tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5113479300897983388.post3357843291972929368..comments2024-01-06T06:09:29.140-05:00Comments on An Urban Teacher's Education: Research on TFAjames boutinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09625944306253098621noreply@blogger.comBlogger15125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5113479300897983388.post-30619813317389826052010-11-14T12:45:02.788-05:002010-11-14T12:45:02.788-05:00Also TFA'ers are sent to the most struggling s...Also TFA'ers are sent to the most struggling schools, poverty-ridden environments, and predominantly minority neighborhoods; they are not sending these recruits to Sidewell Friends, and St. John's etc. Therefore the children who need the most effective and stable teaching force are nothing more than a 2 year experiment. Most troubling is that these recruits are sent en masse. Just this in itself is a criminal act.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5113479300897983388.post-5471139829680081502010-11-08T22:04:24.738-05:002010-11-08T22:04:24.738-05:00Well said.
The problem with evaluating this res...Well said. <br /><br />The problem with evaluating this research is that the answer is always going to be "it depends." In complex situations like education, there will never be a sufficiently simple explanation of the effect of one variable. <br />So if we look to see if TFA "works," we will find an answer that doesn't fit in the small space most people have in their brains. <br />For my place, I think we could start with some of the evidence that everyone accepts, and let that constraint whatever conclusions we want to make. <br /><br />First, few TFA'ers stay beyond the two years, and even fewer stay beyond 4 years. I can't believe that one of the <a href="http://www.gse.harvard.edu/news_events/features/2008/05/21_project.php" rel="nofollow">links</a> above has a title of "Study Finds Teach For America Teachers Stay in the Classroom Past Initial Commitment" but then you read below and it says that 15% stay in their initial position beyond four years, and only 35% stay in "the teaching profession," which I can only assume includes Michelle Rhee, who I personally would exclude from this category.<br /><br />Second, experience matters for both TFA'ers and non-TFA'ers.<br /><br />If both of these are true (and I think in the murky, controversial world of TFA evaluation, they are both accepted), doesn't that immediately limit any positive impact TFA could have?Cedarhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13935627443458025397noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5113479300897983388.post-48279794581404528822010-11-08T19:57:23.189-05:002010-11-08T19:57:23.189-05:00Linda,
What I can tell you is that in her tenure...Linda, <br /><br />What I can tell you is that in her tenure, Michelle Rhee saw over half her teaching force leave according to Bill Turque:<br /><br />http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/10/28/AR2010102807217.html?nav=hcmodule<br /><br />AND<br /><br />According to Mary Levy (former DCPS parent and educational advocate), Rhee increased the number of inexperienced teachers by 6% and decreased the number of "most experienced" teachers by 10% between 2008 and 2010.<br /><br />I, too, would love to know the number of TFAers and DCTFers involved in that mix, but I don't know how to find out.james boutinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09625944306253098621noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5113479300897983388.post-29968188141734647622010-11-08T15:50:28.404-05:002010-11-08T15:50:28.404-05:00RE:
I agree with your view of TFA.
I'm inte...RE:<br /><br />I agree with your view of TFA. <br /><br />I'm interested in knowing how many inexperienced teachers (TFA, New Teacher Project, Fellows etc.) were hired by Michelle Rhee for DC schools. Do you know? Thanks.Linda/RetiredTeacherhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01613269510654597179noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5113479300897983388.post-30778393605636291912010-11-07T13:43:53.483-05:002010-11-07T13:43:53.483-05:00I'm anon @ 9:45 and for the record didn't ...I'm anon @ 9:45 and for the record didn't major in education either, but have been teaching, fully credentialed, for over 20 years.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5113479300897983388.post-46242423394119978962010-11-07T10:05:10.443-05:002010-11-07T10:05:10.443-05:00Anonymous,
I think it's fair to say that many...Anonymous,<br /><br />I think it's fair to say that many TFA recruits are idealistic, and naive, and often arrogant. Those qualities are not mutually exclusive.<br /><br />As for majoring in education as a marker for competence or commitment, come on: I feel I am a far better teacher because I majored in a content area, had a variety of jobs outside of teaching, and only then took the (with a few exceptions, classroom observations and student teaching among them) bullshit ed classes that I needed to get my license. I see the same being true among my colleagues.<br /><br />The problem with TFA and its recruits is not that these young people didn't major in education, it's that they push the false ideology that (overwhelmingly) white, upper middle class missionary temps can solve the problems facing American students and schools, and that the organization itself is a front for the hostile takeover of public education.Michael Fiorillonoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5113479300897983388.post-42982699634415051692010-11-07T09:45:16.647-05:002010-11-07T09:45:16.647-05:00TFA kids idealistic? When did this idealism surfac...TFA kids idealistic? When did this idealism surface, 2 weeks before graduation when there are no jobs on the horizon? If they want to teach and change the world, why not be an ed major and prepare to become a teacher? Oh, I forgot, being an ed major is for stupid people and they are really smart.<br />BTW, I'm a veteran teacher and not afraid of learning from rookies, fellow veterans and anyone who has skills and techniques that can help me better address my students' needs. I remain open.<br />And most of the TFA teachers I've worked with have been humble and willing to learn from us experienced teachers.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5113479300897983388.post-21666733199677026222010-11-07T09:25:09.703-05:002010-11-07T09:25:09.703-05:00Excellent post!
I've always found that new te...Excellent post!<br /><br />I've always found that new teachers, even non-TFAers, were unwilling to accept that they had so much to learn. Part of the reason is that administrators more often than not put these cheap teachers on pedestals. <br /><br />I've witnessed on numerous occasions, (excellent) veteran teachers being forced to "learn" from the rookie by observing them. Can you just imagine the indignity?<br /><br />Our society is very youth-driven. And the teaching profession is following this model.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5113479300897983388.post-69842840178452806402010-11-06T19:53:01.278-04:002010-11-06T19:53:01.278-04:00Fantastic. This reminded me of my first year teac...Fantastic. This reminded me of my first year teaching, only I knew I didn't know anything. I am still grateful to the friend and colleague that got me through.Pissedoffteacherhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07924089808582137198noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5113479300897983388.post-73292564667409482132010-11-06T17:24:46.149-04:002010-11-06T17:24:46.149-04:00Excellent post. I taught for 34 years before retir...Excellent post. I taught for 34 years before retiring last fall...and I have to say that each year was a learning experience.<br /><br />TFA may be good for helping young people right out of college figure out if they are meant to be in a classroom, but it's not fair to use the neediest children in the country for guinea pigs in your "What shall I do with my life" experiment.<br /><br />TFA promotes the false notion that "anyone can teach" -- something we who have spent our professional lives in the classroom know is not true. It takes hard work...determination...the ability to analyze your own motives and performance...and dedication to last more than 2 years in a classroom. Those are the teachers our children deserve.Stuhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15854925612517206979noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5113479300897983388.post-72731476570700761832010-11-06T16:48:15.455-04:002010-11-06T16:48:15.455-04:00Someone referred me to this today. It's a link...Someone referred me to this today. It's a link to a literature review of TFA studies. I haven't read it myself, but I'm just about to: http://nepc.colorado.edu/publication/teach-for-americaRachel Levyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06844728669493681943noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5113479300897983388.post-34583214135838319842010-11-06T14:45:36.648-04:002010-11-06T14:45:36.648-04:00Norm. thanks for sharing. I find that story fasci...Norm. thanks for sharing. I find that story fascinating and telling. It appears we really did go through a similar coming of age process in teaching, although in very different decades.<br /><br />Michael, I completely agree that there's an enormous distinction to be made between the TFAers themselves and the mission of the people at the top. I doubt many of the corps members have any idea about the larger world of education or the backlash TFA has created in many communities. Wendy Kopp and co. must have learned their lessons long ago about the realities of public education and how much positive influence a program like TFA can actually have. I think they either choose to ignore these realities or allow their confirmation bias/ego/paychecks to deflect criticisms.<br /><br />Rachel, I agree. The studies that have been done on TFA should be looked at more carefully, and I will be very interested to learn what your husband discovers.james boutinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09625944306253098621noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5113479300897983388.post-25732654671292668212010-11-06T12:18:29.610-04:002010-11-06T12:18:29.610-04:00@The Reflective Educator,
Thanks so much for this...@The Reflective Educator,<br /><br />Thanks so much for this post (and for the post on Seattle PS and TFA). I am working on a piece about TFA and your links are invaluable. I also value your honesty and reflection, and feel similarly skeptical of TFA. I think, however, before we study TFA more that we need to study the studies that have been done on TFA more, including the ones they promote. My husband is a research psychologist and said he would take a look at them. I'll let you know what he finds.<br /><br />@Norm, What a great story. Thank you for your service and dedication to public education.Rachel Levyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06844728669493681943noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5113479300897983388.post-92067362078023412682010-11-06T12:01:41.615-04:002010-11-06T12:01:41.615-04:00A fine posting. I would only add that people shoul...A fine posting. I would only add that people should make a distinction between the idealism that most TFAers bring in to the classroom and the institutional and ideological direction of TFA itself.<br /><br />Whether or not it started out that way, TFA functions as a Trojan Horse for undermining the teacher's unions and for privatizing public education. It's Board of Directors and major funders are a Who's Who of corporate education deform, and its recruits have been used as the shock troops of privatization in places like New Orleans. <br /><br />Additionally, individual TFAers who are seen as having leadership potential in the hostile takeover of public education(such as Michelle Rhee and Cami Anderson, who is busy charterizing District 79 in NYC) receive training from such outfits as Eli Broad's leadership academy, and then go on to destabilize and fragment public school districts and systems.<br /><br />The TFA model is at best an inadequate means of improving education for needy students; at its worst, it's a training ground for union busters and scabs.Michael Fiorillonoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5113479300897983388.post-91688961622776832732010-11-06T11:27:50.921-04:002010-11-06T11:27:50.921-04:00A great response TRE. I went through a similar exp...A great response TRE. I went through a similar experience as you did but it was in the late 60's. Heading for a PHd in history, my academic career was disrupted by the Vietnam war and teaching elementary school in a high risk area of Brooklyn was one of the only alternatives to being drafted.<br /><br />Young men flocked in from all over the nation to teach in NYC, all naturally non-ed majors with no background in education. We were "trained" in a 6 week summer program that included one week in an actual school.<br /><br />I went into school in Sept (and was greeted by a 2 week strike) with fear but also disdain for all those ed majors (almost all women) as compared to "scholars" such as me. It took me about 2 weeks to learn to appreciate their skills and my ineptness. Luckily I was not given a class to ruin but was used a a full-time sub over the next year and a half and when no one was absent I was sent into classrooms to assist. <br /><br />It was the best way to learn and by the middle of the second year I felt capable of taking my own very difficult class and had great "success" over the 5 months. I say that because my success had nothing to do with the data but with the reaction of the kids to the environment I set up and to me. They made me feel like a rock star. It took me about 2 weeks before I fell in love with the kids and teaching and by the next year the history degree was abandoned and I remained in the NYC system for 35 years, 17 of them teaching self-contained classes in grades 4-6.<br /><br />I don't think in today's data munching world I would stay but I have no regrets about those years or the wonderful kids and parents I worked with.<br /><br />Normed notes onlinehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15018047869059226777noreply@blogger.com