Sometimes, the articles written about Teach For America give me a much-needed lift in my self-confidence. Apparently these articles are in no shortage these weeks, probably because of a pretty anti-TFA study done in Texas. I like reading both kinds of articles because it lets me see how much of the TFA juice I've drank (quite a lot) but it forces me to think about what I consider to be the positive and negative aspects of the organization. It also gets me fired up because in most cases there is some kind of inaccuracy, especially regarding teacher layoffs* (see below). Not that TFA's info is free from criticism- I'm pretty sure that their alumni statistics are a little skewed when it comes to judging how many alums are in an "education" field (a pretty broad category, I would argue) and how many still support the TFA mission (another vague description). If you'd like to be a little bit more impressed with me (or rather, the organization I'm a part of), feel free to browse through these articles. They're mostly based on Ivy League and really elite schools, but still applicable to all in TFA.
Also, if you haven't made your way down to the bottom of my blog, you'll find a stream of education/TFA related news... just in case you're interested.
*It's a pretty common misconception that during teacher layoffs, districts are letting go experienced teachers and replacing them with TFA teachers. Budget cuts requiring a reduction in force and the hiring of Teach For America teachers are two different things- TFA hiring (at least in my district) is part of the district's strategic improvement plan, mainly because our superintendent believes strongly in the program's results. So, for example, the district may be cutting its technology budget by 1/3, but its strategic technology plan calls for the purchase of 3,000 new computers. These two decisions sound contradictory at first, but (as I said before) they're part of two different district initiatives. Also, Teach For America teachers are not immune to layoffs. You can ask corps members in my class who DID get laid off this year. A lot of people believe that we are allowed to stay no matter what we do, but our performance is measured by the same evaluation tool used to determine which teachers get RIF (reduction in force) letters. Usually, the teachers that get these letters are (1) mid-year or emergency hires who have only signed a contract to the end of the year, (2) teachers who have been teaching for fewer than five years and have been rated below-standard in one or more of their evaluations, or (3) teachers whose position has been combined with another or eliminated altogether (sadly, more and more special-area positions like librarians and guidance counselors are being cut).
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