I posted an article from The Feministe by "Anna" called "Why I Hate Teach for America" on Aug. 24, 2008. One of the things TFA'ers who comment on critics say is that they are filling a breach that other teachers won't go into even if it's only for 2 years. In NYC with 1400 unassigned teachers (ATR's) due to closed schools adn excessed positions, TFA continues to pour people into the NYC school system. The cost to the system has been estimated to be $70 million.
Amazingly, the blame has been placed on these experienced teachers by Tim Daly of the New Teachers Project who has a contract to train new teachers and a vested interest in attacking these experienced teachers. His biased reports may in fact be a hidden part of his contract.
Groups in NYC have been calling on the DOE to place a moratorium on TFA recruitment until all these teachers are placed or use them to create more classes where feasible to reduce class size.
The anonymous comment below on the "I Hate TFA Post" came across the other day.
I am a traditionally trained teacher. I have a dual degree in elementary and special education. I'm currently working on my M.Ed in Literacy. It pains me to think of the disservice we are doing our students with TfA.
I've seen people with no background become literacy coaches in 3 years, teaching new recruits how to teach! It's an absolute joke.
We are putting the wrong people in the neediest situations and often watching them fail. With programs like TfA we are putting a band-aid over a huge flesh wound in the American educational system.
I believe that alternative programs can be a part of the certification process but TfA is missing the boat, big time.
I teach special education in an inner-ring suburb of a large metropolitan area. I think of what our students are missing by having teachers, with less than 8 weeks of training, standing in front of them, especially in the elementary grades. Research proves that these primary years are the most important in shaping our academic success and our nation is willingly letting people with no experience or background teach literacy and math.
Unfortunately, this is the way it will be unless this great nation of ours realizes that we need to turn things around, supporting our students at home and our teachers in the classroom. Our profession has lost its nobility.
Students are disrespectful and are supported in their poor choices by parents. We need to reward teachers who pursue higher education degrees and continue to teach with higher salaries and an ounce of appreciation for the often thankless things we do and the countless hours spent helping students beyond our contracted day.
Teach for America perpetuates the problem by supporting the idea that teaching is a stepping stone to bigger and better. In my mind, teaching is the bigger and better. Teach for America boasts that high expectations are required for student achievement. I agree, and I have higher expectations for programs like TfA and the people who have chosen this path.
Step up to the plate TfA and require your recruits to enter the field and continue with their training to TEACH!
Ed Note: I do not agree with the "Students are disrespectful" part of this comment because it brands all students. However, since I also taught special ed kids with emotional difficulties as a cluster teacher - and believe me, I was completely untrained to deal with them - I can understand why this teacher may feel this way.
5 comments:
Actually, I think that the percentage of students who are disrespectful is actually small, but Bloom/Klein's ridiculous policies and procedures for handling disruptive students causes chaos for all children.
It sickens me that the majority of well behaved children have to be subjected to losing valuable class time while teachers have to go through 17 steps to have a disruptive child removed.
As an employee of the District of Columbia Public School, I truly believe what you wrote. If you are going to have a program such as TfA then you have to place the recruits in schools that are not high needs. After some on-the-job training, no less than 2 years, place the (now called) teachers in high needs areas. I will never believe that inexperienced teachers will productively serve how most challenging children.
The D.O.E wants low a suspension rate and high a graduation rate. There are no incendents in schools. They make it hard on the teacher to get ride of a disruptive and disrespectful student. This makes Klein and Bloomberg look great. As if they really fixed the schools. But it all honey and lies. In my school teachers grades were changed from failing grades to passing grades so that the graduation rate can go up. Teachers who try and write up students have the tables turned on then by pricipals telling them that they did not handle the situation the right way, that they embarrassed the child or that the teacher cause the child's outburst by giving them a zero for cursing. You have poor classroom management skills the pricipal would tell teachers in my school and some even got letters in their files because of it. These are 20 years veteran teachers who have never gotten a letter in their files are now gettig them for poor classroom management. So the message is clear. Keep a lid on things beause we don't want to suspend students! That make Klein and Bloomberg look good. And don't forget everybody passes. It does not matter to them if students graduate with a 3rd or 6 th grade reading level. Once they graduate it's someone else problem. These students go to college and can't pass the cuny reading, writing and Math test. But don't worry the graduation rate is up! Some can't even fill out a job application! And don't even think of hold the parents accountable for their children's behavior. Oh no, those are voting parents. How can the Mayor keep controle of the schools if he holds the voting parents accountable, for their childrens behavior. It's the teachers fault. That's it. It's the teachers fault. Bad teachers. Give them more Staff development and letters to the file. Hell let's change the contract and fire them when they can't handle disrupted students. That sounds good. It makes to much sence to force the parents to go to Staff Development on how to rise your child and force them to go to court to answer for their childern's behavior or excess absents. No that would upset the voters. It's better to blame the teacher.
BlueDevil.
It's interesting that anonymous mentioned that Bloom/Klein and the DOE "make it hard on the teacher to get ride of a disruptive and disrespectful student" because these are the same individuals who advocate for charter schools which seem to have far more ability to control over student behavior.
Blue Devil is right the principal in my school last spring changed grades so students could graduate. But the principal changed grades and went back to failing grades from the time these students were in the 9th grade. This is what happens when these principals can get a $25,000 bonus if they have to show an improvement in the schools stats.
Decrease in violence increased attendance increased graduation rates are all phoney. Changing a students transcript is a criminal act. I guess to be a principal you have to be a liar and a cheat and that is what Bloomberg and Klein are looking for in a principal and that is what they teach in the principals academy. Just ask Margie Feinberg she will have some spin on it.
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