Laura Wells, TAC, Middle School History

Facts:

Laura grew up in Washington, D.C. and attended public high school there before going to Harvard College for her undergraduate degree in History and Literature. While at Harvard, she participated in many different programs for children, including volunteering with Head Start, elementary schools, and tutoring programs in housing projects, as well as working in summer camps during the breaks. When she graduated, she joined the Teach for America program in North Carolina, and began teaching sixth grade Language Arts and Social Studies. She found that "teaching in an under-resourced school was without a doubt the hardest thing I had ever done, but also that it was incredibly moving for me. I loved my kids so much, and I needed to be a more effective teacher for them." So she applied to graduate school programs, and decided to attend Harvard because of its focus on urban education.

"I love the moment of seeing a student 'get it' for the first time -- whether it's through classroom teaching, coaching sports, providing community service activities, or any number of teaching experiences. I'm also committed to public service and I see education as my way to open doors for students and help them become what they want to be. Teaching for social justice can be very exciting!"

Inside Scoop:

"I have learned that the most important thing is always the students, and what they are doing in the classroom and contributing to the classroom. I have also learned that many of the things I used to think were separate goals can truly be taught most effectively together -- we should simultaneously teach our students the academic skills they need, the content required by the curriculum, and ways to constructively critique and engage in the world we live in."

"Don't sweat the 'Harvard' thing. Come here because you are deeply committed to educating our most needy children, and because Harvard offers amazing resources to help you do that. This is not a competitive place where people worry about reading and exams, it's a place where people work together to improve education."

"It's extremely refreshing to work with such a dedicated group of people who come from such a variety of backgrounds and life experiences. And the Ed School definitely deserves its reputation as the most fun-loving school on the Harvard campus! Be sure to take advantage of the broader Harvard community as well -- working with students in fields such as Health Policy, Business, Law, and Public Policy has been very educational for me."