A diverse group of students convenes in a large room. Each of them is united by one cause: food, fun and, more importantly, a quest for knowledge.
The TeachHOUSTON program began in 2007 with the mission of training students to become better-qualified teachers in science and mathematics.
TeachHOUSTON members will celebrate education and fellowship at 11:30 a.m. today in Farish Hall’s Kiva Room. The sister-chapter from the University of Texas will also attend, and the student teachers will network and share techniques and strategies.
Biology sophomore Ashley Jones applied for the program after receiving a flier in an e-mail.
"When I received the random flier, I thought, ‘This is meant to be.’ I had thought briefly about teaching, and I decided to try it out," Jones said.
Unlike Jones, Michelle Martinez, an education and mathematics junior, had long considered teaching as a profession and wanted a foundation with she could jumpstart her career.
"It was my second semester of school at UH, and I already knew I wanted to be a math major. I wanted to teach, but I didn’t know how that was going to work. I didn’t know what I was supposed to do. Then I read about TeachHouston and found that it was perfect for me," Martinez said.
Martinez said she will be able to utilize the skills and knowledge she learned from the hands-on teaching experience in her future career as either a middle school or high school teacher.
"You get a lot of teaching experience, and you’re better off than other starting teachers. When you graduate, some starting teachers only have a few experiences, and we have a whole bunch throughout teaching. I taught in a fourth grade classroom, and our mentor teacher gives us a topic and we teach on a certain day," Martinez said.
Along with the experiences many students acquire through the program, there are also a variety of internships and opportunities, John said.
"The program offers us a lot of internships. Some of us have been working for a year now, and some, for a semester. It really, really helps out. It just gives you more knowledge when you get to work for the program," Jones said.
Students interested in the program should attend the event and contact the project office at (713) 743-4969 or (713) 743-8644.
