Jillian DiBlasi English 0701 Professor Gayle 27 Oct 2013 The Main Concern with Teach for America

Whenever people think of an American school system, most do not think of the unfortunate schools, unless they are the ones who have attended or presently attend one; that is the main problem with America education. America has made and is making attempts to change our school systems. America is not always successful in doing so, and also cannot pay attention to every little area in every school. One of the main issues with American school systems are the teachers, but not just any teachers, the Teach for America teachers. Teach for America is a program who is supposed to *end+ education inequality, but that is not the case (An Open Letter). In most TFA cases, teachers are placed into a classroom with students who usually require more attention than others. The teachers are supposed to teach those needy students with the little knowledge that they gained in their five-week institute, which is nearly impossible unless they earned a degree in education. Teach for Americas teachers are less likely to perform as well as a certified teacher who has a degree in education. Because TFAs corp members do not graduate with a degree in education, their mindset is not to educate. They do not necessarily have the mentality to teach students compared to a teacher with a teaching degree. The ones who have earned degrees and entered into the field of education knowing what the school systems entailed, obviously have a stronger attitude towards teaching. There are many misconceptions when it comes to teaching and it is not as

easy as it may seem. Certified teachers in education earned their degrees not only the hard way, but the fair way. Those should be the teachers teaching in school systems and America should not settle for less. TFA takes their recruits and places them into a community that they are unfamiliar with. This makes it harder for not only the teacher, but the students too. They are less likely to build those bonds with their teachers because they come from two entirely different backgrounds. A program like Grow Your Own takes quality candidates FROM the community and helps them through a full teacher preparation program before becoming the teachers of record (Why My Students). These candidates can most likely relate and manage their students over a TFA candidate. The reason behind TFAs recruiting process of college graduates is because the recruits are supposed to take their knowledge of whatever degree they have and apply it elsewhere. Apparently TFA thinks that that makes perfect sense, when in reality it does not. A situation from a former TFA corp member, Jeylan Erman, proves that. She started out with a positive attitude at Carver High School in New Orleans, but came to realize that she did not have much control or power over her class. Jaylen had graduated with a degree in economics from Princeton University. She applied for the TFA position and got a job teaching math. Throughout the year Jeylan begins stating how stressed and exhausted she is from teaching students who do not exactly want to be taught. She also elaborates that she really thought she could control a classroom of kids at Carver High School, but once she realized that was impossible and that they would not give in to her every little demand, she had to let some things go. One big realization that Jeylan faced was that she found most of her success when she understood her

students. When asked if other people considering TFA should actually go in to TFA, Jeylan hesitantly responds with it is the most challenging experience that you will ever do in your life, but you will grow so much from it. This statement right here proves that the TFA recruits have their priorities out of order. TFA is a very competitive program, so the teachers seek TFA as an opportunity for them and to build their resume to make themselves look well-round by taking a teaching position. They take teaching for granted because the teachers care more about themselves, than their students. By the end of Jeylans first year of teaching, she decided to withdraw from TFA. Because Jeylan Erman just went straight into TFA, she never gained the years of experience that teachers with a degree have, therefore she did not know how to deal with her students (LearningMatters). Like Jeylan, other TFA corp members also leave the program. The members may not realize it, but by doing so, they could impact the students lives. Compared to a teacher with an education degree, they are obviously planning on staying in the field because that it what they have devoted their time too. It is more uncommon for them to just up and leave after only a few years of teaching. Members of the TFA can just up and walk out on teaching their students because they have other degrees to fall back on. By being able to walk out so easily, if a TFA corp member has made some sort of bond with their students, then the students realize that one of their teachers has left, they may relate and think that it is okay for them to leave also. It is the unnoticed little things like this that the American education school systems do not see. America education also lacks Katie Osgood, a teacher who works in a psychiatric hospital in Chicago, explains how students that have needs such as mental health issues,

behavioral disorders, cognitive disabilities, etc. are the ones who are most likely in need of a devoted, experienced teacher. Osgood is appalled just by the thought that of one of her students could possibly be placed into a TFAs classrooms where the teacher only has 20 hours of training in a classroom setting. (Why My Students). TFA teachers never have the time to learn what kind of backgrounds that their students come from, and they definitely do not learn how to teach them in the five-week time span. They are lucky enough to maybe even get the basic credentials of teaching down in time before entering a classroom, and that is what Osgood worries about. One of the major arguments was that the Teach for America corp members were just not as successful as a traditional teacher with a certified license was. Megan Hopkins, a doctoral student in the Graduate School of Education and Informational Studies at the University of California, was a former Teach For America corp member until she left the program after her third year of teaching. She was unhappy with the way Teach for America had prompted her for the classroom setting in only a matter of five weeks. She confessed that she was not quite ready to take on the role as a first grade teacher because she lacked the necessary content and pedagogical knowledge (Hopkins 890). Even though Megan took three years to figure out that TFA was not for her, in a way she did the right thing by leaving the program. With all this said, Megan searched for ways to improve the program. Her general goal for Teach for Americas future is to *create+ leaders who will make lasting changes in the f ield of education, while also enhancing program quality (Hopkins 891). She began by trying to correct criticism from people by modifying Teach for Americas preparation course. Megan did not realize what

she was getting herself into, but did the right thing by leaving the program. After all she has a good mindset and tried to benefit the program by proposing new idea to the program. People assume that TFA is helping students, but they do not get to see how the program negatively affects our education systems. Just because TFA portrays a positive outlook on teaching kids, does not mean they are getting the job done. What you say, and what you do are two completely different things. This is why TFA is still present in Americas schools, because nobody can see the negative results of TFA, unless they are brought to peoples attention. The program should either be eliminated as a whole, or it should be modified. It is not helping, but only hurting American educations school systems. Students are the ones who matter the most, so when they are not progressing as they should, then there is specific reason why. CEO and president of Harlem Childrens Zone, Geoffrey Canada, believes that the main concern with TFA is either the kids are getting stupider every year, or something is wrong in the education system (Waiting for Superman). In other words, the kids education stays the same year round for the most part, therefore there is something else causing the problem: useless teachers. The TFA members are not bad people, they just go about the situation in the wrong way. Many members who have been interviewed after they had already enrolled into the program come out saying that they were not ready, or they did not expect teaching unfortunate students would be that difficult. The TFA program sets their potential teachers up for failure. They obviously do not know what is in store for them because TFA promotes themselves in a positive manner. This is exactly why a teacher with a degree who devotes their time to actually earn a degree in teaching, who is willing to give their attention to the ones who need it most, and who is willing to teaching for the love of

teaching, will succeed in the classroom over a TFAs so-called teacher. Only one in four of America's 52 million K-12 students is performing on par today, and those numbers could change if we let teachers with teaching degrees teach (Lawrence 1).

Works Cited Hopkins, Megan. Training the Next Teachers for America. The Norton Field Guide to Writing: With Readings and Handbook. 2nd ed. New York: W.W. Norton &, 2010. 890-99. Print. Lawrence, Lee. "Education Solutions from Abroad for Chronic U.S. School Problems." The Christian Science Monitor. The Christian Science Monitor, 01 Sept. 2013. Web. 29 Oct. 2013. <http://www.csmonitor.com/World/2013/0901/Education-solutions-fromabroad-for-chronic-U.S.-school-problems>. LearningMatters The Real World of Teach for America: Jeylan Erman - The Perfectionist. Youtube. Youtube, 26 Jan. 2010. Web. 29. Nov. 2013. Osgood, Katie. An Open Letter to New Teach for America Recruits. At The Chalk Face. At The Chalk Face. 30 Jun. 2013. Web. 5 Nov. 2013. ---. Why My Students Do Not Need Teach for America. At The Chalk Face. At The Chalk Face. 24 Jul. 2013. Web. 5 Nov. 2013. Waiting for Superman. Dir. Davis Guggenheim. Paramount, 2010. Documentary.