A previous post recounted “The Confessions of a Teaching Fellow” who described her revulsion at what she was expected to do. Soon after that post went up, another came from someone who said the writer of the original post was absolutely wrong. Here is confirmation for the teacher who spoke out:
| I worked for the TFA program last summer as a supervising teacher (basically a baby-sitter for the TFA candidates who aren’t allowed to be in a classroom by themselves without a certified teacher). The writer discribes the regimentation of this program to a tee.What’s sad is that the children in the summer are the ones needing the most help. Instead, they are placed in a classroom with people who have no experience teaching or working with children. Although I was expected to sit in the back and simply observe, I had to get involved several times when the inexperience of these candidates resulted in violent confrontations with the students.TFA would never fly in the suburbs where my child attends school. The parents would never stand for it! What is it about accepting sickeningly inexperienced and unprepared teachers that makes it ok for the children of the poor?
Originally, I thought these alternative programs were designed to place teachers in hard to place areas. NYC had a hiring freeze for outside applicants for the past two years, except for (you guessed it) TFA applicants. Why are principals hiring TFA applicants when there is a plethora of more qualified, certified applicants? Taxpayers should be demanding why our money is going to finance a system that may have had some reason for existing in the past, but is now not needed and more disheartening, is negatively impacting the lives of hundreds of low income students while lining the pockets of a select few adults. |
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Diane Ravitch's blog 
Note that there are over 5,000 CMs. State law requires that a certified teacher be in the room during training. (Many elect to do this for the extra compensation).
How does one extra comment qualify as “confirmation” that the first writer was “spot on”? Full disclosure: I went through the program in 2009. Nobody had to stand up and stop a violent confrontation with my students. I considered my supervising teacher to be extremely helpful. While she never intervened, I always asked for her input after lessons. My team even asked her to model a lesson for us, and she enthusiastically complied. So, a question: does my anecdotal evidence now serve is a “confirmation” that the first writer was wrong? Or could it be that were discussing something complex? Something that involves tens of thousands of diverse perspectives (just counting the people who have gone through the training)?
Are you still teaching? Do you intend to stay
In the classroom?
Yes.
The title of this post is exactly the same as the title of the previous posts. The first was “Confessions of a Teaching Fellow.” The second was “The Confessions Are Wrong.” This one: “The Confessions Are Spot On.” All were summaries of the point of view of the writer.
Sure, but you also called it “confirmation for the teacher who spoke out.” If that is meant to be a neutral statement, fine–and I’ll say then that I misread the intent. But even so, this kind of tit for tat dialogue isn’t very fruitful. For its summer institutes, TFA recruits former CMs who, however bizarrely, maintain that 5 weeks of training is adequate and who find the TFA literature to still be compelling. Any one of those staff members could give you some anecdote that “confirms” their perspective. And then a counter-reply. And then the dramamine.
L,
You are right in suggesting that anecdotal evidence does not necessarily make a strong case. At the same time one looks at the figures for CMers retention rate after 4 years and it is not pretty. Something to the effect of 85% leave before the fifth year. So you are an “outlier” to some degree although you still haven’t made it through five years. I hope that you do if you have the passion for teaching.
Please contact me after ten years of public school teaching and tell me if you were anywhere near the teacher now that you will be then. I think I know the answer already but I’d like to hear the anecdotal evidence from your end. Inexperience produces its own blinders!!
I’m not sure anyone ever wanted to play “Aha! Gotcha, TFA teachers!” But some “reformers” are attempting to position TFA as a superior alternative to seasoned teachers who have dedicated their careers to improving education for all students, in the classroom, by offering dynamic and nurturing opportunities. The descriptions of TFA programming/training (not the people, for the most part) makes it sound like an impersonal factory model that expects all pegs to fit into particular shaped holes. Super=strict regimentation and behavioral techniques might apply to limited settings, but even then shouldn’t be handed over to “green” educators. It takes really KNOWING the nuanced differences between authoritative and authoritarian to get the kind of results education SHOULD be working towards. Of course, if the TFA model is intended to keep everything inexpensive in a prison/factory model to churn out adequately trained/behaved future slave-wage workers and cubicle jockeys in urban areas-there might be a use for it still. Hopefully the ones who really belong in the field stay in the classroom.
TFA scabs should not be taking the jobs of certified competent unemployed teachers!
Read Barbara Torre-Veltri: Learning on Other People’s Children. Hundreds of interviews with TFA CM.
I’m also not saying that my experience with the training itself was positive. I’m only saying that having a certified teacher in the room was helpful. And I thought I’d leave it to the readers to infer that the teacher’s attitude could either reinforce learning (for students and CMs) or undermine it. Given the negative attitude of the post above…
L,
There is a reason for the saying “they’ve drunk the kool-aid”. Do you know why?
Duane,
I do read books.
And the phrase is often used to describe certain kinds of CMs by other CMs.
Re: your other post, I was not the same teacher this year that I was last year. Who expects to be as good after two years as they would be after ten?
L,
I didn’t ask if you read books, just wanted to know if you knew the origin of the phrase. It’s a very common phrase now but I would guess most don’t know the origin of it or weren’t around when the horrific action occurred.
And I’m glad that you realize that you are probably a better teacher after two years than one year. Unfortunately, from what I’ve read of comments by TFA and CMers is that experience doesn’t matter.
And it will get “easier” to teach as each year goes on, that doesn’t mean that every year won’t still have its challenges and that something new won’t crop up every year, it will.
I wish you luck, seek out the older, and yes wiser, teachers. They will be glad to help.
Again, I see a kind of generalization about TFAers that I haven’t found to be true in experience. TFA literature and training may try to convince CMs that they can be effective in spite of limited training (they do so by singling out the experiences of a few very successful CMs), but within the first few days many CMs realize that they have an enormous challenge ahead of them. I’ve heard horror stories about CMs who refuse to ask for help, or haughtily make assumptions about the commitment or pedagogy of veteran teachers. These CMs, the story goes, are convinced that TFA taught them to reject the insights of veterans. And, I can confirm that these types of CMs do in fact exist. TFA culls from a precocious pool. But these types are not the average.
I’ve met many CMs. I’ve worked with many CMs. And I’ve even helped to “train” many CMs, attempting to pass down the limited amount of knowledge that I’d gained. I held a position called “Learning Team Leader,” in which I met with mostly first year CMs during the week to offer lesson plans or strategies aligned with one content area. In the first 5 months, this is not an easy group to work with–they’re struggling and rarely able to string together consecutive successful days (or even class periods, for that matter). Some are getting bitter, thinking they’ve been misled. A couple have already left. But many–the vast majority–are humble and just want to do a good job. Many are frustrated by a complete lack of organizational coherence in their schools. (That’s something to remember here: we aren’t dealing with suburbs.) Quite a few think that their initial commitment to the “mission” was based on a vision of the profession that didn’t hold true.
Think about it. The organization is now training over 5,000/yr. These kids are generally recognized to be pretty smart. Doesn’t it make sense that many of them start to recognize flaws in their training? A better question might be this: why aren’t more speaking up about it?
I have met some incredibly smart and aware TFA CM. And you are right, the question is why there are not more Gary Rubinsteins.
Being the ever patient teacher that I am. Do you know the origin of “drink the koolaid”?
A woman who works for the family of my fiancé is a survivor of Jonestown. And I don’t find this to be a very compelling analogy. There’s also a difference between teaching and condescension.
Thank you! The reason I kept asking is that I find that many times people will not answer a simple question that I consider germane to the the conversation. Now if you don’t consider the question germane then tell me to bugger off!
The TFA, to me, is really a “cult” institute. You have a savvy, sweet talking, convincing leader. You have the followers who believe and do what the dear leader says and brook no questioning. Now some taste the koolaid and realize it just doesn’t taste right and the world is getting darker around them and they bolt, hopefully more enlightened from their experiences. The ones that stay and defend, though, never see/feel the darkness and finally succumb to the koolaid.
I have worked in various capacities for both TFA and TNTP. (I was, in fact, ‘dismissed’ from a job with TNTP, this summer. I’ll spare you the details – although it is a pretty good story.)
For the sake of accurate information-sharing, I want to point out that the author (Theresa Laperche) was not, in fact, a CM with TFA, but a “Teaching Fellow” with TNTP. These two organizations have similar agendas and methodologies, but they are not one in the same; each organization provides a different training experience.
If we want to make a convincing case, we should take caution to be accurate and not lump two different organizations into one.
Agreed. Theresa was clear about that. She was a teaching fellow with TNTP, not TFA.
Is there really any difference for what they are doing??
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I am a retired public school teacher. I am a consultant now for a few public school districts. Regarding the writer’s remark as to why principal’s are hiring TFAs when there is an abundant supply of qualified teachers: the principal’s are forced to hire to the lowest bidder. That’s right. It’s happening all over. My wife is still a public school special ed. teacher. Her principal is a great person and knows the score about all these things we have been talking about at this blog and others, at conventions, at private peer meetings, etc. And the principal at my wife’s school is required to consider TFAs FIRST. The last TFA hired at this site was six years ago. By another principal. They’re coming in and districts are pushing it. If we want to save public education, then we need to take the only rational path (unless you prefer to work in an increasingly reformist, corporate enviornment) is to opt out. It’s not going to stop, this boot smash of privatization in America (and globally=GERM). The resolution created at the AFT conference was admirable at face value. But the corporate owned legislators don’t care. Who’s side are you on teachers?
please excuse possessive case in my reply above. School started this week and I was in classrooms all day today helping teachers do a bunch of pre-tests…… mind boggling.