Mary Catherine Swanson

Mary Catherine Swanson speakinghttps://avidaustralia.edu

Of all the students that have gone through the AVID school program that apply for a four-year college, 90% of those students are accepted into the school of their choice. But who would have known that this great program helping students reach college when it simply wouldn’t have been an option for them before, was created by a regular English teacher from Clairemont, California: Mary Catherine Swanson. In 1980, Mary Catherine Swanson founded AVID, an after school program preparing students for a four-year college (“Mary Catherine Swanson”). Swanson taught English for twenty years in San Diego, California. She spent much of her long career at Clairemont High School, where she created her original idea for some type of after school program that could be easily taken advantage of by students of less fortune. Although Swanson had an amazing career teaching, it wasn’t her work in the classroom that made her the beloved hero she is today. It was her work within AVID and her afterschool activities there after her teaching career that is most noticeable. And because of her fearlessness towards others, determination to make those around her better, and selflessness in her works, Mary Catherine Swanson is the laudable hero we love and know today.

Mary Catherine Swansonhttps://www.avid.org/mary-catherine-swansonSwanson’s actions and what she did to help her program become successful are what make her fearless. Before creating her program AVID, “Swanson proposed that she be allowed to undertake an experiment to see if 30 disadvantaged freshmen could cope with the college preparatory curriculum if she supplemented their education with a special period each day devoted to giving them the tools they would need to succeed” (“Mary Catherine Swanson”). During her years at Clairemont High School, the city bused in many new under privileged students to a mainly white high school. By stepping up and offering to help with a new group of freshmen minorities that are most likely scared senseless, this shows lots of fearlessness in Swanson. Little did she know at the time, but this would be her first steps in creating her program that would eventually grow nationwide. However, all before creating her program AVID at Clairemont High School, “Swanson set up a coalition of freshmen-level instructors from San Diego-area colleges to show teachers at her high school what skills their graduates lacked” (“So What?”). While talking to a group of other teachers in her area, Swanson showed her colleagues what their courses where lacking. Being a fairly new teacher and trying to recommend things to better your working environment to experienced colleagues, this shows how Swanson does not fear what others say or think of her. While trying to spread her program AVID, “The San Diego school district staff refused to go along, so she quit her teaching job and went to work with the San Diego County education office” (Matthew, Jay). While long into her 20 year teaching career, Swanson took a leap of faith and quit her job to help spread her new up and coming program, AVID. This may have seemed absurd, but she did it for the greater good of her students, knowing it would benefit them in the long run and overall, showing her fearlessness against anything. Because of this sense of fearlessness she contained, Swanson was able to create her program and help those in need, making her an earning hero.

Instead of choosing to focus on herself and being careful, Swanson took a risk to help others when they were in a time of need which shows her selflessness. When Mary Catherine Swanson first started her program, she would make sure that “When a student was having particular difficulty with a subject, Swanson would see to it that he or she got special tutoring” (“Mary Catherine Swanson”).While working as a teacher, Swanson made it her duty to make sure they received the help they needed. This showed how Swanson was more worried about the lives of those students than that of her own, and shows her high level of selflessness. While working with her students in the early stages of AVID, Swanson believed, “I did not spend enough time with the parents because I focused so much on the students” (Gira, Rob). Although Swanson was spending many hours of her days working with her students, she still didn’t think that was enough. She thought that she needed to also meet with the parents of the students in addition to what she had already been doing. Swanson's main determination for all of her students to achieve that, “She tried to teach them study skills and increase their confidence so they could take their places in regular and even honors or Advanced Placement classes and grab the American dream that was so important to Swanson's upbeat view of the world” (“Matthew, Jay”). As a teacher, and even after she stopped teaching, Swanson would help any student in need. She was willing to take time out of her probably busy schedule to make sure the students were receiving all the help they needed to make sure they succeeded. Rather than choosing to be self-centered and focus on what she wanted, Swanson took the chance to help those in a time of desperation, showing of her selflessness and further proving why she is a deserving hero in society.

Mary Catherine Swanson teachinghttps://avidaustralia.edu

Mary Catherine Swanson is an admirable hero because of her actions of determination, fearlessness, and selflessness towards making the lives of those who are less fortunate around her better. Swanson is an inspiration to all, and this is the fault of her actions both before and after her retirement from teaching. She knew that teaching was a heroic act as itself, but decided to add onto her accomplishments by creating AVID, and helping those of less privilege. In one specific event that occured while working with one of her original 30 students, “As an example of having to intervene, Vince Jones was one particular student who worked hard and had the good grades to go to college, but he was afraid. He wasn’t truthful with me because he was nervous when I asked him where he sent his college application. He said University of California of Irvine, and oddly we did not receive his acceptance letter. So I called Irvine and they did not receive his application. I went to his home, got the application, and took him to Irvine.  He interviewed and got in” (Gira, Rob). Swanson was concerned when one of her students told her that they had not received their acceptance letter from one of the universities they had applied to, so she took it upon herself to drive the student to the school and get him accepted in the college. This shows the high amount of determination that Swanson had throughout her career. Although what Swanston does is not solving world hunger or creating world peace, what she did has affected thousands of students and their families across the US in a positive way and has made the lives of those families a lot easier. To some, Swanson may not seem like much of a hero, but to those 90% of graduating students going to a four-year college because of her and AVID, she is a big hero.

Works Cited

Gira, Rob. “Four Questions For: Mary Catherine Swanson.” AVIDCollegeReady, vol. 1, no. 1, AVID Center, September 12, 2014.

https://avidcollegeready.org/college-career-readiness/2014/9/12/four-questions-for-mary-catherine-swanson.html

"Mary Catherine Swanson." Newsmakers, Gale, 2002. Student Resources In Context,

https://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/K1618003498/SUIC?u=powa9245&sid=SUIC&xid=c5db27f2. Accessed 7 Dec. 2018.

Mathews, Jay. "A Teacher Who Changed Lives." Washingtonpost.com, 25 Apr. 2006. Student

Resources In Context, https://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/A144947088/SUIC?u=powa9245&sid=SUIC&xid=04342a6d. Accessed 11 Dec. 2018.

"So what if high schools don't align with colleges?" Washingtonpost.com, 8 Apr. 2018. Student

Resources In Context, https://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/A533876143/SUIC?u=powa9245&sid=SUIC&xid=99ac62ac. Accessed 10 Dec. 2018.