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Teach For India - FAQ Sheet
Teach For India - FAQ Sheet
Why does the Fellowship last two years? Can I teach for just one year if I choose?
The two-year commitment is necessary to make the impact we wish to have on student achievement. In the first year, Fellows will refine their teaching skills and will start to establish respect and trust among various stakeholders within the school community and the students. This work will allow Fellows to achieve significant academic gains for students and to implement their community/school project in the second year. During the two years, you will strive to: 1. Transform the student : An excellent Fellow can make a huge difference to the lives of 40 students because he/she is in their classrooms and their lives for two full years. Transformation does not only mean improved academic performance, but also changes in characteristics and mindsets. These include confidence, leadership skills, responsibility, teamwork, respect and the ability to think and question. 2. Transform as a leader : The experience of teaching in extremely difficult circumstances enables you to develop strong leadership skills. The intensity of the two-year experience is critical for you to understand the complexities of educational inequity and be a lifelong advocate. We believe that this can have a much deeper impact on a systemic level as compared with the piecemeal value added by volunteering on a part-time basis. 3. Transform the school and community : It takes two years to build strong and meaningful relationships as you partner with the school and community to ensure that all children receive an excellent education. With the Fellowship, thus, we hope to create an energy that adds up not linearly but grows exponentially to benefit children, communities, Fellows and systems alike.
How will the Teach For India experience help me grow professionally?
Teach For India strongly believes that excellent teachers employ the same skills as excellent leaders in any field. Spending two years in the classroom will help Fellows develop leadership skills such as organization, communication, problem-solving in an unstructured environment, people management and resourcefulness that are valuable in any sector. Teach For India will select Fellows who have demonstrated excellence in the past and will work with them throughout the two-year Fellowship to ensure that they take advantage of the experience to become extraordinary future leaders.
Which standard will I be teaching and what will be the medium of instruction?
Teach For India Fellows are placed in 2nd to 8th standard classrooms where they teach all major subjects including English, Mathematics, History and Science, with the exception of regional languages. English is the medium of instruction in all Teach For India classrooms and Fellows are not expected to know their students mother tongues.
Students and professionals with a Bachelors Degree at the time of joining the Fellowship are invited to apply. Applicants need to be either of Indian citizenship, or of Indian origin.
How does Teach For Indias approach to teaching differ from traditional approaches?
Teach For Indias Teaching As Leadership (TAL) model is based on the belief that excellent teachers employ the same skills as excellent leaders in any field. The TAL model requires teachers to plan purposefully, execute effectively, work relentlessly and reflect continuously in order to push students to significant academic gains. Through the TAL model, Fellows become extraordinary leaders who can help their students make significant academic gains in the short run and advocate for systemic educational reform in the long run. Learn more about the Teaching As Leadership framework at http://www.teachingasleadership.org/ Teach For India strongly believes that excellent teachers employ the same skills as excellent leaders Teaching As Leadership. Fellows are expected to lead students in their classrooms towards academic achievement that defies traditional expectations. Fellows foster this achievement by getting to know their students in and out of the classroom; creating instructional plans to match the whole class and individual students needs; delivering instruction in an engaging manner; working with other teachers, administrators and community members to build skills and obtain resources for the classroom; and administering and analyzing assessments to ensure that students are progressing towards their academic goals. Fellows are trained to operate as leaders in the classroom by setting ambitious and measurable visions for student achievement, investing all key stakeholders, creating detailed plans, executing effectively, continuously reflecting on and improving their own performance and working relentlessly and strategically to realize their vision. Many of our Fellows have found that teaching by the principles of TAL is significantly different from the education that they received in their classroom and is more holistic for a childs development. Using the TAL framework, Fellows not only teach academics, but also strive to instil strong values and mindsets, provide pathways of opportunities and exposure and access to the rest of the world.
What are the expectations of Teach For India from its Fellows?
The expectations from Fellows traverse a wide gamut: getting to know their students in and out of the classroom; creating instructional plans to match the whole class and individual students needs; delivering instruction in an engaging manner; working with other teachers, administrators and community members to build skills and obtain resources for the classroom; and administering and analyzing assessments to ensure that students are progressing towards their academic goals. On joining, Fellows will be given a Fellow Handbook where instruction planning and delivery, classroom management and culture, norms, dos and donts etc. will be covered extensively. We also expect Fellows to think critically about the problems that are plaguing the education sector at large.
When and how can I apply to the Teach For India Fellowship?
Teach For India only accepts online applications. The deadlines for the 2014 Teach For India Fellowship Program are :