Teach for America?

Originally Posted by kddani

How has there NOT been an IHE reference in this thread?

Originally Posted by valkyrie

LOL.

Teach for America is never not funny.

How the holy hell did I miss this thread?

You too can be like IowaHawkeye!

TEACH FOR AMERICA!

[MoonStar17]

DONT DO IT!

I am currently in my first year teaching in an inner city school. I was however, an education major. I am working in the inner city for many reasons, but it was not my first choice for my first year.

There were 3 TFA teachers working with me at the beginning of the school year. One quit after 2 weeks (6th grade-the kids were crazy).
The other quit before christmas break. (5th grade with me)
The other is absolutely MISERABLE and is not sure whether he will be back next year (another 5th grade with me.)

I myself am having serious doubts about education- which everyone tells me is a normal "first year" mentality.

It is not as glamorous as their website makes them out to be.

Although, there are two successful TFA teachers currently in their 2nd year at my school.

So really it all boils down to your own personal strength and determination.
I do know from what my fellow teacher has told me, they do take alot of your personal time for meetings/observations/classes/etc.
And as it is there is little time for yourself as a regualr teacher. I find that I am physically and mentally exhausted by the end of the day.

I would just do as much research as you can before making a final descision.If your interested in teaching, persuing an education certificate may be a better option.


Good Luck!

[Senusret I]

If you were an education major, why are you in TFA? I felt like people in TFA generally wouldn't meet the NCLB requirements otherwise due to their majors/coursework.

[Tippiechick]

Originally Posted by Senusret I

If you were an education major, why are you in TFA? I felt like people in TFA generally wouldn't meet the NCLB requirements otherwise due to their majors/coursework.

I don't think she is. I think she's referring to her coworkers who were in TFA and is trying to give advice based on her observations.

[Senusret I]

Originally Posted by Tippiechick

I don't think she is. I think she's referring to her coworkers who were in TFA and is trying to give advice based on her observations.

Oops, you're right. I was skimming too fast again, lol.

[UGAalum94]

Originally Posted by Senusret I

If you were an education major, why are you in TFA? I felt like people in TFA generally wouldn't meet the NCLB requirements otherwise due to their majors/coursework.

I think you are right as far as the majors and coursework, but I think in general TFA types maybe smarter and better educated generally than many of the folks who go straight through with education majors. And, there are enough non-traditional paths to certification now in many states that if you try TFA, and like it, you can get full certification later.

However, I think folks should keep in mind that TFA will be in schools that are hardest to staff: fully certified teachers choose not to go there and that's probably for a reason. You may go in expecting a Dangerous Minds/ Freedom Writers experience, but I'd imagine everyone who teachs there hopes for that, and yet, those results are the exception. It's important to believe that you can make a difference, but it's important not to be delusional about it. It will be hard work every day; the successes are likely to be small; and to really make a systematic difference would require more than two years.

Completing the TFA contract would probably give you new insights into human nature, management, educational policy, and social class in America, which, if you think about it, could serve you well in many other fields later.

It might be a mistake, though, to use TFA as your experiment to see if you liked teaching generally. It not likely to be a representative sample.

[MoonStar17]

Originally Posted by Senusret I

If you were an education major, why are you in TFA? I felt like people in TFA generally wouldn't meet the NCLB requirements otherwise due to their majors/coursework.

I am not in TFA, but have seen and am currently working with TFA teachers. As others have said, TFA experiences will differ greatly.

For me the greatest challenge has been going in with such high expectations and being hit with the reality of the situations these kids are in. I've had to lower my expectations and work towards mini success goals.

I have learned to take things one day at a time.

[ASUADPi]

Originally Posted by Alphagamuga

I think you are right as far as the majors and coursework, but I think in general TFA types maybe smarter and better educated generally than many of the folks who go straight through with education majors.

I'm sorry but I take offense to this comment. Just because you are a TFA doesn't meant that you are generally "smarter and better educated than the folks who go straight through with education majors". In fact it is probably the other way around.

TFA's spend 5 weeks in intensive training. I'm sorry, education majors (non-alternate certification) spend 2+ years training. I know from my experience at ASU, that you had to do volunteer tutoring hours prior to applying to the COE (college of education). Then once in the program you spent your last four semesters in the field and 3 semesters taking all education coursework.

I chose alternative certification (because I obtained a BA History). I got my MA Elementary Education and certification at the same time. It was a one year intensive graduate program. All I took were education courses. And I'm still taking education courses. One reason is to get another certification but also to get more pay. To get more money, I have to continue to take graduate level coursework.

There are couple TFA's at my school right now. I can tell you that I am more educated than them. The most they have done is completed the appropriate coursework required to become state certified. While I have a Masters degree.

Just because your a TFA doesn't mean you're a great teacher. (And the same thing apply's for a regularly certified teacher's, I won't even get started on my coworker ).

[UGAalum94]

I stand by my comment generally although it doesn't apply in your case. Someone with an undergraduate degree in history is likely to be well educated in my book, but someone with a degree in education may or may not be. I didn't mean you with my original post; what may be true when you look at trends, may not be true in an individual case.

Based on my own experience taking education classes, reading studies of education, paying attention to educational reform, my impression of education programs is pretty bad. They might or might not actually prepare you teach in a school where you are likely to get a job. Yes, you will have jumped through more hoops than a TFAer, but those hoops might or might not have anything to do with teaching.

At many colleges, the school of education will have the lowest admission standards and some of the weakest students, as determined by GPA and SAT scores.

TFA, on the other hand, pulls heavily from the Ivy league and other top tier schools. They seem to attract and select very bright candidates, and they seem to have a rigorous selection process. The five week training course might be pretty skimpy, but in many schools where they take TFA candidates, the administration will frequently hire people will no education training at all if they can qualify for a provisional certificate. The turnover of fully certified teachers at the schools is usually very high.

I think there are excellent teachers out there who went though traditional programs, but I wouldn't say on average that graduates of education programs are better educated than people with the same level degree in a non-education field. Think person with MA in History vs. person with MA in Social Studies Ed: who do you think is generally better educated? You'd hope the Social Studies education majors were better prepared to teach, but I'd bet the history majors know more history.

Depending on the program they went through, the education program graduates might or might not be more prepared to teach, which is sad because it was the focus of their education for four years rather than five weeks and they ought to be clearly better prepared to teach.

(Now, the TFA folks you know may be complete idiots, but that hasn't been my experience. I haven't taught with any, though: I just know some folks who after college did TFA.)

Sorry for the rant. I'm sure that you personally are a great teacher. This is just an issue that winds me up.

[33girl]

You may be the smartest person ever, but if you can't transfer that info to your students when you teach, it doesn't really matter, does it?

I've had teachers and professors that I'm sure were certifiable geniuses, but they couldn't teach for jack, and I learned nothing in those classes.

I once read a novel where the main character bemoaned the fact that he wasn't GREAT at something, like writing or math...but he came to the conclusion that he was good at a lot of things, and that made him a great teacher. I think that's about right.

[UGAalum94]

Sure, 33Girl, it's true that a lot of smart people aren't particularly good teachers, but if you don't know something then you certainly can't teach it. We'd all hope that any college graduate would have mastered the content knowledge through high school, so maybe it doesn't make that much difference.

The original point that I was responding to, I think, suggested that TFA candidates were less educated and prepared than education program folks. I think that's a hard case to make considering how staffing works at the schools that TFA is in.

I'm not sure that "not great at anything but good at a many things" is really descriptive of most good teachers, but I do think a lot of teachers choose teaching because it allows them to use many of their talents.

[Senusret I]

Originally Posted by Alphagamuga

The original point that I was responding to, I think, suggested that TFA candidates were less educated and prepared than education program folks. I think that's a hard case to make considering how staffing works at the schools that TFA is in.

No.

I was referring to No Child Left Behind requirements of a "highly qualified" teacher. In DC, that includes having at minimum a minor in education. Programs like TFA are ways around that requirement, because they are in essence teacher education programs and put you on the path to being "highly qualified."

At no time did I imply that anyone anywhere was more or less educated than anyone else.

[ASUADPi]

Originally Posted by 33girl

I've had teachers and professors that I'm sure were certifiable geniuses, but they couldn't teach for jack, and I learned nothing in those classes.

Like I mentioned to Alphagamuga (via PM), I work with a lady (she is in the same grade level as me) who I wouldn't call a "certifiable genius" but she is probably an intelligant woman, but as a teacher she absolutely sucks! That is seriously the nicest way to put it. I mean this woman had the lowest 4th grade scores at the school (and we are talking a 3-5% difference between the other two 4th grade teachers, and that is a pretty big difference) she was moved (on purpose) down to 1st grade because she had swore up and down that she would quit. Did she? No.

I could go on about how horrible this woman is as a teacher (since I see and deal with it daily), but that's not what the thread is about (I just wanted to respond to the comment ).

[UGAalum94]

Originally Posted by Senusret I

No.

I was referring to No Child Left Behind requirements of a "highly qualified" teacher. In DC, that includes having at minimum a minor in education. Programs like TFA are ways around that requirement, because they are in essence teacher education programs and put you on the path to being "highly qualified."

You are completely correct about matters of certification.

I apologize if I misrepresented your views. I didn't intend to go on a long rant about teacher qualifications, but being "highly qualified" by NCLB doesn't mean much, and that's where I was going with my first comment.

Looking more carefully, I can see that you were just dealing with the issue of labeling not quality. Sorry.

[Munchkin03]

Originally Posted by Alphagamuga

TFA, on the other hand, pulls heavily from the Ivy league and other top tier schools. They seem to attract and select very bright candidates, and they seem to have a rigorous selection process. The five week training course might be pretty skimpy, but in many schools where they take TFA candidates, the administration will frequently hire people will no education training at all if they can qualify for a provisional certificate. The turnover of fully certified teachers at the schools is usually very high.

I have a lot of friends from college who decided to do TFA--not because they actually wanted to teach (my college does not have an undergrad education program), but because they weren't ready to go straight to law/medical/graduate school and figured that they could do that to pass the time for a year or two. None of them were even considering teaching for their careers.

The people who did NYCTF were usually committed to teaching for at least 5 years, if not for their entire careers.

I have a family "frenemy" who is a teacher here in NYC. She's annoying as hell and I can't freaking stand her, but she did have a really good point in that the teachers at her school who did TFA tend to be very very smart, but really didn't learn how to impart that knowledge to others. Plus, since they didn't go to school for education, they didn't feel as invested in their jobs as someone who did do an Elementary Ed program.