Attempting to Find a Positive Account of Teach for America

Over the past few weeks, we have spent a good amount of time discussing both the pros and cons of Teach for America. The copy of the blog post we received during class, outlining one individual’s experience with the Teacher for America, really struck me as shocking. As a reminder (I know we all already read it), the blog outlined how the Teach for America program left one novice teacher unprepared for the classroom in which she eventually experienced isolation and shame leading her to feel completely burnt out. The novice teacher expresses, “I have learned a lot about teaching and what works for my students, but I will not teach next year. I am burnt out. I am done” (Julian Vasquez-Heilig). In the end, the novice teacher concluded that Teach for America was simply perpetuating many of the issues that already exist within the system.

As shocking and alarming as this account seems, I felt as if this was a biased and one-sided view of Teach for America. As Professor Feuerstein mentioned in class, I decided to try to find a blog post with a more positive outlook to use to make a comparison. After a challenging search (most articles and accounts where negative), I eventually came across an interview in 2013 with a graduate from University of Pennsylvania and recent TFA alumna, Melissa Suzuno. In contrast to the first blog post, Melissa seemed to recognize both the positives and negatives of TFA. Melissa recalled, “I loved my students and the connection I had-that they felt so comfortable with me and I could be a confidante. On the other hand, knowing what’s happening and wanting to fix things can be heartbreaking” (After College, 2013).  At the end of her experience, Melissa had overall positive things to say. Melissa explains, “TFA offers you the chance to do something incredible, but the reality is that the day-to-day is very hard and if you have this sexy idea of what it’s going to be like, you’ll be disappointed, because it’s not. It was an unbelievable experience, but I look back at it and I’m so grateful” (After College, 2013). If you’re interested you can read Melissa’s entire interview here: http://blog.aftercollege.com/2013/normal-job-two-years-teach-america/

In attempt to contrast these two different accounts of TFA, I’ve concluded that although TFA can offer personal internal rewards, there isn’t overwhelming support that this program fosters the most prepared teachers that want to remain in the teaching profession. Although I still have some hesitation, overall, I believe that TFA is not a permeant solution to the problems in our education system.

What are your thoughts? If you had to choose a side (for or against TFA) what would it be? Why do you think it’s so hard to find positive accounts of TFA teachers? Is it that people with strong negative experiences just have more to say or are the majority of TFA experiences negative? What could TFA change to improve the quality of their program from the teachers’ perspectives?


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23 responses to “Attempting to Find a Positive Account of Teach for America”

  1. Walker Brady Avatar
    Walker Brady

    As an undergraduate in the middle of filling out a TFA application, the new information I have obtained from our readings has made me question if TFA is right for me. In my own research I found much of what McKenzie was talking about to be true, how most opinions of TFA are negative. From my point of view these opinions are not just negative of TFA but down right hateful.

    People taking the time to post or write about their time and others stints in the corp have made it clear that for large group their TFA experience was terrible. One writer in the Harvard crimson really spoke to me about why so many came came out of the program with so much hate towards their experience, “TFA is not only sending young, idealistic, and inexperienced college grads into schools” he goes on to talk about how the inexperienced teachers are harming the children, which I agree with. Before he writes about how TFA takes advantage of an idealistic youth, which hit home personally. As the author of the article I was identified as a recruit due to my role on student government. After meeting with my campus recruiter I got weekly emails about how fulfilling the job is. I would say I am myself an idealist, so on top of the moving conversation I had these emails pumped me up to apply to be a corp member.

    After several weeks of playing around with the decision and the conversation we have had in class I have come to two conclusions. One TFA does prey on the idealist youth and with the amount of positive propaganda they fill your inbox with any college student would kill to be a corp member. Two what they are doing is good but they do not have a sustainable model. The amount of experience they send corp members into the classroom with is a gamble whether the young teacher will succeed as they must do this on their own.
    Works cited:
    http://www.thecrimson.com/column/the-red-line/article/2013/10/23/dont-teach-for-america/

  2. Melissa Avatar
    Melissa

    What could TFA change to improve the quality of their program from the teachers’ perspectives?
    It would be interesting to see what the program (and their results) would look like if the commitment time would be longer. Like we discussed in class, the short two-year commitment seems to be in place to attract young, recent graduates who may not want to be part of the teaching profession for long. I think that the 5 week-long training period (Los Angeles Institute) is nowhere near enough time to train TFA members. Extending this to a semester or year-long experience and increasing the overall time devoted to the teaching profession would drastically change the applicant pool, attract students who are more serious about the profession and their place within it.
    I have no quotes or data for this. My thoughts are that if the program focused on requiring more of applicants, only those who have considered teaching or education in general for post-graduate plans would apply in the first place. Maybe we could make the assumption that they would also have some classroom experience or even just experience working with children or youth in general. Maybe this would decrease the number of new teachers who feel taken by the classroom environment itself.

  3. Melissa Avatar
    Melissa

    I am not sure why we focus on the negative experiences. What I find most interesting about the controversy and sometimes hostility towards TFA, however, is that there are so many other programs that are similarly formatted and are school-district endorsed and seem to be untouched by critiques. They are traditional alternative routes into teaching (typically called Internship programs) and they are fostered in accredited colleges and universities across the country. Some of these programs do exactly what TFA does.

    California State University, Northridge, for instance has a “Multiple Subject Credential Internship Program”. This program is offered in partnership with local school districts and provides the opportunity for people who are already full-time public school teachers to complete a preliminary credential while teaching for four semesters in their self-contained classrooms. This program includes coursework, field experiences and seminars just like TFA. (http://www.csun.edu/eisner-education/elementary-education/internship-program-pathway)

    One other example is one endorsed by the Los Angeles School District. Also designed for non-credentialed teachers, the program also offers the opportunity to earn teaching credentials while teaching full-time and completing coursework with a partnered college or university, just like in TFA. (http://www.teachinla.com/teachinla/noncredentialed.html)

    Both of these programs require a BA from an accredited institution and a 3.0 or higher GPA. (This requirement is actually higher than the TFA requirement- lowest is 2.5 for some regions). Applicants must also pass examinations and clearances like TFA members and also have a secure position in self-contained classrooms.

    The unique circumstance of TFA, is in its popularity. It increasingly attracts young, elite students and its growth has sparks the interest of researchers and professionals in the field. I think that this is where the controversy starts. There is so much attention given to what might be ‘wrong’ but we overlook the fact that many teacher-preparation programs look very similar to the TFA frame. The difference is that those programs are not under the spotlight (for potential applicants or education reform advocates). I wonder if a shift in focus would ignite a movement to reevaluate teacher-prep and certification as a whole.

  4. Hannah Avatar
    Hannah

    I really find all of this discussion about TFA intriguing. For a short time, I too was contemplating going into TFA. I met with the recruiter like Walker but eventually decided not to enter teaching directly out of college.

    With the TFA model, I do not think the enjoyment of the corps members in their placement is the organization’s top priority. Last week in class, Melissa made a comment about how she would have loved to have an inexperienced TFA teacher in her classroom over some of the teachers she did have, teachers that literally did nothing. I think TFA teachers are accomplishing the organization’s goal: better the education of students in low-income schools/neighborhoods. While TFA may not be producing lifetime, all-star teachers. They are doing something right. They continually have tons of applicants for their very competitive program. As much as it would be great if the corps members loved their experience, if the teachers have a positive impact on their students’ lives, I believe the placement and program can be considered successes. Whether TFA members teach for one or two years or enter a career in teaching, their drive and motivation can give students a more positive schooling experience than they were previously receiving.

  5. McKenzie Avatar
    McKenzie

    I’m really enjoying all of this feedback and, like Walker and others concluded, the benefits and disadvantages of TFA may be a close to even toss up. However, what we all seem to agree on (also the same for the other schools Melissa mentioned), is that TFA is managing to make the teaching profession more appealing to better candidates. In essence, TFA is making the teaching profession more desirable. I think that this (changing the perception of teaching) is really what is going to be at the center of fixing public schools.

    I constantly argue that the lack of respect teachers receive doesn’t make any sense. Do you respect/trust your doctor? Do you respect lawyers? Who taught them to do what they do and know what they know? Furthermore, children are parents most prized possession. Why would they chose to send them to someone who is not respectable? The bad reputation teachers have is simply narrow-minded and not logical.

    However, what can make the teaching profession more appealing? Better Salary? Is it truly possible to change the public’s perception of an entire career?

  6. Melissa Avatar
    Melissa

    I completely agree with Hannah’s points. If I had to choose a side, I would say that I am ‘sold’ on TFA. Given the situation of some classrooms in low-income communities, TFA is effective not only in providing students with a new sense of motivation and ‘innovation’, but also a sense of hope. TFA draws a great emphasis on recruiting a “diverse corps”. According to their site, the purpose of this is to increase their impact on the students they teach and encourage different ideas and perspectives when discussing education equity.

    “While we value all forms of diversity, we place particular emphasis on recruiting individuals who share the racial or socio-economic backgrounds of the students we teach, 90% of whom are African American or Latino.” While it is unfair to belittle the influence of most of my teachers (I did make it to Bucknell), as a Latina, having a single Latino teacher during high school was essential to my ‘success’ in education. I believe that the sharing of background is important. This teacher, although not a TFA teacher, was proof that the endgame of school was possible. He had grown up in the same neighborhood, had attended that very same high school, went on to a college we recognized (UCLA), continued to live in the area and we would occasionally run into him at the grocery store. He was a real Latino, accent and all, who had made it (myth, debunked)!

    TFA facilitates this phenomenon. It provides a unique (yet temporary) outreach opportunity for minority undergrads to give back before pursuing their own end-game. I think this is a unique responsibility. More importantly, it gives students tangible proof. This is as tangible as it gets. You get a teacher who looks like you, shares in your culture, understands your experiences because they lived them too, are able to communicate more effectively with families and communities, and, most importantly, evidence that ‘there is no excuse’ for not believing in your potential. (FTA’s corps for 2014: 50% people of color, 34% first in family to go to college).
    http://www.teachforamerica.org/why-teach-for-america/the-corps/who-we-look-for/the-importance-of-diversity

    I wish we could find accounts of the TFA experience, but from their students!

  7. Hannah Avatar
    Hannah

    Melissa, thank you for sharing that perspective with respect to having a similar background as your teacher. I bet it was inspiring for some students to have a teacher that used to go to their same high school to show that they could do that too. Not only that, I would assume he was highly regarded at the school and was able to educate students on life more than some of the other teachers. Learning in school is about the subject matter, but students also need to learn interpersonal skills and life skills that are relevant to their area. I am sure this teacher had much more weight in his conversations with students simply because he was like them.

    Also, I love your idea of finding TFA accounts from the students’ perspectives. I would be interested in reading these when the students and teachers were of the same ethnicity and when they weren’t. My guess would be that most of the negative responses to TFA that we have read were from teachers who could not relate to their students (race, social class, academic success, etc.).

  8. Courtney Avatar
    Courtney

    Hi Walker,

    I totally understand how people’s negative posts about TFA might disillusion you. However, I also want to bring about the idea that people talk about positive experiences much less frequently than they do about negative experiences. People seem to be much more willing to post their negative experiences on a public forum than to post about the positive. That may be because there are overall more negative experiences (It’s an extremely difficult job, and they definitely don’t seem prepared enough), or it may be because that group is so vocal. Plus, the few positive experiences might be overshadowed by the common idea that they are just posting propaganda for the TFA organization. Although this idea is totally possible, it lends to the idea that those who are talking about negative experiences are relating truth, while those who may have had positive experiences are propaganda and untrustworthy.

    What I think would be interesting would be if TFA received yearly “reviews” from their corps members (and it would be great if they would publish them, but I doubt that would happen), where the members were given opportunities to tell the organization what went well and what didn’t. I think the idea behind TFA is great, but the preparation and follow up doesn’t seem to live up to their grand ideals.

  9. Courtney Avatar
    Courtney

    Hannah and Melissa,

    I agree with your guys’ points about how a student’s perspective on TFA teachers would be interesting to look at. And Hannah, I specifically agree with your idea that negative responses probably came when the teachers weren’t able to relate with their kids. Like Melissa said, it was great to know that someone who came from your situation, had the same culture, lived in the same neighborhood was able to succeed and thrive. That’s inspiring. That makes kids want to learn. And, it’s likely that those kinds of teachers remember how their teachers, parents, or whoever got through to them, and can try that with their own students.

    I’d like to further point out that willingness to learn in that situation also probably influenced these corps members’ experiences. If they came in thinking they knew what they were doing, and had nothing else to learn, wow that would have been a hard lesson to learn. However, if they came in with the expectation being that they needed to find a mentor who could help them relate to these kids, then I think they would be more successful. One, this would get them off their pedestal of thinking they have nothing to learn from the kids they teach. And two, it would integrate them with the community, so that lack of support from TFA might not be as jarring.

  10. Amanda Avatar
    Amanda

    Walker,

    I recently applied to TFA and am now at the point where I have my final interview in December. Before this class I did not have many negative thoughts about TFA but this course has definitely made me question if TFA is something I want to be a part of. I have been aware of people choosing TFA because they think it would be “a good thing to do” before joining the career they really want after college. A lot of the people I know were definitely influenced by the emails and videos and information TFA was providing, painting themselves as a perfect organization that was fixing the problem of failing schools.

    While I like to see myself as an idealist as well, I knew that some of the people TFA were recruiting were not going to be prepared for the harsh reality of teaching in a low-income school. Many of these corps members are not education majors or minors and might have never even taken an education class at their university. I think that this is the real problem. TFA is recruiting members that have no background in teaching and are then trying to give them a crash course before sending them into their own classroom.

    I have worked with wealthy, low-income, and spanish speaking children since I was in eighth grade and am now an Education and Spanish double major. I myself feel like I am prepared to become a TFA corps member. I am aware and a little nervous that it will be a very challenging experience but I also know that many of the corps members who I will be working with are not like me. I cannot imagine how the corps members who have never taught before are feeling and I definitely see how they could be very unprepared going into these schools.

  11. Amanda Avatar
    Amanda

    Mckenzie,

    I have the same question as you: How can we make being a teacher a more valued and “popular” profession?

    The society that we live in today values material items and money over almost anything else. It is all about what you have and what you can have. I think that it is possible to change the public’s perception of an entire career but in a more pessimistic view, I think this would only be possible with the increase of teachers’ salaries. I think that being a teacher is a wonderful thing but unfortunatley I am not the majority. I think that part of the reason doctors and lawyers are so highly respected is because of the amount of money that must be paid for their services. In our society, the amount of something is what shows its value, and the low salaries of teachers unfortunatley shapes peoples’ ideas of the value of our teachers.

    However, I do not know if teachers can or will ever receive better salaries. The amount of money that is being poured into our public school system in order to better it is still not solving the problem so I do not see a world in which this money is going to be given to the teachers instead.

    I hate to have such a pessimistic view of our society but I think that money is so valued today that I cannot see another explanation?

  12. Dana Avatar
    Dana

    Walker, I completely agree with your ideas about the exploitation of young and idealistic college graduates. Without much experience and exposure to underprivileged students, college graduates of prestigious institutions enter the workforce, and TFA, with ideas that they can make big changes.

    I wonder if TFA would benefit from recruiting not only idealistic college graduates, but experienced teachers as well. If they could offer some incentive for teachers who have already proven to be great at what they do, to work with unprivileged students for two years, I wonder if the impact would be greater. In this way, corp members are necessarily learning how to teach, but working on getting through to their students in a more challenging environment.

  13. Melinda Avatar
    Melinda

    Walker,
    I think your comment is very interesting in viewing how your opinions toward TFA may have changed over the course of the semester based off the accounts we have read. I agree with you in the sense that I have always had such a positive outlook on the TFA program overall, but my feelings also have changed a bit when thinking about it in terms of preparedness.

    I still find it a very intriguing program and I think that it is such a great experience and opportunity for students right out of college, but I do find it hard to know if these students are up to the challenge that they will be faced with each and every day, especially if they are placed in a poverty-stricken environment. I think with the short-preparedness in TFA, it takes a special person with experience to succeed. I think that it can easily be done, as long as you are up for the challenge.

  14. Dana Avatar
    Dana

    I agree that teachers in this nation are not very well-respected, especially compared to some other nations such as Sweden and Japan. My podcast group is working on this exact topic, so we are taking an in-depth look into the answers to this question.

    In a way, I think that Teach for America seems to solve the lack of respect problem that potential teachers have. In other words, students at prestigious institutions will not often choose teaching as a profession because of the relatively low pay and lack of esteem that comes with the job. However, TFA is a way in which potential teachers can teach, while having a prestigious position as a corps members. This may be part of the initial attraction of wanting to join TFA because it is more “acceptable” than working toward a teaching license. Unfortunately, because of the challenges that corps members face, a lot of TFA participants who go into the program with idealistic views seem to lose hope and motivation that they can handle being a teacher.

  15. zvw001 Avatar
    zvw001

    I, too, have spent a lot of time thinking about how we can make the profession of teaching appear as prestigious and important as it actually is (I mean, let’s be real, without teachers you pretty much wouldn’t have any other profession). Unfortunately, I agree that an increase in salary would help – money pretty much determines importance in our culture. One thing I have also thought about is what would happen if every teacher suddenly stopped teaching. Basically, I’m envisioning a mass protest. Like I said, if there were no teachers, there would be (practically) no way to educate children to fulfill the roles in society that are labeled as ‘more important’ or ‘more desirable’ largely because of how much they pay. Would this help to show people how important teacher’s roles are? It’s not a very practical solution, but would it work?

  16. Zac Avatar
    Zac

    Amanda,
    To respond to your question about how someone who hasn’t had much experience with education or teaching might be feeling going into a TFA program: I almost want to say that I think they’d be feeling perhaps much more confident that someone who HAS had the experience. I guess I am kind of thinking about the difference between being an idealist and a realist. I believe one should always be an idealist, and always have this almost unattainable goal to strive for; but at the same time I think we have to be aware of our own limitations if we ever want to reach our ideals. Someone who has not had much experience or thought in education might not understand or be aware of their limitations, which is why I could see them going into a program like TFA very confident (not to say that confidence is bad, of course). You, on the other hand, as someone who has had experience and put a lot of time and thought into education and teaching, will probably be able to enter a classroom – aware of what your strengths and weaknesses might be – and use them both to your advantage to help your students and to improve your skills as a teacher.

  17. Zac Avatar
    Zac

    This is an interesting point, Dana, and reminds me of the New Orleans documentary when one of the parents was questioning why new, inexperienced teachers were replacing the ones that had been there for years. Now, I am sure some of the new teachers that came in (regardless of experience) were more effective than some of the older teachers, but surely this can’t be true to the degree that they fired the teachers with experience.

    It would definitely be interesting to see what would happen if TFA could get already-proven-to-be-effective teachers into their program, but I also wonder how they would create an incentive for these teachers.

  18. Alex Avatar
    Alex

    Zac, I think that is a really intriguing idea. It would obviously be harmful to a great number of children, but would it be worth it in the end to raise the respect given to teachers? I remember a strike in Washington state about 5 years ago–a whole district went on strike for 17 days over issues such as classroom size and salary raises. This ended up delaying the first day of school by about 2 weeks. This strike was relatively successful, with most teachers satisfied by the deal that was eventually struck. Would this work on such a large scale, though? I can anticipate ways in which this could actually hurt the reputation of teachers, but making them seem like they don’t want to work or only are interested in money. But if it were to occur over a long enough period, it may prove the point you’re making. I agree–it’s hard to find a feasible way to improve the way teachers are seen!

  19. Melinda Avatar
    Melinda

    I think that you raise a really good point here! It seems that TFA does indeed attract a large population because of the short time commitment students make to the program, with the great additives they get for participating in the first place. It is so appealing to graduates to immediately get placed into a job while you find your place in the real world, but making TFA have more restrictions such as a longer time commitment could weed out those who do it just because, and keep the individuals who truly have that passion and drive to teach and make a difference within a student’s life.

    I think that experience should also be another qualification of a TFA applicant. We use the program to try and make changes within our educational system, but we do not want to include college graduates who do not hold that significant experience over those who do and genuinely love the idea of teaching.

    While TFA does indeed provide opportunities for recent graduates, maybe placing certain limitations could improve the overall program?

  20. Melinda Avatar
    Melinda

    I find it very interesting that you had a hard time finding an account from a TFA representative that was nothing less than positive. I think this describes the situation in a number of ways. One, simply we can look at that fact that a lot of the time, we only reflect upon negative things that occur. Obviously it is easy to bash something down when it does not work out in your favor. This could be one possibility that we find so many accounts of this sort, in comparison to a more positive outlook when someone has a good experience. It seems today we only reflect on the good things in life whenever it will advance us in some way or another.
    Secondly, do we find that many flaws in this process that we have so much to reflect upon? I think that since the TFA program draws from such a large and diverse population, it is troublesome. There are little limitations on who can apply to be a part of the program. I think that TFA faces so many challenges because students are simply not prepared for what they had signed up for. Thinking upon it, I would say its an easy thing to get into, and an easy job for the first two years out of college. WRONG. Especially being placed in a more poverish community, working for TFA with little experience could be one of the hardest jobs and experiences one could face. Like the article McKenzie mentioned, the woman was simply exhausted. She was in over her head and she could not handle it. Not because she did not meet the qualifications, but because the limited amount makes it easy for basically anyone to be given an opportunity. I hate looking down on TFA because I think it is a good program. There are just a lot of things that debates that surround it.

  21. Hillary LeDesma Avatar
    Hillary LeDesma

    In response to some of the ideas you were weighing out, I think it is important to recognize your own experience and room for change. I wouldn’t say they ‘prey’ on idealistic young undergrads. I would say that those students are seeking out this type of job. Because they are so idealistic and see opportunities to make a difference in a child’s life, they apply. From many conversations I have had with TFA Core members, there is some training put into the types of students they will be teaching and the types of schools they will be entering. We simply constantly hear about the horror stories of teachers who and so idealistic, and truthfully ignorant to the cultures and lives of their schools and students face. It is no ones fault, but I think it is important for college education to be more than just a degree, but an honest reflection on the problems of society, and how their degree can help change these. Especially as Bucknell students taking an education class on the flaws and positives of public education, we are aware of these issues. We can take what we learn and bring them into our career paths after graduation.

  22. Hillary LeDesma Avatar
    Hillary LeDesma

    I think this speaks to a two tiered pro-and-con with TFA. It gives students an opportunity to learn about the education system and the importance is plays in society. It is also flawed in that it focusses a lot on the experience the teachers will gain as people and less about the affects they will have on their students. It in someways is a buffer for many undergrads after the graduate and find their true career path. I will also speak to the importance of TFA teacher sin low-income communities. It may not be the ideal system, but these teachers are driven, young, and willing to make an effort for change in these student’s lives. They may not be making that big of a difference, but they are making a difference. Like I’ve said before in class, as a product of only TFA teachers, I’d take a new inexperience TFA dedicated teacher over a tenured unsupportive teacher I’ve have my whole educational career growing up.

  23. afeurstn Avatar
    afeurstn

    I just want to say one more time — these are all really interesting insightful posts. I can’t tell you how rewarding it is to be able to see this kind of dialogue taking place at such a high level. It is a credit to all of you for for doing the reading and coming to class all semester. It is possible that you were all well informed enough to have this dialogue at the beginning of the semester, but I tend to think (want to think) that your hard work is behind your well thought out positions.

    OK, here is my two cents on the teachers strike issue. While I kind of love the idea of a massive teacher protest for better wages, working conditions, etc. I’m afraid it might backfire. I guess I agree with Alex, and think that the teachers might end up being viewed as selfish, only worried about themselves etc. The big difference between the countries where teachers are well respected and well paid and here seems to have something to do with idea of social democracy. In a country like the U.S. where everyone is supposed to pull themselves up by their own bootstraps, teacher can sometimes seem superfluous. We like to believe that we are country of self-made men and women. This gives little opportunity for those working in social service fields to rise is stature. On the other hand teachers play a central role in those countries that invest most heavily in creating a more just and equitable society and they are rewarded accordingly. All indications are that things here may only get worse for teachers before they get better. This is now deterring a lot of people from entering the field — or if they do enter the field — from viewing it as the best place for them to make a long-term contribution.