Any Teaching Fellows out there?
 

Is anyone on GC a member of a Teaching Fellows program? I'd like to hear some personal accounts of the program, specifically if you are in DC. :)

I am a former educator in DC and I could tell you a few things from an outsider's perspective.

I know that the first summer is intensive. I believe the DC fellows teach summer school during the day and take classes in the evening and night.

Then they have the huge new teacher orientation sometime toward the end of the summer -- not just for fellows, but for all new teachers. This will be a good networking opportunity to meet other new teachers.

Somehow I doubt that the fellows get much choice in their placements. If you find yourself in the program and have the choice to rank your potential placements, PLEASE PM ME FIRST. You do not want to be stuck somewhere with a bad principal, and there are plenty, unfortunately.

If you are white, be prepared for what might be your first time experiencing prejudice. Now that the program is older, it's probably not as bad. BUT, some older teachers and/or teachers who majored in education, did student teaching, etc., will look at you as somewhat of a carpetbagger. They will think of you as someone who does DCTF for a few years just for the "experience" and say you helped the poor black children of DC, but you just couldn't do enough, so you felt it was time to go to grad school and become a policy-maker.

I don't know you, so I don't know if this is your plan. If it is, don't tell anyone.

But back to the race thing. A lot of these kids have never been around people who don't look like them, so if you're not black, just brace yourself for a lot of mostly innocent, but sometimes intrusive questions about your background.

I got the feeling from my friend in DCTF that there is not a lot of support once you start teaching. Yes, there is grad school and lots of in-service opportunities, but your biggest support will be from your cohort.

To sum it up.... I feel that DCTF is less of a "Program" than it is a gateway to get people into teaching. Being independent will help -- the ability to befriend senior teachers will help. But be warned -- STAY OUT OF THE TEACHER'S LOUNGE. Everyone who is nice to you is not your friend -- keep personal and professional far, far apart.

Let me say that I am not part of TF, but have considered it over the past couple of years. I also have friends who have done it or are currently doing it. Many quit within the first year, saying it was much, much harder than they expected. Also that there is not enough support from the school they were placed (either the teachers or administration). Another thing i've heard is the quality of people TF take on is misleading - they make it seem like they take the best of the best, but friends have mentioned having "WTF??" moments when meeting other teachers-to-be in their program.

I think you can group TF folks into two groups - recent grads who are still figuring it out (and run the risk of having America's future teachers not being in it for the right reasons, and then making the turnover much higher) and career-changers who really want something different. Perhaps the latter group are more successful at it, as they are older and kinda have their bearings together. a bunch of snot-nosed brats arent going to break them as easy as some 23-year-old who studied computer science but is kindasorta thinking of law school.

Anyway, i have friends in both groups. The former, one friend just finished his last year (well it was Teach for America, but all the same) and is applying to law school. He was a history major. In the latter, a soror who was an advertising exec who wanted to make the transition for her son, who is autistic and wanted to learn the BOE inside out. Becoming a teacher was the answer for her. They both loved their experiences to date, but there are just as many that have fallen by the wayside with horror stories, literally quitting midyear because it was much too much.

... and this is why my application has been pending for 2 years.

I think that you are a bit misguided in the intentions of many Teaching Fellows, particularly those straight out of college. Speaking for DCTF, there is a strict vetting process and I have yet to meet a single Fellow who is thinking of doing anything other than staying in education. While some of us, myself included, are eventually going to leave the classroom, we will always have a hand in education. I, for example, plan on going into IDEA litigation and eventually education policy work. But not before spending many years in the classroom and really witnessing first hand the rampant problems affecting the schools and special education.

Additionally, let me say this: please do not confuse TF with Teach for America. The TF program has much higher expectations that you will stay in education. TFA as grown into a major networking organization and is very upfront that they can get you into your top 5 law school choice or a consultant job. (No joke, I was told this during my first interview.)

It is not easy to get into either program. For every one spot in DCTF, there were 13 applicants. The number is even higher for NYCTF. Now I am only a week and a half into summer training, but I have been impressed and pleasantly surprised at how smoothly everything is running! Our training and university coursework has been great and we have formed a very strong support network already. I keep reminding myself that it will get harder (I get in the classroom on Monday!), but the problem isn't this program or its peer groups, it's the greater systemic problems afflicting our country's education system that are real issue.

ETA: It is an exciting time to be in DC. Chancellor Rhee (Google her!!) is just amazing and I cannot wait to see what she can accomplish over the next several years. It will not be easy, but she is making sweeping changes, like firing 20+ principals, to make school more successful for the students and more nurturing and supportive for its (excellent) teachers.

I will agree with the first point, that there is a difference between TFA and TF, at least in the way it is presented. I went into finance upon graduation (had an offer before my senior year) and it was always pushed to me to enroll in TFA and i could "always go back to corporate" when i finished. and i agree, that was mentioned more than once, that many candidates for big firms (financial and legal, among others, but also b-school and med school) are more likely to extend (one person from TFA actually said "its practically guaranteed") an offer seeing that you participated in TFA. I dont know if that is true but those wouldnt have been my reasons for doing it.

I dont know, ive always had my apprehension about people who did TF. surely the reasons may be awesome and that their intentions are all "i want to save the education system one kid at a time," but like you said, the problems that need to be solved are bigger than that, and i think unfortunately many TF folks that first year realize it and have a "oh crap" moment and get the heck outta dodge.

or they stick it out and make the program proud. i dont know.

I'm so happy for you so far!

Chancellor Rhee is quite unpopular among most of the veteran teachers, so please be careful when and where you sing her praises! (Like I told you in PM a few months ago -- stay out of the teachers' lounge! :p)

I finished up my first week of student teaching on Thursday. My students are wonderful, but they are in a remedial summer program and need to pass in order to move up a grade. I'm astounded at what they struggle with (multiplication and long division as "rising" seventh-graders!) and I told them they are in boot camp from here on out. I also threatened to chop off fingers if I see anyone counting on them from here on out. ;)

Buttonz, let me know if you want any information on the application process. I interviewed at NYCTF as well, but chose the DC program. One of my good friends just started the NYCTF summer program and I have several friends going into/in TFA. :)