Three Teach for America teachers at Blackstone Valley Prep School in Rhode Island resigned after they were discovered to have texted each other with disparaging comments about their students.
In the expletive-ridden messages, teachers spoke casually about students, calling them “idiots,” and “dumb [expletives].”
The school head denounced their actions and brought in counseling for students and teachers. He said this “very tragic thing” would not happen again.
No experienced teacher would have done something so stupid.
Diane Ravitch's blog 
“No experienced teacher would have done something so stupid.”
What a silly thing to say.
“”I have been around 37 years, and clearly, you are the dumbest girl I have ever met. … You know what your purpose is going to be? To have sex and have children you ain’t never gonna be smart.”
http://abc13.com/news/student-says-teacher-called-her-dumb-made-sexual-insults/1234290/
“A Queens teacher who was fired for calling his special-education students a “waste of life” and saying, “I would just wish they were dead,” wants his job back. His reasoning? The kids never heard the insults.”
http://nypost.com/2014/07/18/teacher-fired-for-insulting-students-is-suing-to-get-job-back/
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit ruled that high school English teacher Natalie Munroe’s blog posts, which contained profane rants calling students “lazy,” “frightfully dim” and “rat-like,”
http://www.splc.org/article/2015/09/court-rules-against-teacher-fired-after-blog-posts-bashing-students
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I agree with you, John. Pointing to one or two bad apples isn’t fair unless the types of things they are doing are approved by administrators who actually don’t like those students and reward the teachers if they make them miserable enough to leave the school. Then it is important to look at what the culture of the school is. If Blackstone Valley Prep School had high attrition rates with exactly the kind of students that were being insulted by these TFA teachers, it would certainly imply that the kinds of things the inexperienced teachers texted were the kinds of things the school administrators talked about all the time when they thought no one was watching.
It’s similar to whether a principal makes up a “got to go” list out of the blue, or whether such a list happens in a school culture in which low-performing kids are disliked by school administrators and targeted for misery so they will leave.
If a principal makes a “got to go” list and you see an e-mail by a more powerful administrator that says “don’t say that in an e-mail”, then you can be pretty sure that the person who is posting insults or “got to go” lists is reflecting the culture of the entire school. Because “don’t say that in an e-mail” or “don’t put it in writing” is very different than saying “How dare you speak about a child that way!” I hope as an educator or a parent you understand the difference, John.
In this case, seemingly the response by Blackstone Valley Prep School was “how dare you speak about a child that way!”. It was not “How dare you write that in a text”. So presumably those teachers did not learn to treat low-performing kids with such disdain from the administrators and the “model teachers” whose teaching methods they are supposed to mimic.
That’s not the case in all instances where teachers get caught treating their students with contempt. When the teacher is learning from the school culture that some kids ARE worthy of their contempt, then an inexperienced teacher’s actions are not simply a “bad apple” but a “bad school culture where they learned that some kids are contemptible”.
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Set aside the obvious lack of character and judgment…how did they get caught? Were they showing the texts to other people?
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They were not showing the texts. students hacked into the messaging system and discovered the comments
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If those messages were on private phones and someone released that information without their permission, the worst that could be said of the TFA teachers was, ‘SHAME’.
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I don’t know Diane, there are a lot of reasons to argue against TFA or object to TFA but an isolated incident seems like the weakest.
Three people aren’t representative of TFA anymore than the tales of criminal activities by teachers Campbell Brown posts on her website are representative of all teachers.
Picking out three and saying “this is TFA” isn’t any different than Brown finding a labor union member who abused a child and making that representative of all public school teachers.
It’s a cheap shot, in my opinion.
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Chiara,
Amen.
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One of the comments was, “move to Arizona…start your own charter and commence with the flogging”.
This comment puts a different light on it for me. It doesn’t sound like frustration, it sounds like arrogance.
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Thank you Chiara. I understand there are lots of people who aren’t fans of TFA (and as a 2012 alum, I have issues with what I see goes into new corps members’ PD), but I can appreciate that you can agree that this incident is a reflection of THEM, not every teacher affiliated with TFA.
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Is “Blackstone Valley” a real, geographical place? Why does it seem so many charter schools have names that make them sound like private schools? 🙂
“Lincoln” or “Washington” aren’t good enough? 🙂
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Many also sound like real estate subdivisions. Gives them the panache they’ll never achieve socially or academically.
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Yes, Blackstone is a real place. It is a National Heritage Corridor in MA and RI along the Blackstone River. the name is attached to many places, organizations and businesses in RI. The school is located in the working class/middle class town of Cumberland.
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As much as I hate all things TFA, and as gross as those texts sounds, I do not believe they should have lost their jobs for a bad judgement call. Consequences and reprimands, yes, but no one should lose their jobs for some texts unless they were direct threats or sexual in nature towards a student. There is a trend to treat sometimes ugly-but not illegal-personal communications (like texts and tweets) as “the very worst thing ever” when the real violence is the systems with their completely legal and PC actions and narratives. TFA the org & their PR machines would never allow something like these texts, but it is the org that is causing the real damage and destruction. This story speaks more to the danger of charters and the ability for schools to fire people at will. People should be given a chance to fix mistakes, and fired if and only if they cannot change their ways.
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But you have to admit that they never would have done this if they were experienced educators.
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I strongly disagree. You can’t always control your thoughts, but you can control what you say to others. (Although I do think a teacher even thinking a student is an “idiot” is inappropriate, unprofessional and shows s/he is not fit to be a teacher.) And it wasn’t just one teacher, it was three. They should definitely be fired for discussing students in such an unprofessional and hurtful manner. It shows they are not fit to be teachers. We should hold such high standards for teachers. Our students are vulnerable.
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Wow! Katie, I just read the article on Diane’s link. That article links to another article about a particular student. It is heartbreaking. A teacher she trusted sent a disparaging message to another teacher WHILE HE WAS IN THE MIDDLE OF TUTORING HER. She is devastated. I’d love to know your opinion after you read the articles…
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Yes, but. They were caught and there is a document trail. Two great things I learned about life living in DC and NY. Don’t put in writing anything you wouldn’t mind seeing in the NY Times and Washington Post (when they were truly real newspapers) and in Jersey: lets walk and talk. Let this be a ‘teachable moment’ and reflect on the loss of three temps. May their sacrifice help others.
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I know a lot of K-12 teachers who do not denigrate their students, out of compassion for children, understanding that kids are still in the process of growing. I understand that lawyers may disparage their adult clients. There are, even occasions, in court, when the attorney admits that the client has done something stupid but, it is portrayed, as if, all of us make mistakes.
A comment that talks about starting one’s own charter and uses the words “flogging” and “commence” suggests to me, someone whose cocky and thinks he/she is superior. The same type of arrogance was on display in a TFA state chair interview, that I read.
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Yep, the emails are icky, never said they weren’t. But losing a job is a serious matter. Teachers are human, they make mistakes, say nasty things they regret later. Especially under the ridiculously stressful environments we are thrown into. There should be consequences, but consequences that fit the crime. Maybe a public apology, a temporary suspension, etc. I’ve worked in many settings, including mental health, where I tell you, I’ve heard things WAY worse things than those emails. Way worse. Unfortunately, it’s how some people deal with the devastatingly traumatic situations we witness. I don’t condone it, but this is no isolated event to act all horrified about…
I try not to immediately judge any of the students I work with who sometimes say and do really nasty things. All behavior is communication. And it often is not saying what we see on the surface. I am imagining TFA novices drowning unprepared under enormous amounts of stress. And then starting to joke around to cope. Who knows?
My state of Illinois is about to allow the entire public school system to implode in a massive budget crisis. We are gearing up for a stressful strike in the fall. There are bullets flying outside my school sending us into lockdown multiple times over the last few weeks of school. I just don’t care much about yet another news story glorying catching “bad teachers.” http://mskatiesramblings.blogspot.com/2016/06/the-obscenity-of-teaching-in-these-times.html
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The point is, they must not think of themselves as actual teachers yet. Always thinking “I only have to do this for two years” or “I’m just doing this to get my masters so I can get a better job elsewhere” undermines their attitude towards the students, and undermines all Teachers. We teach for Life. Yes, some actual teachers are bad apples, but those of us with EXPERIENCE can spot them a mile away and try to intervene, knowing we are all in this together, in the same boat. TFA’ers are not professional teachers in the same way someone who is exhaustively professional trained is. After their two year “residency” which is what they call teaching, how many actually stay.
Teaching is a heavy responsibility, these TFAers were not up to the task, and we should thank the students who stood up for themselves, since the school couldn’t discern a problem, even with teachers texting while they were working, something we don’t let our students do.
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The newspaper article said they were shared g-mail docs. If they referred to particular students by name and commented on performance– that’s a FERPA violation and could be cause for dismissal. Most schools have privacy policies that state this. If the teachers were just making general comments about the student population, that I would not think would be a violation but certainly not professional behavior!
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There’s stuff like this in every profession, though. My daughter did an internship in an emergency room and they were repeatedly warned not to blow off steam by joking about patients. It happens a lot apparently. It’s like “gallows humor”- it helps them deal with high stress work and bad situations. It’s bad of course, but it does happen.
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See the second article. It WAS specific. I hope the family sues.
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I’d almost bet that many more of their ilk- text similar messages. Another learning module for those TFA trainers.
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There’s another interesting text that got Wendy’s minions in trouble:
————————————————-
“Man I wish we could hit them,” writes one (female) teacher.
“Another responds, “Move to Arizona … Start your own charter and commence with the flogging.”
She responds: “lol”
——————————————–
It’s interesting that these TFA folks know and discuss exactly which state has the least oversight of charters, and where they can, in fact, most easily get away with extreme discipline — “Arizona.”
This text also indicates that it is common knowledge among TFA-ers that after slumming it for two years, a TFA almnus can just “start your own charter” at age 24, where they then will have zero or little oversight from any governmental authority, and get paid handsomely in the process.
This is part of the toxic thinking and behavior that Wendy Kopp has wrought upon public education.
Of course, in the same article, TFA is quick to distance themselves from all this:
——————————————
“In an email Wednesday, a Teach for America spokesperson said the language and actions of the teachers are ‘not reflective of Teach For America’s core values that we expect our teachers to uphold.’ ”
——————————————-
Gee, if it’s “not reflective of TFA’s core values,” I wonder where and how those rogue “bad apple” TFA’s could have gotten such crazy ideas:
1) Arizona requires the least oversight of privately-managed charters, and if you open a charter there, you can get away with a lot;
2) At age 24, with just two years of experience slumming at a public school and with no teaching credential, you can just “start your own charter,” and be a Doogie-Howser-like principal of your own charter school… and you can cherry pick your students, and weed out the ones who drive you to text violent fantasies against them… or, with impunity, “flog” any students of yours who do.
Clearly, this is not just random banter that’s limited to the three TFA’s in question here, but something that’s discussed systemwide and nationwide among TFA Corps Members. Even if such cynicism and avarice is not showcased in TFA’s official materials and statements about itself, the TFA organization does constantly promote the stories of TFA’s who got rich founding charter organizations: Dave & Mike with KIPP, Chris Barbic, etc.
I wish someone would tell these TFA folks:
“Instead of hungrily looking ahead to the day when you’ll be the six-figure-salaried boss of your own charter school at aged 24 — where you can cherry-pick those students who don’t drive you to relish using violence against them — why don’t you try focusing on the kids who are there right in front of you right now… you know … like every credentialed, unionized teacher in the country does?”
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Actually, quite a few of us do. As a 2012 TFA corps member, I am still in the classroom, and sorry to go against your uninformed rant, they actually DONT teach us to “slum it out for 2 years” and start our own charter. I don’t know where you get your false doctrine, but we actually are expected to “focus on the kids who are right in front of us”. Lastly, your assumption that this is what TFA as a whole thinks means you’ve just made yourself…oh, wait, I’m sure since you know everything, you can figure out what you look like after those ASSumptions…
Sincerely,
A “minion” who is ALSO credentialed and unionized #getyourfactsstraight
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2005 TFA corps member here. Still teaching 11 years later, and still loving this profession.
TFA has its faults, but this year there are more than 50,000 corps members in the USA. These 3 teachers, therefore, comprise 0.006% of the corps this year. What other organization is judged by its bottom 0.006%? Finally, with 50,000+ corps members, that would be an awful lot of charter schools, and an awful lot of principals, if all expected the route you profess is the goal of all TFA teachers.
As with any profession or professional organization, there are those, which are stellar at their jobs, those which are mediocre, and those, which need to choose another profession. Teachers (TFA or not) are no exception to that rule. And “experience,” Diane, is a poor indicator of success on its own. Experience itself proves this to be true.
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Anne, I don’t doubt the idealism of young people who join TFA but I doubt their wisdom. What other “profession”would allow amateurs to take part as if they were professionals? Would you go to a surgeon who never went to medical school? TFA undermines the profession and performs no miracles. The organization is a very rich, overpaid bureaucracy that hires out untrained helpers, who should be aides, not teachers.
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“The Best and the Brightest”
The Best and the Brightest
Are calling folks dumb
And haven’t the slightest
Clue what they’ve done
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Diane, I’m wondering where the outrage is about the 181 teachers in the so-called “teacher jail” in LAUSD, more than three-quarters of whom have been pulled from classrooms because of serious allegations of sexual misconduct or violence against students. http://laschoolreport.com/just-in-teacher-jail-numbers-rise-to-181-costing-la-unified-15-million/ Are there experienced teacher in this lot? Of course. Has anyone labeled them by the teacher college that prepared them? Of course not. And, unlike the teachers in Rhode Island who were fired for something they wrote, these LAUSD teachers have not been fired, they are still being paid, costing the district $15 million a year for salaries and sub costs.
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Tracy,
Have the LA teachers been tried and had a hearing? It would be wrong to fire teachers based on accusations by students. Who would survive?
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“who would survive?” Well, that would be the teachers, based on LAUSD’s track record on sexual misconduct cases ($260M in lawsuit payouts in the past 5 years and counting http://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-ln-l.a.-school-abuse-settlements-20160516-snap-story.html) Have you expressed concern about the behavior of Robert Pimental (veteran teacher, 30 victims, two schools)? Or Mark Berndt? or Paul Chapel? Do we know where they did their teacher training? do you think that their college prep programs are to blame for their sex crimes?
My point is simple: You can’t get outraged just because three TFA teachers in a charter school wrote stupid hurtful things about students, and then ignore egregious sex crimes against students by veteran teachers in district schools. It’s flat-out hypocritical.
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Tracy,
I think anyone who has committed sexual abuse or acted inappropriately with children should not be allowed to teach.
I also believe that anyone who is accused should have a fair hearing. I personally know of a case that was widely publicized some years ago where several teenage girls accused their teachers of inappropriate touching. His name was in the papers and his reputation was destroyed. About a week later, after the police interviewed each of them separately, they admitted they concocted the story because they wanted to punish the teacher for expecting too much of that.
If teachers are found guilty whenever accused by a student, students will be able to fire any teacher they want and destroy their lives.
I am outraged by egregious sex crimes against students, whoever commits them.
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Agreed, how could one not be outraged by what happened in LA? But did you write about it? I don’t remember seeing it on your blog, but I might have missed it…and if you didn’t write about it, does that mean you were more upset about what happened in RI?
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Tracy,
I leave it to Campbell Brown to track down sexual predators in the public schools. That is her specialty not mine
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wow, that was an artful dodge. But a wholly disingenuous answer. You and I both know the LA sex abuse scandal was a far bigger national story than this RI piece. Didn’t need Campbell or anyone else to track it down. I’m a parent, and I know where my outrage rightly lies. It’s not with some snarky texts from a few immature twentysomethings
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“Artful dodge.” Nicely put, Tracy. As much as I enjoy reading this site—and I do, and I always learn a lot—there is quite a bit of this sort of thing. A lot of cognitive dissonance. My other favorite common examples: Lack of peer-review is a knockout blow for studies that promote causes that Diane disagrees with, but she is quick to cite non-peer reviewed work when it fits her narrative. Or another: Researchers are evil tools of corporate reform, unless they are citing ideas that she approves of—see her recent praise for Jay Greene regarding the use of test scores, when in other posts Diane hammers Jay (or his colleagues) as a researcher who cannot be trusted because he is a mere tool of the Walton Foundation working for the Department of Education Reform at the University of Arkansas. Sigh . . .
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Paul and Tracy,
The shame of this to me is that there is plenty to differ about and discuss without resorting to these tactics, and others including questioning the motives of anyone you disagree with, let alone the idea of respecting differing opinions.
It does a disservice to the discussions and to the children affected to drag it down to that level.
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The plutocratic owned media, who apparently can’t find Gates nor the Aspen Institute, publish the pro charter school viewpoint to the point of absurdity. Ohio, with all of its egregious examples of charter school fraud, has city newspapers that devote a quarter of a page to a single charter school in California that apparently had a “second chance prom.” A story about Kim Smith would be far more valuable to the public. Yet, where has one been published except, Philanthropy Roundtable, 13 years ago? And, the “education reporter”, at the, supposedly progressive, Huffpo, writes praise for the Data Quality Campaign and didn’t once address the privacy issue. The supposedly progressive Media Matters writes about the attack on public education and excises Gates, DFER, Broad and the Waltons.
Even the Walton-financed Fordham apparently funds the Center for American Progress, along with the direct donations of the Walton Foundation. THANK GOD for the Ravitch blog and whatever Dr. Ravitch selects to post.
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This incident just serves to highlight, not prove but highlight the fact that teachers are better prepared for the myriad of challenges presented by the profession by taking coursework and gaining experience than by scoring on a test like the SAT and getting into elite undergraduate programs. TFA dilutes the quality of public education because while there are exceptions, as a rule, experience correlates with expertise.
And while there are exceptions — looking at you, Eli Broad, age tends to correlate with patience and wisdom. Not every experienced teacher has those qualities every minute of every day. I know I have to pause and ask for patience sometimes. Those three TFAers could’ve used some patience and wisdom. But then, those are qualities related to understanding and compassion. And the qualities of compassion are not the qualities of the Rheeformster.
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“. . . students will be able to fire any teacher they want and destroy their lives.”
Adminimals don’t like it when the students step on adminimal turf!
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So Tracy, are you arguing for due process for all teachers, including these TFAers? Or the elimination of due process for both the TFAers and accused LA teachers? I am unsure what point you are making.
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As I see it…
This blog provides a forum to discuss all sorts of ideas, practices and research. The difference here is that people will actually get into the nuts and bolts of those ideas, practices and research.
That means, in general, among other fundamental differences from rheephorm sites:
First, claims are really, not rheeally, examined. So, for example, when charter chains claim 100% graduation or college acceptance rates folks actually look at the data—or point out the lack of transparency in providing same. Then they comment on such things, and other folks comment on their comments.
Second, #1 means that commenters can’t get away with glaring double standards. Let me put this simply: you get respect by giving respect. The online equivalent of frothing at the mouth and insulting others, while demanding special consideration for your particular POV, doesn’t go over well here.
At least, it doesn’t go over well with me because trying to bully and insult people doesn’t produce agreement and understanding but silence and compliance. Literally a page ripped from the rhepehorm playbook.
But it speaks volumes about how those adopting the sneer, jeer and smear of corporate education reform realize that they have nothing else to offer.
A simple suggestion: if this website isn’t to your liking, go troll elsewhere. Go start your own blog.
😎
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I don’t know if all of the pearl-clutching is caused by ignorance or if it is a symptom of affiliation with TFA and the reformist movement, but there is a search box at the bottom of every page on this blog. Entering “LA Teacher Jail” returns 24 columns written by Diane Ravitch and published on this blog.
Coming to someone’s blog (again, more ignorance? — it is a PERSONAL weblog) and telling them what they should write about and publish is just plain silly and foolish.
Diane is not a reporter and she doesn’t work for corporate media. She doesn’t make any money from this blog. She can write and post whatever she wants.
Having said that, I will say that I disagree with the headline. There are times when overly-stressed teachers make comments that are inappropriate and cruel, often to let off steam. I am not defending that action, just acknowledging that it happens. To do so on social media is just plain stupid in this day and age where nothing is private and there is no way to keep control of your Internet presence.
Yes, human being mess up sometimes. TFA teachers and experienced public school teachers included. Experienced teachers, however, still outnumber TFA resume builders by exponential numbers and the vast majority of them live nearly-perfect public lives, experiencing daily abuse from the public, and they don’t do stupid things like this.
Yes, a few teachers in LA did some horrific things. Just like many family members do to their own children. Tracy et al., are you calling for sanctions against families? That is where the vast majority of abuse happens. I know because I’ve reported many cases and helped many children through the system over the years. It’s ugly and heartbreaking and part of the fallen human condition. We should all oppose it in every form it takes.
Trying to turn this into a referendum on Diane and this blog is laughable though. Don’t like the focus, the articles, the content? Write your own blog. That’s what is great about the platform. And you are certainly free to not read it and to seek out venues that echo and reflect your personal tastes more accurately. That’s the whole point of the Internet, you know.
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Chris in Florida:
Thank you for your comments.
😎
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Krazy TA and Chris in Florida:
You are entirely right–if Diane wants to only write about teacher misdeeds when they happen in charters or in TFA, that is her right. And I guess your point is simple. If you disagree with Diane’s narrow point of view, don’t read her blog and don’t make comments. I guess that ensures an airtight echo chamber, but little else. I do write about education issues, and when people disagree with what i write or challenge me to consider another point of view, I don’t say: shut up and go home, you troll. I think about it, and consider whether there is data or perspective I haven’t explored. I did search for LA sex abuse stories on this blog, and I didn’t find one that expressed any concern for the victims…or disdain for the abuse. It all seemed to focus on teachers’ rights and whether their due process was being violated. Search engines on blogs are not infallible, so wanted to ask the question…I got an answer, but not the reasoned one I was hoping for, alas.
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Hmmm…
I have written about egregious teacher/admin misdeeds on this blog, in threads to relevant postings. Public schools. Firsthand knowledge.
Including a number of comments where I explained how the rheephorm ideal of an admin (HS) was BFF with a SpecEd teacher that was later outed (by a SpecEd TA of my acquaintance) as a child molester. Prison time.
According to you I don’t exist. Nor do others who commented in the same vein exist. My comments don’t exist. Nor do those of others.
You would do well to heed the advice of a very dead and very old and very Greek guy:
“Words empty as the wind are best left unsaid.”
And that’s Homer, the Greek bard.
Not Homer Simpson, from whom you have (by your own words) derived your entire approach to engaging in difficult but important conversations:
“I didn’t lie, I was writing fiction with my mouth.”
Hint for the future: give respect to get respect.
Is that possible?
😎
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Tracy, please share a link to your blog. I would like to read your point of view.
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Chris in Florida: you wrote—
“Tracy, please share a link to your blog. I would like to read your point of view.”
IMHO, a perfect example of giving respect to get respect.
Krazy props.
😎
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And Paul Manna, think highly of your own superiority much? Wow. Diane’s scholarship stands on its own. Her blog is her personal opinion log. Sigh, . . . Talk about cognitive dissonance!
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Chris in Florida:
It also goes by another name.
Word salad. Topped off with a very heavy dose of assorted nuts.
😎
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Let’s remind ourselves about how commonly this happens. Darville was an HR Director from TFA hired by a Broadie making 140k a year.
http://www.dallasnews.com/news/education/headlines/20150129-in-instant-messages-dallas-isd-administrators-poke-fun-at-race-and-age-disparage-coworkers.ece
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The TFA-Broadies are imbued with the idea that they are better than everyone else so they can get away with most anything
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The COMMENTS section of this article is great.
http://www.providencejournal.com/news/20160622/blackstone-valley-prep-teachers-resign-in-texting-scandal/?Start=2
I’m going to move over the article’s first comment… from a poster named “Bibliotech””
———————-
“Bibliotech:
“Please note that these people are TEACH FOR AMERICA ‘teachers.’ I’m not surprised.
“Please. They get all of 5 weeks instruction on how to run a classroom. There is little, if any, instruction in eductional ethics, let alone educational discipline. There is no practical experience in front of a classroom before they are sent out solo to conduct a class on their own.
“This is compared to Professional Teachers with more than 4 years of study, including internships under mentors, in order to learn the art of teaching. And believe me, it is an art, trying to deal with 26+ individual personalities, wants and needs every hour for 6 hours every day. And that’s in a fairly stable class.
“Now add in students who create difficulties, whether on purpose or not (and don’t fool yourselves–there are many). I have seen classes run by these (TFA) people. They are disasters. The only reason many are there is to get rid of their educational loans. If they commit to the contract, a large part of their loans are forgiven.
“When we see them go, the ‘regular’ teachers are very happy indeed. Actually, I’ve had students tell me the same thing!”
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I disagree with previous comments stating that this “isolated incident” is nothing by which to judge TFA neophytes. My school has suffered its share of TFA cultural tourists throughout the years and WITHOUT FAIL they treat our students with a mixture of xenophobia and disdain. If I had a nickel for every time I heard a recently-transplanted, 20-something midwesterner say, “I had no idea kids in L.A. just don’t read,” or “I didn’t realize everyone in L.A. speaks Spanish,” then I’d have a bunch of nickels.
I intend no offense to real people in the midwest, it’s just the region from which so many of our carpetbaggers hail here in L.A. The New Reformation has run its course. It failed.
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My girl, Michelle (Scotch-tape) from DCPS, now safely ensconced with Kevin “Sweet 16” in Sacramento sort of personified that TFA arrogance. By word and deed. Really not much difference between religious zealots and the imperialists of the 18th and 19th century. They are modern pirates, many bereft of morals and intellect.
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The 2 of you get my award for the day for best comments. The first for both moniker and content. And, how did Rhee get away with making little children’s lips bleed? We do know one thing; first hubby keeps his daughters far away from 2nd hubby.
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I know exactly what you are saying, rhee’s tape. Last year, an alumni magazine interviewed a Harvard grad, who was originally from Ohio. She ultimately landed as a TFA state chair. Most of what she said was unreal, including her love of 3rd graders in blazers and bow ties, who as a result of their outfits, “felt like a million bucks”. She described a member of the community who came to the school to read to students, as “wearing his own suit”. Are her kids wearing costumes from the 1950’s to school and, does she wear her “own” suit? IMO, it’s a level of cultural distance, so lacking in sensitivity, it must be deliberatively cultivated..
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Hubris. The TFAers have been told they are the chosen ones; they are the best of the best. They are better after 5 weeks of summer school in front of 8 first graders than a veteran with 15 years experience working for classes of 30 or more. SHAME ON THEM for believing the nonsense and writing disparaging negative hurtful profane things about their students – who, of course, to them are waaaaay beneath them.
I wish TFA would just go away, but they love that gubment money that keeps flowing in, and keeps the admins flush in $200,000 per year jobs, right? TFA actually costs districts MORE in that they have to pay the salaries, PLUS the finders fees. When will TFA just go the eff away?
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Many of the folks who do TFA have been told they are the Best of the Best of the Best (Sir) since the day they were born.
When they encounter a problem, it is natural that they would blame it on someone else — anyone else — because it just can’t be them.
It just can’t be.
Must be those stupid students. Or those stupid teachers that the students had in previous years.
This is the mindset of TFA so this sort of behavior should not be the least bit surprising.
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SomeDAM Poet,
Lack of personal responsibility is one of the early warning signs of Traumatic Familial Affluenza. This condition can be very difficult to treat. Other symptoms include: total lack of empathy, inflammation of the credit card, and a tendency to run down pedestrians in crosswalks with a Mercedes.
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When you come up with a plan on keeping tenured teachers in the field…oh wait, there wouldn’t be a need for TFA if teacher retention wasn’t plummeting!
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The Step Up,
Teacher retention is plummeting in part because of TFA, because it sends a strong signal that experience doesn’t matter. Many states have adopted legislation that is punitive towards veteran teachers because of this assumption. Why bonuses for new teachers who plan to leave in two years, but no bonuses or higher pay for the veterans who make teaching their career? TFA has been a handmaiden of the anti-union, anti-public education Walton Foundation and other rightwing forces.
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One anecdote that always stuck with me was TFA’s equivalent of the Disneyland Jungle Cruise.
A few summers ago, Gary Rubenstein wrote his annual article critiquing the methods and goals of the TFA Institute that was currently in session. As Gary indicates, he has been called a “bully” for doing this in the past, with TFA officials discouraging their teachers from posting or even reading Gary’s blog:
http://garyrubinstein.teachforus.org/2013/06/22/those-teachers-are-failures/
The conversation includes a story of how TFA students — most of them from privileged backgrounds—drive around the poor neighborhoods like those seen on “THE WIRE”, and observe unimpressive poor minority people — homeless, winos, gang members, etc.
The elitist TFA-ers would take pictures and look at them as if they were tourists on the Disneyland Jungle Cruise observing the animatronic animals and robot natives on display.
One thing that Gary found offensive was that the TFA supervisor on this “jungle cruise” commented while observing the underclass:
“Everyone you see was once someone’s student.’… And those teachers (who once taught them) are failures.”
Wow! This set people off, as evidenced by the COMMENTS section, which I’m excerpting here.
Maggie Peterson said that the TFA teacher who said this “espouses what is, in my opinion, a common TFA trope, that a real, caring, belief that your students CAN do better makes them actually DO better”:
———————————
MAGGIE PETERSON:
“Even in TFA policy actions, standards are touted not as a goal for student achievement, but as some magic tool for attaining high student achievement. The idea that students will achieve, or move out of the cycle of poverty solely because of caring teachers and teachers who hold students to high standards is also a belief that there is little else to be learned about the doing of teaching.”
——————————–
Carol Corbett Burris blasts away
———————————
CAROL CORBETT BURRIS:
“I am appalled to learn that TFA would roll through any community pointing out human beings as though they were tour guides pointing out sites. It is an insult to the community, perpetuates ‘us and them’ thinking, and reveals a practice more suited for a cult than a teacher preparation program.”
“When my husband was a teacher in Brooklyn, on a few occasions he had students who came to class less than 20% of the time and who did no schoolwork, say to him ‘You failed me, Mister.’
“I guess they heard the conversation on the TFA tour.”
———————————
Karyn chimed in, adding that her TFA “drive-arounds” included a photographic “scavenger hunt”:
———————————
KARYN:
“Coming from a non-TFA background, and having certification, as well as being significantly older than other teachers at my school, I found myself quietly contemplating (TFA’s) many strange and silly practices which were considered professional development.”
“We too, drove around the impoverished area of our school and had a scavenger hunt to identify various things and take pictures. I found this odd and insulting to the ‘native’ inhabitants of the area, who looked strangely on groups of more affluent white people stopping to take photos and jumping back in there cars.”
———————————
Mike Fiorello vents thusly,
———————————
MIKE FIORELLO:
“What TFA should be saying during those drive-arounds – where, presumably, the windows are rolled-up and the doors locked tight while they observe neighborhood residents as if they were specimens – is that ‘everyone you see is an elected official’s constituent, a citizen and human being, and has been failed. And those officials and the people who bankroll them are failures.’
“But TFA can’t say that, because to do so would call into question its agenda and funding. So instead, we get misdirection and scapegoating of teachers, followed by attempts to remove the statement when they were called on it.”
“This is an organization whose arrogance, condescension, class antagonism and dishonesty are in its DNA.”
——————————–
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The educational tourists known as TFA have little in common with the students they teach. Back in the ’60s and ’70s, some educational leaders recognized this sociocultural dissonance which resulted in the active recruitment of more minority teachers. With privatization fewer minority teachers are being hired, and more of them are being fired. “Reformers” want to create urban colonialism through TFA.
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TFA’s “Jungle Cruise” pales in comparison
to this post on Gary Rubinstein’s blog
from a TFA teacher-in-training by the name of
“Lida Mery”, and her description of the TFA
Institute and her reasons for quitting today
typing away as she stares at her packed suitcase.
One week shy of completion of the five-week
institute, she today left the program in disgust, and
posted her story (it’s the 14th comment down
on the comments list):
http://garyrubinstein.teachforus.org/2013/06/22/those-teachers-are-failures/
Here’s the text:
(NOTE: the first sentence is a little confusing, as
one might think that Lida is “teaching”—
i.e. one of the teachers—at the TFA institute;
on the contrary Lida is indicating that he is a
student/trainee where part of the TFA training is
includes “teaching” a summer school class of
actual students)
– – – – – – – – –
LIDA MERY:
“Mr. Rubinstein,
“I am currently a 2013 CM teaching summer
school at institute. I wanted to express how
much I appreciate your blog since you bring
critical insight into the workings of TFA that
are troublesome and/or need improvement.
“I am a non-traditional student (albeit only a few
years older than most CM’s). For a long time, I
had thought that teaching was that one elusive
career for me and I applied to TFA so I can make
that a reality. I did not apply under a pretense
like most CM’s who just want to embellish their
resume. I actually wanted to teach and make
a difference.
“In my hometown in FL, many teachers are being
laid off. This is where TFA comes in…many
teachers are being laid off, yet Miami Dade county
is hiring inexperienced college grads through their
TFA contract. It is wrong, I admit, but I went ahead
and subscribed to the unfair and unethical system.
“I was accepted into TFA and quit my job (my
permanent, full-benefits job that I was good at)
so as to attend induction and institute. In the
meantime, I spent hundreds and hundreds of dollars
on certification exam materials, review, supplies for
institute, professional dress, etc….over $1500.
“It seemed to me induction was a major time-waster.
Days ran from 8 AM to 8 PM and ALL discussions
dealt with race and class diversity. You had a bunch
of 22 year-old white, mid- to upper-class college grads
who were compelled to contemplate on their privileged
upbringing. I desperately wanted to start my teacher
training, but I was told to be patient.
“That is what institute is for after all. I paid my $500
ticket to institute and there I was.
“Yet, instead of actual teacher training, all we had
were grueling, exhausting, boot camp days where
the focus was on making us feel and act like fifth
graders. More race and class discussions followed
during the first week, followed by think pair share
partner discussions, silly games and then more
silly games.
“It was worse than a typical college atmosphere…
for non-traditional students it seemed unbearable.
“Nobody… none of the 22 year-olds EVER questioned
anything. Not because they were afraid of repercussions,
but because TFA is a cult and they were acting like
cult members. If anyone said ‘jump,’ they would promptly
follow. Not a day went by when we did not have big circle
hugs, chants, and motivational bits aimed at brainwashing
us even more than we were.
“Every day TFA used strategic behavioral techniques in
order to advance their brainwashing of CM’s. School
would end at 1 PM, but redundant lessons would run
until 5 PM, and before we could go back to the dorms,
the school director would extend our schedule by 20
minutes, during which time we would sit by the door
while little ‘Hot Wheels’ cars would be given to
‘outstanding’ CM’s.
“Then 10 more minutes of shout-outs aimed at
motivating us to get through institute.
“The sheer exhaustion was not really necessary. The
endless, redundant sessions on race and class did
not make us better teachers… I wanted to be lectured
on teaching, I wanted actual experience in teaching, rather
than little intimidating signs held up by our faculty advisor
or corps member advisor on how to ‘behavior narrate.’
“Yet all that was provided was game after game after
silly game.
“Our day would begin in our advisor’s room where we
would play little games, silly writes, draw pictures… etc. …
honestly I wanted to learn how to teach, I wanted to
prepare for my upcoming lesson, yet there I was having
to draw a silly picture so that TFA could teach us how
important it was for us to make teaching fun.
“They wanted us to start off the day for our students with
the same irrelevant fun stuff. Whereas I wanted to start
off the day by asking a critical question or journal entry
about the last lesson’s theme, I was strongly advised to
have fun kinesthetic activities for my students…that had
nothing to do with the concepts we were learning.
“But, yet again, no one questioned ANYTHING, not the
time-wasters, the schedule, the fact that we only had
4 hours of sleep max on many days even though we
were not really learning how to teach properly. I can
see why the brainwashing was effective.
“In essence, TFA stripped CM’s of choice, time, and
decision-making processes during institute so CM’s
became engrossed in the cult….the main line of
thinking was: ‘Well, if I can get through this, I can get
through my sole two years as a teacher.’
“TFA loves to talk about differentiated instruction,
they love to suggest kinesthetic and visual activities
for our students, yet when it comes to them practicing
differentiated instruction, they are lacking. The two
non-traditional members in my school group were
the only ones feeling hopelessly misunderstood during
sessions. We would question things, we would roll our
eyes at big circle hugs and chants and we would resent
the fifth race and class discussion at 4 PM in the
afternoon or the miniature car shout out at the end
of the day that would prolong our day by a considerable
amount.
“The typical CM’s thought we were crazy. Why would
we question things? Why would we not participate in
the 30 minute teacher stare contest at 5 PM on a
Friday (even though we had more important things
to do like grading, reading and planning)?
“Most of our corps member advisors were clones.
They were racially diverse but nevertheless they were
clones in their demeanor, personality, approach,
philosophy. We were supposed to be clones of each
other. About 90% of my fellow CM’s, though there
was some racial diversity, were in fact individuals
with privileged backgrounds.
“I only met a handful of education majors that wanted
to stay in teaching for the long run. Most saw TFA
as an adventure.
“Their first job out of college and an exciting one at
that! I am quitting TFA and the reason is not because
I am exhausted, not because I do not think I can be a
good teacher. My summer school students respect me
and actually listen to me (which can be a hard feat in a
Title I school). My lessons are engaging and focused.
“The reason why I am quitting TFA is because I cannot
and will not be part of a cult. I feel like I am treated
as a fifth grader and no importance is given to my
individuality, my suggestions, or needs. Even though
I executed my lessons much better than my fellow CM’s,
“I am quitting because TFA has made teaching horrible
in my eyes. They have denigrated the one profession
that I thought would be my long-lasting career.
“Even though I know I can be a good teacher, TFA has
left a sour taste in my mouth through its propaganda
and cult-like atmosphere. TFA has ruined teaching for
me. I don’t know how to get ‘it’ back. I am
disillusioned.
“While I used to love to give presentations at my prior
job, I have now come to loathe even speaking in front
of a group because TFA has made everything so
mechanical and lackluster. I no longer have any
passion for teaching. I do not enjoy it any longer.
“I feel that TFA, through its brainwashing methods, has
stripped me of my passion for teaching and my dreams.”
“I am certain that this would not have happened had I
gone through a serious, traditional teaching program.
“As I am writing this, I am looking at my one
suitcase neatly arranged and sitting my dorm
room floor. Early in the morning, I will be flying
back home. Yet, because of all the stigma
associated with quitting, I barely had any guts
to tell anyone, not even my closest friends here.
“Ethically, I also cannot bear to know that
traditionally-trained, veteran teachers are out of
jobs in my hometown and people like myself
(with no training or experience in education)
are next in line for their jobs.
“I have lost over $2,000 so far….I spent so much
on supplies, a printer… as I arrived at institute, I lost
my job, my dreams and my passion.
“All in 4 weeks of TFA-ness.”
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Oh well… here’s one more:
What happens to a TFA Corps Member who questions the party line?
Read this:
http://www.progressive.org/news/2013/09/184340/why-teach-america-kicked-me-out
– – – – – – – – – – – – –
JAY SAPER:
“It was not until I asked why Teach for America was strikingly absent from the countless community demonstrations for schools I attend each week.
“Concerns only materialized when I asked why my body was being used to dismantle the Philadelphia public schools.
“Concerns only materialized when I asked to talk about fostering critical thinking, supporting students’ identities, and approaching the classroom with love, instead of merely discussing how to control bodies.
“Concerns only materialized when I refused to strictly follow the command ‘obedience leads to freedom.’ A phrase I will never bow down to for millions of my ancestors were brutally massacred in genocide waged under its translation: Arbeit macht frei.
“Concerns only materialized when they realized I refused to displace veteran teachers, disrupt community, and instill permanent instability, a feat they arduously worked to achieve by placing the rest of the Philly corps of over 100 in teaching positions despite layoffs of 1-in-5 veteran educators.”
———————————————-
Just before being fired, he’s told by his non-educator
supervisor:
“Jay, your opinions need to remain silent.”
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I just found this piece that was written by “D”, the unhappy father of a daughter who joined TFA, writing a letter to “L”, whose son is considering TFA:
(check out the part where he says that in his interactions, he found TFA to be “fanatically anti-union… that TFA staff who supervise and support current TFA teachers are barred from attending any meeting with anyone connected to a teachers’ union… if they do, they’ll be fired. Paragraph 5)
http://ednotesonline.blogspot.com/2012/11/another-parent-vents-at-teach-for.html
———————————
Hi, L
Teach for America only has one program, which is for recent college graduates from prestigious universities with no or little educational experience and training. TFA gives them about one month’s worth of training, mostly in record keeping, along with room and board, but nothing else. TFA then puts them in an inner city classroom (for which they get an undisclosed fee of about $1,500 to 5,000 from a school district), based on the totally erroneous assumption that high achievers can get by with determination, some mentoring (which in my daughter’s case was denied by the elementary school in Brooklyn she was assigned to two days before school began), and taking a few mediocre education courses.
My daughter initiated all types of interventions at the school directly, through Teach for America, through her union, and through an attorney we hired to get Teach for America to intervene at the school to get the mentoring she was entitled to, but TFA told her she was not working hard enough at being a leader. My daughter also attempted to get a transfer to a school which wanted an untrained, uncertified teacher, and TFA flatly refused the request. TFA also refused to provide us a copy of the contract between TFA and their teachers, as well as between TFA and the NYC Department of Education.
TFA also flat out lied to us when they said my daughter would be flown to NYC for placement interviews before her “training” began. They also mislead us to believe that the placements took place during training.
Finally, we were upset to find out that there was no compensation to get her to NYC, while she lived in their dorm, and while she was on her own for one month between the end of training. She only got her first paycheck in October, which meant she was dependent on us for about a half-year after our first parent’s briefing from Teach for America..
We also discovered that because of its foundation supporters and general philosophical outlook, that TFA is fanatically anti-union. They never tell their trainees that they will be in a unionized work force, and their staff even told us in writing that if they were to attend a meeting at my daughter’s school with a union rep present, that TFA would fire them from their staff positions!
Later we discovered the work of the foremost scholar on teacher education, Linda Darling Hammond of Stanford (who was Obama’s chief education adviser during the transition period). She totally slams Teach for America and told us my daughter’s experience was not that unusual. She also is an advocate for serious teacher training, which means getting an MA after graduation instead of five weeks of summer school training.
Bottom line, it was a horrible experience in a horrible program. Your friend’s son should turn to a serious program in teacher training.
A few of the articles we got, largely from Prof. Darling-Hammond, are attached. I will also copy an education blogger in NYC, Norm Scott, who published something we wrote about her experience in TFA. He may have more material. Also an old friend, who is now the president of the state Federation of Teachers, may have more thoughts, especially about TFA’s strong anti-union outlook.
D
Darling-Hammond article is posted at http://docs.google.com/Doc?id=dcj5ndsz_28cdp2gbhd
There is also a pdf of a Slate article but only available as a pdf from email.
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My last TFA post… I promise… but I just had
to include this,
It has a TFA teacher and Yale graduate
who refers to non-Ivy League schools attended by
traditionally-trained teachers as …
“South Falafel State College.”
Talk about elitism. It’s like the something
you’d hear from one of snob frat guys in
the movie ANIMAL HOUSE, talking in
that Long Island lockjaw accent used
by Thurston Howell on GILLIGAN’S
ISLAND.
Mercedes Schneider knocked it out of the park
again with her perusing the on-line chats that TFA
folks have with one another:
When you read their on-line banter, there’s
little said about how to best educate children,
or how to improve their education. Much of it
is alll about angling for six-figure jobs post-TFA…
either in the lucrative world of “corporate
education reform” or in private sector of
Wall Street, etc.
The thing that really jumped out was their
attack on Mark Naison, and a recent article
that he wrote. Mark was and is a university
professor in the traditional education of
teachers. In his article, Naison says TFA is no
longer welcome in his classroom, where
in the past, they were allowed to make
pitches to his students. He lists all
his reasons for doing so.
One TFA chats with another, belittling
Mark Naison for being upset that Mark’s
students “didn’t make the cut” or get hired.
This TFA-er is mocking Mark’s displeasure
that his former students are being passed
over for teaching jobs in favor of TFA’s.
Unlike the typical TFA who bail after
two years, Mark’s students plan on teaching
for a career to last decades — which, to
the typical TFA, is for losers.
———————————————–
TFA chatting on-line:
“All I hear from this article is “WAAAHHHHHH”.
He would rather have the bottom third of
Flalafel State College teaching in these schools,
than us (TFA) Yale graduates, just because (TFA’s)
choose to go a different route in life after a
couple years in TFA. Oh yeah, and because
his students didnt [sic] make the cut, (not get
hired, while TFA teachers were) he
is now butt hurt over it.”
——————————————-
Wow… just wow.
However, it’s nice to see this refreshing
honesty (BELOW) from one TFA person who
chimes in about his experiences during TFA’s
their Summer Institute.
He clearly sees through all that is TFA,
but will stick it out because if he quits, there
will be a “stigma” on him that will negatively
impact his post-TFA future.. Note how
he debunks TFA’s “more successful or
as successful as veteran teachers claim”…
it’s all a test prep scam.
———————————————–
Another TFA chatting on-line:
“There’s a lot of truth in (Naison’s) article. I’m in the midst of my summer training for TFA now, and the vast majority of my (fellow TFA institute Corp Members-in-training) co-workers don’t REALLY care about these kids. It is a stepping stone, and a guaranteed job, by and large. I also have developed a tremendous amount of animosity towards the organization as a result of what I’ve seen in these past few weeks. This organization is NOT in it for the kids… it’s in it for the ‘Corps Members’ and their experiences.
“They have us teaching summer school after only have ONE WEEK of formal training. These kids are getting REAL grades in subjects that many of the teachers have no prior knowledge of. I, for one, typically learn the subject I’m going to teach the night before the lesson plan is due. It’s disgusting that these kids are used as our guinea pigs. Even the way their success is measured is a damn scam.
“They are given the final exam on the first day and given 30 minutes to complete it. For the remainder of summer school, we are then forced to teach our objectives to this specific test, and it is given again on the last day of classes.”
—————————————————
Here’s where he blows the whistle on TFA’s claims of the growth their teachers get….
and what that “growth” really means.
————————————————–
“It’s disgusting that these kids (public school children taught at the TFA Institute by TFA teachers-in-training) are used as our guinea pigs. Even the way their success is measured is a damn scam.
“They are given the final exam on the first day and given 30 minutes to complete it. For the remainder of summer school, we are then forced to teach our objectives to this specific test, and it is given again on the last day of classes.
“(Public school children taught by TFA institute teachers-in-training) are given 2 hours at this point to complete it, after having been taught essentially identical questions the entire summer. The questions we give on the final is the EXACT SAME as the ones given on that 1st day too. It’s real easy to say that …
” ‘Little ________ made a 48 point gain in his subject’ …
” … when you have those particular conditions. The sh-t is sickening.
“I joined to try and do some genuine good, but this organization is no different than many of the private for-profit organizations. At least those others are honest with their intentions. I would leave after seeing this, but there’s too much of a social stigma attached for my professional ambitions to do it (i.e. quit TFA).
“smh.”
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Jack,
I had a conversation with my niece recently about TFA,
She said a recruiter from TFA virtually hounded her day and night to get her to interview with them.
My niece had done some research about TFA and was not really interested but she went to an interview anyway and she said the recruiter spent most of the time talking about what a great thing TFA was for your resume.
The recruiter said nothing at all about what TFA was doing for the communities — maybe because they are not doing anything!
MY niece had only bad things to say about TFA (I was actually a little surprised how negative she was!) and ended up working for another (actually useful) branch of AmeriCorps.
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Why do we need to know this? And I disagree, experienced teachers have made similar errors. This is just fluff to grab headlines. Why can’t it be dealt with and we move on. If you are in the classroom and truly a teacher we know there are bigger fish to fry….
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I eat this up because I despise Wendy Kopp, TFA, TNTP, Michelle Rhee, Kipp, North Star, Uncommon, Success Academy. I despise the lies. I despise that my tax dollars are used without representation. I despise that neighborhood schools are being closed to make way for charters. I despise what is happening in Newark, NJ. I enjoyed reading this article immensely. Whenever TFA goes down, it makes me leap for joy. Its news that has been referred to here. Every punch in TFA’s face makes me happy.
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Damn, Donna, and I thought I wrote it how I felt it but your comment takes the cake! Congrats for being honest enough to lay it on the line, not many folks do, especially in the “polite world” of “education”. We need more heart felt honesty and truth in education discourse.
“Oh, but don’t say those things, please don’t rock the boat, you might “hurt” someone’s feelings.” Bah humbug!
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Chsuccar,
I’m not “moving on” as long as I’m being fleeced of my tax dollars, intended for education, which are, instead, used to pay TFA administrators to recruit arrogant pretenders plotting to build their resumes for other jobs.
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So, the Colonizers are found to have made disparaging comments about the Natives; no surprise there.
Take up the White Man’s burden
Send forth the best (and brightest) ye breed
Go send your sons to exile (but only for two years)
To serve your captives’ need (and polish your resume).
No apologies to Kipling and his Colonizer heirs at TFA, many apologies to the children victimized by this cult of smug, self-satisfied invaders.
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So we’re actually going to pretend that traditionally prepared traditional public school teachers aren’t making these sorts of comments thousands of times a day in the break room, via texts, on their Facebook pages, etc.? Okay then.
Guess she was absent the day her graduate school of education went over the “don’t insult students, or if you do, don’t put it in writing/be recorded” rule.
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No pretending here. It is not uncommon, but its a one sided take. It’s very easy to sit on the outside and throw stones – even understandable. I will not defend such comments but the other side of the story would have to be experienced to be believed. When teachers routinely have to put up with rude, insulting, disruptive, combative, uncooperative, profane, or even threatening comments/behaviors from students because of a lack of administrative support, the frustration level and unrelenting stress can unfortunately produce inappropriate comments being referenced. Factor in the added pressure of student test scores being used to threaten teacher careers and reputations and very unstable environments have resulted. Reformers have thoughtlessly cranked up the pressure on what was an already pressurized system and now want to point fingers at the monster they created.
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If you read the other posts here, few are pretending. It happens in all professions. I’ve heard similar from doctors, lawyers, accountants when “off the record” or after a couple beers. The point is, not even the exalted TFA is immune, and they are supposed to be the best of the best. The solutions include better administration to avoid these situations, give teachers a voice from the classroom, and stop demonizing and dismissing teachers in America.
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No, Tim, we’re not “pretending” anything; we’re just glad to see that the media infatuation with TFA, and it’s blackout of negative reports about this neoliberal cult, might finally be running its course.
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“No experienced teacher would have done something so stupid.”
I’ll stand by my use of “pretending.”
I appreciate the candor of many of the comments.
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EXACTLY Tim!
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Listen to the banter among the professionals of any trade and you will hear disparaging remarks about clients, patients, customers, students, etc. . . . I’m not sure which profession is first in snide, sarcastic, rude, stress relieving comments but my vote goes to the medical profession with education being a close second. And due to the nature of the profession but not having lived it I’d say the legal profession is probably right up there with those two.
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The biggest problem for some teachers is hitting the “send” button.
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The difference between the disparaging/mocking/stress relieving comments of career teachers and TFA temps is that the contempt for students is embedded in the organization’s DNA, and is communicated to the students daily.
After all, how do you refute the charge that it’s a program for colonizers, tourists and opportunists, when a supposedly important job (one critical to “the civil rights movement of our time!”) requires five weeks of minimal preparation, paltry two year commitment, and markets itself as a way station to career advancement elsewhere?
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Fiorillo’s comments- parsed, on target and expressed superbly
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Linda:
What you said.
😎
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They don’t call it “Trashtalk for America” for nothin
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Diane,
Here they go again…the “Moonies” of education. The quasi-religious charter school movement cult and its big PR men and women have unleashed their cliched talking heads and their thought police again to stifle any criticism of the self-righteous robots that TFA produces for places like Blackstone Valley Prep. Believe me, I know, since I was a teacher for Central Falls HS –the sight of their original sin–and it’s in Rhode Island, not far from the “mayoral academy” BVP, a pseudo-intellectual endeavor of the reformers and politicians who are betraying the public trust and getting tax dollars for Central Falls and Pawtucket kids without the taxpayers permission. “Mayoral Academies” in our state do not even have to follow the very lax rules that charter schools do, and so they use cheap, inexperienced and untrained labor; overwork their faculty; exclude the most difficult children (with a few token allowances to further their PR aims); and absolutely forbid unions. Tragically, many of their lock-step followers are like the originally well-intentioned followers of the Reverend Jim Jones. And we all know what happened to him– and to many of them. We won’t drink the Kool-aid and they try to assassinate our good reputations for it. Let us continue to get people of good will to drink something that often is more difficult to swallow–the elixir of truth.
Don’t look down, Diane. Look next to you: we are standing right here!
George
Pawtucket, RI
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