Issue link: http://educator.cta.org/i/1487796
Club members, encouraged to consider teaching careers, create and present lessons to kindergartners at a nearby school. " This club is about racial justice and equity. Through out- reach, we can cultivate and inspire pathways to careers in teaching among Latinx and African American students in Inglewood." Bingener is a transitional kindergarten teacher at Beu- lah Payne STEAM Academy in Inglewood, and job-shares with another teacher while enrolled in UCLA's Ph.D. Urban Schooling Division program. She remembers being "deeply moved" when she visited the continuation school for her graduate studies. When she noticed the school did not have any clubs, she asked if she could start one. Permission was granted in October 2021. A $5,000 grant from CTA's Institute for Learning funded materials and field trips to elementary schools, colleges and theater performances. (The club is not a project for her doctorate program; she wanted to keep it as a separate volunteer project so she could help students without using them as case studies.) The first meeting drew students who heard there were snacks. Many were curious, but doubtful they had teacher potential. "I explained that everybody knows a lot about something, and we can all teach the things we know, whether it's how to shoot a TikTok video, play the latest online game or kick a football. I told them that their voice is important and that we are building a partnership together." The students create hands-on English and art lessons and present them to kindergartners at a nearby school. Last year 's presentation was a confidence booster for the club members, who were thrilled to be mistaken for college stu- dents by adults on campus. "It was a very powerful and joyful experience," Bingener says. "Students showed great promise — even brilliance." Some FITE Club members think seriously about a teaching career. For others, it's an important step toward planning for the future, even if they choose a different path. A few grad- uates appeared with Bingener at CTA's 2022 Human Rights Conference to share their experiences. "I never thought of myself as an educator," says Angel Stormborn, who graduated last June and is enrolled in El Camino College in Torrance. He plans on becoming a teacher. "Cicely immersed us in the world of education and gave us opportunities and experiences we'd never had. I've never met a teacher who cared more about her students and listened to what they had to say. She would make us feel normal, when a lot of us felt alienated and disconnected from the world. She made us feel loved." Presenting at the CTA Human Rights Conference was a great experience, says Stormborn, who believes the confi- dence he gained from public speaking will be helpful as a teacher. Bingener has taught in Inglewood for 25 years. She became a teacher because she was dissatisfied with her own educational experience and felt students like herself deserved better. She became the teacher she wished she'd had. "I have always thought if you are not part of the solution, you are part of the problem. And one of the ways we can make things better is by reaching out to students from non-traditional backgrounds. I have discovered that we can learn as much from our students as they can learn from us." " One of the ways we can make things better is by reaching out to students from non-traditional backgrounds. We can learn as much from them as they can learn from us." CICELY BINGENER Inglewood Teachers Association 21 D E C E M B E R 2 0 2 2 / J A N U A R Y 2 0 2 3