand science pose for many students.

There are nearly two thousand public schools in NYC with morethan a million children. Many teachers have so little money fortheir supplies that they dig into their own pockets to buy pencilsand paper for their pupils. Little wonder that some give up andare lured to Wall Street, where the salaries are many times higher.

What’s the solution? Begin by throwing a party. In the middle of

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Manhattan in the huge Marriott Marquis hotel on Times Square,about a thousand of the brightest math and science teachersand their partners are gathered, all in evening dresses andtuxedoes, for the annual gala of Math for America. Tonight theyhave been selected to be put in the spotlight and honored as“master teachers.” On the stage, a math teacher who looks like arock star enthusiastically breaks into a hip-hop song about hisschool that could be straight out of the musical Hamilton. ANASA astronaut tells the crowd that she could never have madea spacewalk without the inspiration of her high school teachers.

Everyone here has received a fellowship from the nonproRt Mathfor America. Its founder is the fabulously rich mathematician,hedge fund manager, and philanthropist Jim Simons. He escapedpoverty himself thanks to his own teachers. That’s why it painshim that the American education system is failing. Simons’ goalis to build a professional community for math and scienceteachers that will help them learn together, gain respect, andrestore their conRdence. Ultimately, he hopes to inspire them tostay in the classroom by treating them as the professionals theyare.

These teachers have been selected for four-year fellowships.Both beginning teachers and experienced teachers, from thesmallest elementary schools to the largest high schools, the MfAfellows currently account for about ten percent of all math andscience teachers in the city. The selected teachers are given jetfuel — a bonus of between $12,000 and $20,000 per year. Simonsalso gives them the opportunity to retrain in the latestdevelopments in their profession. He has opened a learningcenter in the middle of the city dedicated to offering dailyworkshops, lectures and professional support for the teachers.

“The program is extremely popular,” says Simons, who has paideverything out of his pocket so far. “Ninety percent of theteachers say that they are motivated to continue practicing theirprofession.” The program has been extended to the rest of NewYork State, now with the support of the government and other

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philanthropists.

At the lectern, someone from MfA asks the audience, “Who hasbeen involved since the beginning?” The woman sitting next tome stands up. She emigrated from Haiti 20 years ago. She hasbeen a master teacher at a school in the Bronx since 2004.Tonight she has proudly brought her niece, who stands and clapsfor her. “The problems in the schools will still be there tomorrow,”the woman says to me as we walk out together on a red carpet.“But the fact that I get more appreciation as a teacher makes ahuge difference to me.”

As I leave, I Rnd myself wishing there were similar initiatives forall teaching disciplines, and not just in America. Preferably, therewards of teaching would not be dependent on charity but givenfreely as a token of appreciation from all of us. We all needteachers who are happy and respected — whether tonight in theirevening dress or tomorrow in front of a roomful of sleepystudents.

Pia de Jong is a Dutch writer who lives in Princeton. Her memoir,“Saving Charlotte,” was published by W.W. Norton in 2017. Shecan be contacted at pdejong@ias.edu. She is Hlling in for RichardK. Rein, who is on assignment.

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