Plenty of Praise for Teach for America
Teach for America has generated a lot of headlines this year. The nonprofit program, which recruits graduates of elite colleges to teach in some of the country's most disadvantaged schools, is on a winning streak: Applications jumped from 18,000 to nearly 25,000 this year, and a recent study by the Urban Institute finds that TFA teachers are more effective than those with traditional training, especially in math and science. Critics note that TFA recruits, who make a two-year commitment to the program, often leave when their second year is up, just as they are becoming most effective. But proponents say that those who leave often continue to be lifelong advocates. Here's a roundup of what's being said about TFA. What do you think?
The New York Times editorial board credits TFA teachers with helping children achieve at the highest levels in math and science and says that the United States must foster such programs if it is to continue to be a world power. The Times stresses the importance of recruiting teachers from selective colleges, as TFA does, and dubs most traditional teacher training programs "little more than diploma mills." Ouch!
And in yesterday's Times, Sam Dillon profiled TFA founder Wendy Kopp and her husband, Richard Barth, who runs the Knowledge Is Power Program, a charter-school network that won high praise for helping low-income students achieve at high levels. A quick snapshot of this "power couple" tells the story of how they met and looks at the success they've enjoyed in their respective organizations—a flattering angle, to be sure.
A recent WSJ editorial praises TFA, noting that while the program pays recent graduates between $25,000 (in South Dakota) and $44,000 (in New York City), it "offers smart young people something even better than money—the chance to avoid the vast education bureaucracy." The editors cite a recent Urban Institute study that finds TFA teachers' effect on student achievement is nearly triple the effect of teachers with three or more years of experience.
Time magazine names Wendy Kopp one of the 100 most influential people for 2008 (she's up there alongside Vladimir Putin and the Dalai Lama), citing a study from 2005 showing that 75 percent of principals consider Teach for America teachers more effective than other teachers, and a 2004 study that finds students taught by TFA teachers achieve higher levels in math than students taught by other teachers. It concludes, "Kopp's idea is working—and as a result, more kids are learning."
Slate ran a piece by Sara Mosle (herself a TFA alum), who took a favorable look at the program's development over time. She lauds TFA for "placing a premium on results rather than mere good intentions" and jokes that while leftists talk about changing the system, "it took a blond-headed, pro-business Princeton grad from Dallas." Mosle also discusses Donna Foote's recent book, Relentless Pursuit, which documents the first-year trials of four TFA teachers at Locke High School in South Central Los Angeles. (U.S. News & World Report features an excerpt of Foote's book and interviews the author.)
Sounds like pretty positive coverage, right? Indeed. No major publication has penned a serious take-down of TFA—so if you think that's an error, comment away, but in the meantime the organization is holding up well. There were some critical accounts in the fall of 2007. Most notable were a hard-hitting piece in the New York Times Magazine, which questioned whether two years in the classroom is enough, and an article in the Economist, which cast a dubious eye on the size of TFA's impact in the larger scheme of things.
Tags: New York Times | public schools | teachers | education | Teach for America | Wall Street Journal
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Alternative Opinions to Approaches
The journalistic approach used by this periodical's staff is shocking, beneath even the blogging basement. This piece is dubious for a number of reasons, the most blatant is the clear lack of research by the staff of the US News. To cite support from a single study by the Urban Institute and to recycle their findings through newspaper proxies (WSJ & NYT) is a bit disingenuous. And to cite Time magazine as any sort of authority is equally suspect. Additionally, referencing clear fluff pieces as support is careless journalism one should scarcely find in a High School newspaper.
The legitimate research regarding TFA has been without question mixed. Simply perform a rudimentary Google Scholar search (something you'd hope responsible journalists might consider) and the ambiguity becomes immediately clear. The effectiveness of teachers from TFA, Troops to Teachers, Teaching Fellows, NU-Teach, District Interns, and the bevy of alternative routes to teaching is a very important issue, one that requires thoughtful consideration borne out of reliable research. The integrity of the US News Staff is another issue worth contemplating.
What the media overlooks
While I commend the premise of TFA and its founder, let's look at the what the media has not covered: The financial aspect of the TFA & KIPP programs. The programs are run by a husband and wife team; both programs receive millions of dollars from corporations and donors, on top of what they receive from states and local distrits per pupil. I take issue with KIPP's recruiting program, as it pulls its school leaders from the TFA program. I take issue with the fact that KIPP is considered a non-profit, but does not give to the communities in which it serves other than providing a school. I take issue with the fact that KIPP can build schools in low-income, mostly minority communities but the leaders of the schools oftentimes do not look like the people they serve nor share common experiences. This practice holds true for the other Charter Management Organizations (CMO) and Education Management Organizations (EMO). The truth is here in print, you draw your own conclusions.
Teach for America
In my 13 yrs teaching, I have had the chance to work with many TFA teachers. I have always worked in inner city schools. Schools in many inner city neighborhoods often are the one constant. It has been my experience that the addition of TFA teachers to a staff creates and atmosphere of constant change in the school. Many TFA teachers teach only long enough (2 years) to gain financial help with student loans. Then, they leave. Others leave to create foundations and masquerade as experts after teaching for only two years. TFA fails reveal the problems with dicipline and student achievement many of their teachers face.
If TFA was truly concerned with educating disadvantaged youth, they would try to cultivate teachers who choose education as a career. There are so many of us who have chosen to dedicate our entire lives to students and chose to get the education to back up our decision. We stay in it for life, no matter how little we get paid and without help on our student loans. Perhaps, if TFA teachers were required to teach for five years before getting financial help, we would get a group of teachers truly dedicated to the profession. For now we get, high teacher turn-over rates in places that most need stability and consistency.
I did have the honor to teach with one young woman who was a member of the TFA corps. She was fabulous and chose to stay long after her TFA contract ended. She had amazing test scores, great classroom management, and a great connection to our kids. She was the exception, not the rule. She was born to teach and that was the difference. A good teacher cannot be made or trained, especially if they are not committed in the first place.
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