Kuhnline gets assignment with Teach for America

Economics major Jake Kuhnline '07 may have planned to take a break from the classroom after graduating from Knox, but just two days after Commencement ceremonies, he found himself studying a new lesson plan through Teach for America. It is a job that promises low wages, exhausting labor, and only a short break before the work begins.

Teach for America enlists recent college graduates of all majors who can commit to two years of service and teach in urban or rural public schools for job experience and placement. At sites around the country, the organization trains hundreds of recent graduates for two-year teaching stints in disadvantaged schools.

Kuhnline's first assignment will be in Houston, Texas. There he will complete an intensive summer training session that includes instructional planning, classroom management, lectures, workshops, and a crash course in teaching. Chapter Two will take him to New Orleans for his two-year high school chemistry teaching assignment. Thousands of college graduates apply to the Teach for America program, but Kuhnline is one of a small percentage of the applicants to snag one of these coveted positions.

He expects a challenge. "New Orleans is experiencing a severe teacher shortage after Hurricane Katrina. There is only a 50-60 percent attendance rate within those schools since the hurricane."

Before coming to Knox College, Kuhnline, who hails from Alton, Illinois, described himself as a "big sports guy." "I loved being outside playing sports. I was always bouncing around in my passions," he says. "In high school I assumed I was going to major in chemistry," he says. "When I got to Knox, I found a love for politics. Joining Teach for America is a way I can do both."

At first, Kuhnline expected to attend a large university, and he readily admits that Knox College was the only liberal arts school that he considered. "When I visited Knox, there was something about the college I liked. The encouragement I saw students receiving from faculty to be open minded and the subjects they were going to learn and their views?I knew it was okay not knowing what I wanted to do with the rest of my life."

Then and Now
Kuhnline says he remembers himself as extremely immature when he first arrived at Knox. "I didn't know where I was headed. I was a little closed-minded. I was taken aback by the amount of ideas on a given Tuesday night discussion in a dorm room. I found myself drawn into the conversations, and I started learning that it is okay to be curious, okay to talk about the world or politics. And, as I learned about other people, I learned more about myself and developed as a leader."

Kuhnline honed his leadership skills at Knox through his membership in the Beta Theta Pi fraternity, the Prairie Fire football team and his position as senior class president.

Unfamiliar with the Teach for America program, Kuhnline says he received an e-mail from a representative. "They said they were aware of my leadership at Knox and wanted to talk to me. After meeting with a representative, I was drawn to the goals and motivation behind the movement. I think the educational system in this country is in need of reform. We need to demand that everyone deserves the opportunity to be educated," he says.

While less than a third of the Teach for America recruits stay in the classroom following their two-year stints, according to the Teach for America website, about two-thirds have remained directly involved in education through teaching, conducting research, and influencing educational policy. "I'm open minded. I easily see myself teaching in 5-10 years or grad school in social policy or education," Kuhnline says.

Kuhnline is looking forward to the opportunity to get back into chemistry, for which he says he has always had a passion. "Teach for America is a very intense experience, and I think it has to be," he said. "This is the deepest learning curve I've ever been a part of. I can relate to the students, and I have the drive to learn as I go," he says.

Teach for America claims that it chooses talented leaders who energize the education system."I think I have always been drawn to community service but didn't see it in myself. On reflecting on whether or not to join Teach for America, I made this decision because I found I have been drawn to it for awhile," Kuhnline says.

Teach for America is an 18-year-old nonprofit and is part of the AmeriCorps network of service programs. According to its website, its goal is to eliminate the educational achievement gap in the United States. The initiative started in 1990 with 500 teachers. More than 17,000 people have been involved in the program since then.

Jake Kuhnline talks about the Teach for America program on the PBS News Hour.