For a real glimpse at the life of a new teacher, the Memphis Flyer invited seven Teach for America teachers to write essays about their lives in the classroom. “Classroom Confidential” features the voices of Memphis teachers driven to chain smoking and rampant ice cream eating by the stresses of their jobs; teachers questioning their life choices; teachers wading through sleep-deprivation to make it through the school day. But after a couple months in the classroom and despite the challenges, many of them are still optimistic. They still want to make a difference and hope to have a positive impact on the lives of the students who sit in their classes.
A version of this news article first appeared in the Around the Web blog.