Post submitted by: Mary E. Gillis, EdD, Assistant Teaching Professor, Teacher Education & Certification, Missouri S&T
I graduated from high school and entered college in the late 1980s as the first person on either side of my family to go to college. My father left school after eighth grade to work to care for his family, and my mother, who grew up in a family of ten as a sharecropper on a cotton farm, was the first in her family to graduate from high school. While both of my parents were loving and supportive, neither had any idea of how to help me prepare for college (or high school for that matter). Like many first-in-family students, I had no idea how to navigate that world once I got there. I didn’t know how to manage time, ask questions, take notes, or study. I failed miserably in much of the academic world as a freshman and sophomore in college. I did, however, thrive in some other areas of my collegiate life – I was the president of the collegiate speech and debate team and competed for three of the four years – winning regional and national competitions, for instance. I was a valued part of the English and Communication departments and often tutored students in that area. My GPA, though, was not impressed with these other skills. When I went to apply for the Secondary Education program, I was denied on the basis of my 2.43 overall GPA. The grade that I earned in the courses I took the first two years of college reflect more about my background than they did about my ability and skill.
I graduated with my Bachelor’s degree with that GPA, and then spent a few years and at least $10k to improve my GPA to reach the 2.75 that it took to gain acceptance into a teacher education program. I also had to re-take the ACT at that time, too because it didn’t meet the 22 required at the time. I had the 3.0 needed in English and in my Education courses, and so a decade later, I started my teaching career. During my first year, I was recognized by Phi Delta Kappa with an Outstanding Young Educator Award and the
Missouri Association of Colleges for Teacher Education’s Outstanding Beginning Educator award. I spent the next two decades learning and growing as an educator. Eventually, I was my district’s candidate for the Missouri State Teacher of the Year Program. I started to believe in my ability to learn, spent countless hours seeking out professional development, taking courses (earning my master’s, specialist, and doctorate degrees), and helping countless students gain confidence and skill in reading, writing, speaking, researching, thinking, and publishing. Currently, I am a faculty member in a Teacher Education program, and I can see my story reflected in a lot of students.
I don’t share this story to boast. My story, while anecdotal, gives voice to those who can’t tell their stories yet; I’m not an anomaly. The overall GPA requirement is a systemic barrier that limits access to the field of education for a lot of students; it especially hinders students who are in traditionally marginalized communities or are in low income households. I urge you to vote to remove this barrier.
Respectfully submitted,
Mary