The Onion on TFA

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1. Linda1 says:

   July 17, 2012 at 2:28 pm

   Do you think Megan Richmond is a real “teacher” or is the whole thing a spoof? If not, how embarrassing.

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   • dianerav says:

     July 17, 2012 at 3:30 pm

     Spoof

     Diane Ravitch

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   • dianerav says:

     July 17, 2012 at 3:47 pm

     “Megan Richmond” reminds me of the preppy teacher on the website http://www.laststand4children.org/
     Last Stand for Children First
     The person who writes the parodies is very funny and sounds as if he were funded with millions by his father or the Gates Foundation

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   • Mary says:

     July 17, 2012 at 8:16 pm

     The Onion only does parody. Usually very good to the point parody.

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   • twinkie1cat says:

     July 18, 2012 at 5:36 pm

     She sounded like a real teacher to me and probably a fairly good one especially for a first year. But where do you get a “volunteer” teaching position? Would a system actually let someone voluntarily do the job of a teacher without getting paid? I think that would be illegal due to liability issues.

     The little boy’s reply was obviously written by an adult.

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2. georgia says:

   July 17, 2012 at 2:32 pm

   The Onion is so good and soooo right-on that many folks think it’s serious. It’s in the tradition of Mark Twain and Will Rogers, folks. Get a grip.

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3. Paul says:

   July 17, 2012 at 2:39 pm

   For someone without a teacher since first grade he has quite a vocabulary.

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   • Duane Swacker says:

     July 18, 2012 at 1:27 am

     Some kids are just way out in front of the curve!

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4. Alan Beck says:

   July 17, 2012 at 2:53 pm

   I wonder how many out of work teachers write for the Onion?

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5. Deborah says:

   July 17, 2012 at 3:28 pm

   In all seriousness, I am frustrated with the TFA “teachers”. They get hired before experienced teachers who are actually educated to teach and are good at their jobs. Oh yeah..a 4th grader who hasn’t had a real teacher in 3 years wrote that???? I don’t think so.

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   • Linda1 says:

     July 17, 2012 at 5:05 pm

     It is the Onion! Go back to the link.

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   • twinkie1cat says:

     July 18, 2012 at 5:42 pm

     What’s a trip is that TFA is actually paid, I have heard as much as $5000 each for recruiting their non-teachers. The privatizers WANT disposable teachers who are not concerned about careers in education so they won’t end up with tenured teachers they cannot fire. As I have said, I have known one good one. I have not seen her in the classroom, but she sometimes preaches at my church and from her anecdotes and passion in her sermons she is family. And she is teaching autistic kids in the rural Gulf South. That is hard for real teachers.

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6. seattleducation2011 says:

   July 17, 2012 at 3:41 pm

   Even the Onion gets it.

   Thanks for the link.

   Dora

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7. Lance Hill says:

   July 17, 2012 at 4:48 pm

   The students need a t-shirt that says: “Not Your Learning Curve”

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   • Linda1 says:

     July 17, 2012 at 5:06 pm

     Or –

     TFA, NCLB and RTT came to my school and all I got is this lousy t-shirt (and an endless supply of bubble sheets).

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     • Kathy says:

       July 17, 2012 at 8:06 pm

       LOL!

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8. Carrie Birmingham says:

   July 17, 2012 at 6:30 pm

   I was about to send you this. One of my former students, who worked at least 2 1/2 years to earn her teaching credential, sent it to me. It’s good to have a friend at The Onion!

   Now all we need is a celebrity spokesperson. Matt Damon, perhaps? Can someone call him?

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   • Duane Swacker says:

     July 18, 2012 at 1:28 am

     Tell you the truth, I don’t give a damn about any celebrity. Turned off the TV a number of years ago.

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9. Mark Collins says:

   July 18, 2012 at 3:04 pm

   Valerie Strauss had a good post this morning that incorporated the Onion piece. It was on the HQT provision of NCLB. The one the 9th Circuit struck down twice.

   http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/answer-sheet/post/does-5-weeks-of-training-make-a-teacher-highly-qualified-house-panel-to-vote/2012/07/17/gJQARodPsW_blog.html?fb_ref=sm_btn_fb&fb_source=other_multiline

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10. Mark Collins says:

    July 18, 2012 at 3:18 pm

    From WBEZ 91.5 website in Chicago. From the mouths of children on TFA teachers.
    Hallelujah the Saviors Are Here.

    Poet Rachel Smith, 18, is a senior and a member of Epic Sound, the Kenwood Academy Slam Poetry Team. This is her second year participating in Louder Than a Bomb (and she can also be heard performing here). Hallelujah the Saviors are Here is a condemnation of teachers who come to “the inner city” without becoming a true member of the community

    http://www.wbez.org/story/hallelujah-saviors-are-here-97183

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