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Jillian DiBlasi English 0701 Professor Gayle 27 Oct 2013 The Main Concern with Teach for America Whenever people think of the American school system, most do not think of the unfortunate schools, unless they are the ones who have attended or presently attend one. American educations main problem is that they cannot focus on every single school throughout the United States. Every day, our education system makes attempts to change our schools, but they are not always successful in doing so. One of the main issues with American school systems are the teachers, but not just any teachers, the Teach for America (TFA) corp members, who are also referred to as recruits. Teach for America is a program who is supposed to *end+ education inequality, (An Open Letter 1) but that is not the case. 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 institutions five-week education. Teach for Americas teachers are less likely to perform as well as a certified teacher who has a degree in education. TFA takes their recruits and usually 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

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teachers of record (Why My Students). Even though the Grow Your Own program might have the same kind of set up as TFA, their candidates have a better understanding of how to teach their students considering they come from the same community. Taking a college graduate and putting them into a classroom setting is not beneficial for students and sometimes the corp members when they do not have requirements to teach certain students. TFAs recruiting process consists mainly of college graduates. The reason for this is because they want their recruits to take their knowledge from their specific degree and apply it elsewhere, meaning in a classroom. It is a good thought, but American education already lacks the ability to connect with students in areas they need it most as is. 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, (Why My Students 2) etc. are the ones who are most likely in need of a devoted, experienced teacher. Osgood is appalled just by the thought of how 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 will never be able to grasp how to teach a student with those needs in the little time they are given. They might learn how to teach sarcastic tone in the five -week time span, but a teaching degree provides the qualifications on not only how to teach students, but how to deal with the types of students who have different types of needs. TFA members are lucky enough to even get the basic credentials of teaching in time before entering a classroom, which is what Osgood worries about for her students sake. One of the major arguments was that the TFA corp members were just not as prepared and successful as a traditional teacher with a certified license. Megan Hopkins, a doctoral

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student in the Graduate School of Education and Informational Studies at the University of California, was a former TFA corp member. Although she taught for a total of two years in the TFA program plus an additional year after the program, she noticed something was wrong. She was unhappy with the way the TFA program 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 (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 field of education, while also enhancing program quality (891). She began by trying to correct criticism from people by modifying Teach for Americas preparation course (Hopkins). Megan 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. Students are the main focus when teaching, 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 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. TFA corp members are not bad people, they just are not doing the right thing by taking teachers with degrees jobs away. 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.

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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, (Lawrence 1) and those numbers could change if we let people without teaching degrees teach in schools. Some TFA corp members have a positive vision for teaching students, but sometimes a positive attitude just is not enough to teach. A former TFA corp member, Jeylan Erman, started out at Carver High School in New Orleans, but came to realize that she did not have much control or power over her class. Jeylan 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 thought she could control a classroom of kids at Carver High School. 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, bu t you will grow so much from it (LearningMatters The Real World). 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 the program as an opportunity for them and to build their

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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, while a teacher with a degree cares for their students and their needs. A TFA corp member is more inclined to leave the program considering it is only a two year deal and they have another option in life. Jeylan Ermans first year of teaching did not go as planned, so she decided to withdraw from TFA. Because Jeylan Erman 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 The Real World). Like Jeylan, other TFA corp members have also left the program. Members may not realize, but by leaving, they could impact the students lives. If a teacher creates a bond with a student and then leaves, a student might realize and think it is okay for them to leave also. A teacher with an education degree is obviously planning on staying in the field because that is what they have devoted their time to, therefore it is harder for them to leave teaching knowing that they do not have any other options regarding a degree, whereas a TFA member has an easy way out of the program. People assume that the TFA program is helping students, but what they do not understand is how the program negatively affects our education systems. Just because TFA portrays a positive outlook on their teachers, does not mean they are getting the job done. The program should either be eliminated as a whole, or modified immensely. It is only hurting American educations school systems due to the fact that the TFAs corp members do not graduate with a degree in education, therefore they lack certain characteristic for teaching. They simply do not have the mentality to teach students when compared to a teacher with a

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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 seems. Certified teachers in education earned their degrees not only the hard way, but the fair way, and those should be the teachers teaching in school systems and America should not settle for less.

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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. Online Video Clip. 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. Perf. Geoffrey Canada, Michelle Rhee. Paramount Home Entertainment, 2011. DVD.