By ELIZABETH VENRICK
J Alumni News staff
Josh Swartzlander
Josh Swartzlander was a journalism student. He never expected to be teaching high school math.
But now, currently in his second year as a Teach for America teacher, Swartzlander can apparently handle the challenges of both mathematics and journalism.
A 2008 J school graduate, Swartzlander has a resume that includes internships at the Lincoln Journal Star, Omaha World-Herald, Scripps Howard Foundation Semester in Washington and the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. As a J school student, Swartzlander also worked on a depth report about Sri Lanka.
During his senior year at the J school, he read about Teach for America and met with a recruiter.
“I had read about the underlying problems in this country’s education system. I couldn’t think of a better way to give back to the country for providing me an excellent education than to help students who really needed it,” Swartzlander said.
Swartzlander teaches Algebra I at East High School in Kansas City, Mo.
“It’s hard because many students at East arrive without the background knowledge they should have in an algebra classroom,” Swartzlander said. “But we quickly remediate and try to make up for lost time by investing students in their education and giving them the tools to succeed in class.”
Immersion experience
The job offers an intense but positive experience. Swartzlander said the kids are the most rewarding part.
“I have brilliant kids who just need more people telling them that a) they can succeed, b) they need an education to succeed, and c) they can positively affect their families and communities by putting their education to work,” Swartzlander said.
His work as a teacher has made an impact on his own family.
“Josh’s teaching experience has given me an incredible depth of perspective when I talk about Lincoln Public Schools,” said Mary Kay Roth, Josh’s mother and communications coordinator for Lincoln Public Schools. “His experience has given me gratitude for the public education system we have in Lincoln.”
Having attended Lincoln Public Schools where, according to Swartzlander, teachers teach and students learn, he said it’s nearly impossible to describe the challenges facing his students.
“The most challenging part of teaching is working in a system that seems determined to make its students fail,” Swartzlander said. “The students in these schools are set up to fail because of chaotic schedules, lousy teachers and administrators, high dropout rates.”
Connecting past to present
For Swartzlander, this profound contrast between the school where he teaches and his own education carries over to his memories of the J school as well. He said two professors who influenced him were Joe Starita and Mary Kay Quinlan.
“Starita was the best editor I have ever worked with, and Quinlan helped me improve my editing skills and helped me get an internship in Washington, D.C.,” Swartzlander said.
Starita recalls Swartzlander’s maturity.
“He was one of those young men who is almost unimaginably conscientious and responsible given his age,” Starita said. “He also was always polite and considerate of his interview subjects. I much appreciated his maturity and professionalism.”
Starita also said Swartzlander works well under pressure.
“He was extraordinarily well-organized and could effortlessly multi-task without getting frustrated or losing his concentration and focus,” Starita said.
Those skills may have served Swartzlander well in teaching.
Now in his last year in Teach for America, Swartzlander has to decide whether he wants to get into education or journalism.
“I will probably stay in teaching for a while, perhaps at my current school,” Swartzlander said. “Becoming a school administrator is another possibility. Or getting back into journalism, if newspapers make a comeback down the road.”
Right now, Swartzlander enjoys being a teacher and doesn’t have to make any immediate decisions.
“I would highly recommend Teach for America to anyone who is interested in helping out the nation’s students who need help the most,” Swartzlander said. “It is an incredibly rewarding experience. We need bigger representation from schools like UNL.”
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