RPCV Fellows/USA Profile: Kalimah Fergus

Tanzania 1997-2000

Kalimah Fergus knew she wanted to teach. She was so steadfast in her conviction that she turned down a full scholarship that would have kept her in coursework full time at Teachers College (TC) at Columbia University to become a Peace Corps Fellow instead. She knew that as a Fellow, she would be able to gain hands-on experience in New York City public schools in addition to classroom knowledge.

She applied to the Fellows/USA program soon after returning to her hometown of Brooklyn, New York, from Peace Corps service as a math teacher in Tanzania from 1997 to 2000. She needed to complete her teacher’s certification in order to achieve her career goal. Earning a master’s degree would be a logical complement to this endeavor. “Being able to teach and get a master’s simultaneously while becoming certified would save me a lot of time and energy,” said Fergus. “ In the state of New York, teachers are required to earn a master’s degree within five years after they begin teaching.”

Fergus began the program in the fall of 2001 as a TC student and science teacher at the High School for Legal Studies and had little difficulty settling into her new lifestyle. “At some points I do feel overwhelmed,” she said. “But so far so good!”

However, things became slightly more complicated for Fergus after the events of September 11. “I have a hard time describing how my students were affected by the September 11 thing. My older students were frightened. Some of the students saw out the window when the plane hit,” she said. “Within a couple of weeks, people were back to normal once they found out their families weren’t hurt. A lot of them are from violent or drug-infested communities, so they have to deal with realities that are closer to home. It’s interesting to think about it in those terms. How does something like that affect someone who deals with instances of violence on a smaller level every day?”

The turbulent lives of her students often result in behavior issues that were not common with her Tanzanian students. “In Tanzania, I got used to the students being completely quiet while I was teaching. I was surprised when I realized that it’s not the same here,” said Fergus. “I think that’s good because my expectations are higher than those of the other teachers. It makes things easier because I don’t tolerate things that other teachers let them get away with. It helps to set a more structured classroom.”

She notes some similarities between teaching in New York and teaching in Tanzania, however. “We’re dealing with the same issues, like lack of resources and large class sizes,” she said. “I’m teaching motivated students, but they feel that they are behind in terms of the resources that they have. It’s a different environment. This experience is just as rewarding, though.” It is rewarding enough for her to continue teaching in Brooklyn after she completes her fellowship. “I’d like to stay for a few years,” she said.

Fergus described what drives her ambition: “[When I teach,] I get as much as I’m giving because this is something that I’ve always wanted to do and something I enjoy doing. It doesn’t feel like a burden to me. It doesn’t feel like I’m sacrificing anything. For me, being a martyr would be sitting behind a computer all day.”

Last updated Sep 29 2008