Ms. S. teaches English and math in a low-income neighborhood in New York City. She's one of the most experienced teachers at her school, having been there two years. She has a business degree, but school recruiters kept contacting her after she graduated so she decided to try teaching. "I really enjoy the quality time that I get to spend with these kids," says Ms. S., who is not using her full name, because she has not been authorized by her school to speak. "They're a lot of fun to be around."
But it's not easy. "The turnover is just so high," she says. "I think only eight of us returned out of maybe 40 new teachers from last year. And of those people, only maybe five of us are still here." She's in a class with 30 students and another teacher, because it's the integrated co-teaching class, where students with disabilities and those without disabilities learn together. Neither she nor her co-teacher, who just started teaching this year, have any training in education, let alone in instructing children with disabilities.
Read more at TIME Magazine.