Moving to NM to...teach? (Santa Fe, Navajo: to rent, houses, high school)

[coltraneandcoffee]

Hi everyone A native new yorker here....I am a college senior graduating this december with a BA in history. I have wanted to move to either AZ or NM for a very long time, hopefully to teach 4th or 5th grade in a low-income area.

I read about a program online yesterday called the New Mexico Transition to Teach (NMT2T)- it's an alternative path to certification and it seemed amazing. However I dont know anyone in NM, I still live in NY and Im not sure if my dream of teaching near the Dine' or Zuni reservations is an idealistic mistake. Can anyone give me some advice regarding either the program, teaching elementary grades in low-income areas, or just packing up and heading out west in general? I visited Phoenix and...well.... I hope NM works out!
Danielle

[penelopelp]

I would suggest that you definitely check it out before you move there and teach. I have a couple of friends who have worked for the Dine Nation for many years. One is a nurse and the other is a teacher. They have seen teachers/nurses move to work on the rez, and then immediately turn around and go back home because it didn't meet their expectations. It is not for everyone.

I talked to a Zuni teacher a couple of months ago about my interest in teaching on the rez. She was pretty discouraging at first. She said that it is not an easy job, and they have young teachers come down for a year, and then leave. I think she said that they are no longer working with Americorps because of this. When I told her that I was an experienced inner-city teacher, she sounded more hopeful about my prospects.

I'm not very familiar with the NM program. I only know what I've seen on their website. My suggestion would be that you start substituting once you get your degree. You could substitute where you live in New York. If would be even better if you sub in an area with high-poverty. This might give you an idea of whether or not you want to teach in that kind of situation.

[ibarrio]

New Mexico has a unique program going. If you obtain you masters, a set number of years teaching experience, and do a portfolio your base salary will be at least 50,000....which isn't bad for NM. Lot of work.

as for working on the reservation....very tough. A lot of outside teachers are not accepted by the community...and if they do not accept you then your chances of being successful in the classroom is slim to none.

[mesavista]

My husband and I both taught and lived on the Navajo reservation, hubby in high school and I in elem. I am now a stay at home mom and he teaches at an 85% native school right on the rez border. He has been teaching Navajo students for 20 years. Living on the reservation, on school grounds usually means dry, dusty landscapes, no trees, brown- no green, hot and windy summers dry cold winters and a LONG LONG way to rent a movie, go to church or get groceries. Teaching Navajo children is very different than any other ethnic group. Their non competitive culture means they will not answer you out loud in class (so they do not show up a tribe member), they are hard to engage- noisy classrooms are not usually a problem! You have to work hard to draw them out and gain thier trust. They often have very poor English skills and therefore reading skills and yet they are loosing thier own language too. You absolutely have to learn about their culture and respect it, yet not try to become one of them. You will be accepted in the community if you speak softly, shake hands gently- the white man's firm grip is impolite in Navajo society- respect their religous beliefs (I could not step into another classroom with a pet frog when I was pregnant- TABOO for expecting moms!- and it would have upset my Navajo peers. If you learn these types of things you will be accepted just fine. You cannot barrel in roughly on a white horse to "save" them and be loud and competitve and aggressive. You have to learn their many non verbal language cues. All my children "speak " Navajo body language -its very handy!

It can be lonely and hard living on the rez in teacher housing. You usually get extra pay. The housing is not great, especially if you are single, they give you the worst houses! But you usually have only a pittance taken out of your check for it.You need to stay on very good terms with the other staff- you live, eat, socialize, do everything together. You can save alot of $$-there is not much to spend it on! The children can be very rewarding and fun if you don't try to make them into someone they are not. You can learn so much if you do this. It can be a very positive experience BUT many, many teachers do not last more than one year. You have to be prepared for culture shock like you were going to another country ... because you are!! Well I'm rambling I'm sure! Hope this helps- come visit and see if you are romanticizing or if it still appeals when you see it in person. The ones who don't last are the ones with some romantic ideal about "saving" the Native people and then find out they really don't want our saving! Or the ones who have no idea how different the cuture is. Expectations are very important to how you will do.

Mesavista

[Johnboy71]

I taught in Alb. three years at the middle and high school level. It can be BRUTAL depending on the area. You'll have to get an unlisted phone number...I'm serious! Very different culture, nothing like you're used to.

[newmex]

Preserving a culture is one thing, and a good thing, but...
it sounds like you have to be a completely inert individual to teach there and to not "offend". Everything that is attempted to help move them forwards as a society sounds like a violation. When natives walk off the reservation, they see us and does their blood curdle from all these "infractions" they see in us? Why then, do they even want outsiders to teach there? Sounds like they thrive on a circle of despair.
I wouldn't last there a week on their terms. Very few would.

[Towanda]

Very interesting and informative post, mesavista. Thanks for sharing with us.

[ibarrio]

When natives walk off the reservation, they see us and does their blood curdle from all these "infractions" they see in us?

I doubt it...but still, when your on their land you should respect their culture.

[Cathy4017]

Originally Posted by ibarrio

I doubt it...but still, when your on their land you should respect their culture.

Yes, very much agree.

On the other hand, when they are OFF their land, they should not expect the rest of us to bend over backwards to accommodate them.

[newmex]

Originally Posted by Cathy4017

Yes, very much agree.

On the other hand, when they are OFF their land, they should not expect the rest of us to bend over backwards to accommodate them.

Respect to both sides , yes.

I was just recently at the Native American Market Festival in Santa Fe, met local native artists through mutual friends. They have head and shoulders above the ability to educate their own, having a very erudite tack to their view on life. Not too many people reach to that. I say keep the taint (Anglos) for the most part out of it.

Apples compared to oranges, the Amish back east have the choice of opting out of the fold as teenagers, many stay. To experiment with the "English", as they call us non-Amish.

The nuts and bolts of education and having feet planted in two spheres of culture is a difficult one.

The only education I had about Native Americans back in Ohio was the Mound Builders. They were out of Ohio in the early 1800's. No flesh and bone heritage to these effects are around to speak to me except for my grade school teachers. Google "Serpent Mound" in Adams County, Ohio and you'll see what I mean. There is also more in Ross County , near Coshocton. What happened to them? The folks out here were puzzled when I told them about Serpent Mound. They never heard of it!!!

If they aren't there to speak, what will you learn?

There is this nasty little thing called progress.