For Peter Haberlandt, it's now time to teach

Math major Peter Haberlandt stands under the portico of Goldwin Smith Hall. Robert Barker/University Photography

By Franklin Crawford

Peter Haberlandt knows exactly what he's doing after graduation: He's going back to grade school. This time, to teach. Destination: Harlem. Or possibly the South Bronx.

Haberlandt, a math major, has committed the next two years of his life to the Teach for America program. Now in its 10th year, Teach for America is a national program that enlists recent college graduates. They commit two years to teach in underresourced urban and rural public schools.

Haberlandt caught the teaching bug last summer as a tutor and resident assistant with an Upward Bound program designed to give at-risk high school students a jump start on their upcoming course.

"It was a real right-in-your face intro to teaching and I found it very rewarding," said Haberlandt, who worked with high school students from Connecticut's inner city's of Stamford, Hartford, Waterbury and New Haven. "I have always been struck by the dramatic inequities in the educational system and felt compelled to do something."

Although raised in a Hartford suburb, Haberlandt might as well come from a different world compared to the Upward Bound students he tutored. Haberlandt attended a private school where his mother taught and also served as a school administrator at the time. His father is a professor at Trinity College. But these were privileges the Haberlandt family did not take for granted.

"Educational issues were part of our dinner table discussions," said Haberlandt. "Teach for America was always in the back of my mind."

Getting students excited about math, however, is a challenge. "Math is typically the ultimate terror of a lot of young students. They may display pride and confidence in other areas, but math is something they are afraid of," Haberlandt said. "Making math exciting and accessible -- and above all urgent and relevant to their lives -- is a very exciting challenge."

Haberlandt said he also considered a stint with the Peace Corps until last summer. But his current course was set when he witnessed firsthand the transforming power of new knowledge in the minds of students who never thought they would ever master higher mathematics.

"Sometimes my students couldn't believe that they actually solved a problem on their own. They were so thrilled and proud of themselves. That was very touching for me, seeing that."

Haberlandt said his personal goal is to become a master at "marketing the problems of math, getting students psyched to challenge themselves and each other, to make a sport of math." And to give a sporting chance to deserving, if underprivileged, students who would otherwise remain scholastic underdogs.