FIRST PERSON - A REAL EDUCATION: When a Reporter Becomes a Teacher, She Learns Something BY CHRISTINA ASQUITH Ms. Asquith's 6th Grade Class, Philadelphia, PA. One sunny July morning in 1999, on a whim, I called the Philadelphia School district and made an appointment with a recruiter. I thought of myself as a reporter, but I was looking for a job. Like many cities suffering from a teacher shortage, Philadelphia still needed 1,200 teachers and was taking almost anyone with a college degree. I had written hundreds of stories about education and always harbored an interest in teaching. Still, I'd...