Technical Professionals Make Their Mark in Education

By Bruce E. Phillips

There is a serious and well-publicized shortage of qualified teachers all across America, especially in the "hard" subject areas of math, science, foreign languages, and special education. Thousands of teaching positions are unfilled in almost every school district, particularly in urban schools, which serve a large percentage of the nation's students from minority groups. And, with many teachers from the "Baby Boom"-generation planning to retire as soon as they can collect a pension, the shortage isn't likely to ease soon.

One tactic increasingly used in the educational recruitment wars is to seek out science and technology professionals in Corporate America and bring them into the classroom as "lateral-entry" teachers of math and science. Though these recruits usually lack teaching credentials, the experience and skills many of them bring from the private sector can be invaluable.

The Chemistry Was Just Right

After receiving her B.Sc. degree in chemistry from the University of North Carolina, Brenda Tarrant helped develop safety and environmental strategies for batteries used in military missiles and aircraft, becoming a highly respected consultant on environmental matters. This work took her around the world, advising the Army and Navy on environmental control issues and developing long-range environmental plans.

But wanting to spend more time with her children and feeling the call of the classroom, she returned to college to earn her M.A. in teaching and became certified to teach science.
Today, she teaches advanced chemistry at one of Baltimore's best public high schools.

Tarrant loves her job, but the transition from chemistry bench to classroom was not easy: Going to classes for two years at night to change careers required a lot of support from her family, she says, and if she had not had a "mentoring teacher" once she began her new career, she might not have stayed, she adds. The mentor was with her in the classroom for two months and was available after that when needed. That help made the difference.

"Student teaching doesn't give you the front-line experience you need to succeed," Tarrant says.

From Technology to Advocacy

Veniece Keene is a former engineer who now oversees the Lewis Stokes Greater Philadelphia Alliance for Minority Participation, called the Philadelphia AMP, for short. The 26 AMP chapters across the country, funded by grants from the National Science Foundation, work to encourage African-American and other minority participation in technical studies. The Philadelphia chapter has helped increase the number of minorities receiving technical degrees from 201 in 1994 to 526 last year.

Keene understands personally the demands of a technical career. She earned a B.S.E. degree in computer science and engineering from the University of Pennsylvania and began work at Bell Telephone. After taking two years off to care for her children, she returned to work and quickly discovered that technology had changed dramatically in her absence and her skills were no longer current.

But, in her heart, she already had found a new mission away from the corporate world: Her experience as an African-American woman in a largely White male business environment had shown her that minorities benefited from encouragement and mentoring to get ahead in technical disciplines.

She returned to school for job training and found herself studying computer software at Penn's school of education, where she earned both a B.A. degree in sociology and an M.Sc. in computer education.

Says Keene about her current job: "I want to help young people succeed."

Is It Worth It?

Veniece Keene and Brenda Tarrant prospered in Corporate America. Now they're making a contribution to society by educating, inspiring, and motivating others. They are living proof that, for the truly dedicated, teaching is more than a job; it's a calling. They are giving back and finding that they are getting much in return.
Says Tarrant: "My only regret is that I didn't do it earlier."

Bruce E. Phillips can be reached at BPhillips@ccgmag.com