Can TFA's Be Saved?

I was at a small meeting yesterday that was attended by a 4th year Teach for America alum. Not biased against the union, she understands what the UFT leadership is all about and is interested in knowing more so that one day she could run for chapter leader. She wants to know about the rights of union members and how to defend them.

"The first few years of teaching, you barely keep your head above water," she said, "and you don't think much about your rights." She talked about the TFA training, which she said is really dependent on the group leader. After the summer institute, recruits do not have much to do with TFA, she said.

We talked about reaching out to other TFA's, or those that stay. Maybe even a campaign to get more to stay. This TFA is a politically conscious about the larger socio-political context of teaching and feels sharing that viewpoint with others would be helpful.

"Teach for America is all about a narrow concept: closing the achievement gap. Results count. The idea of teaching the whole child is not really part of their equation," she said. "Luckily, I went for my masters at an institution that took the opposite approach and focused on the whole child. Maybe too much. So I got the benefit of both worlds."

This TFA gets it and is jumping into the broader social justice struggle that goes beyond the achievment gap and over time hopes to get other teachers to do the same.

Over time I got to see kids who did not have an achievement gap at my school still get lost to the streets and some that were behind find success later on. So I've never seen closing the achievement gap as the end all and be all. Fighting the lure of the streets and family dissolution seemed to be part of the bigger battle.


Read the followup: The story of A & E