What should tfa

These findings are at odds with what we might expect to observe if participating in TFA left teachers feeling jaded, and suggest that participating in TFA increases optimism about the role of teachers in reducing income-based differences in academic achievement.

They also are more likely to support investments in wraparound services. Specifically, TFA participants are 7 percentage points more likely to support the broadening and improving of wraparound services, such as counseling and nutrition support.

Are these opinions really a function of teaching through TFA, or do they result from merely being admitted to the program? We further analyze our data in order to isolate the effect of the TFA teaching experience itself on alumni views. First, we use the same cutoff-based research design to study the effects of being admitted to TFA, regardless of whether those who were admitted actually participated. That is exactly what we find. Second, we focus only on applicants who were admitted to TFA and directly compare the views of those who did and did not participate.

In making these comparisons, we adjust for observable differences in the demographic and educational backgrounds of individuals in the two groups, including their age, gender, college grade-point average, socioeconomic status, and religiosity.

We detect statistically significant differences in the views of participants and non-participants across 15 of our 19 outcomes that are broadly consistent with the differences we documented above when we compared applicants who were barely admitted to those who were barely rejected. Because TFA teachers work in exactly the type of schools where educational disparities between low- and high-income children are most prominent, these teachers hold important perspectives on what causes, and can close, inequality in academic achievement.

We find that TFA teachers, who all have the social and economic advantages of being high-achieving college-educated adults, are more able to see through the lens of the disadvantaged as a result of their TFA experience. These alumni hardly share identical points of view. Our research makes clear, however, that the kinds of experiences they had with TFA do influence beliefs about inequity and the tools by which to advance change.

The next step is to examine whether these attitudinal and belief shifts translate to behavioral changes, such as being more likely to vote and be active in civic life. It remains to be seen whether the perception that there is greater social injustice translates to greater activism on a broader scale, as well as efforts to build a sturdier economic and social ladder for disadvantaged individuals to climb.

Katharine M. Lovison is a doctoral student at the Harvard Graduate School of Education; and Cecilia Hyunjung Mo is an assistant professor of political science and public policy at University of California, Berkeley.

Former Teach for America corps members hold prominent leadership roles in education, public policy, and advocacy organizations. Current role : Nebraska State Senator, District 7. Current role : Activist and co-founder of Campaign Zero. Current Role : Superintendent of Richmond, Va. Last updated October 8, Sign in. Log into your account. Forgot your password? Privacy Policy. It takes bold, grounded leaders working together, inside and outside of schools, fighting for the aspirations of children and their families.

Working shoulder to shoulder with students, educators, and community members, Teach For America corps members support the academic and personal growth of students.

The impact corps members have in the classroom fuels a lifelong commitment to their students and shapes the trajectory of their lives and careers. Alumni and corps members work in partnership with rural and urban communities across the country, inside schools and from every sector that shapes education. Realizing educational equity and excellence will take a broad and diverse coalition of people united around a common purpose and shared values.

Change must be shaped by those of us who are most directly impacted by educational inequity. And progress is only possible if each of us works effectively across lines of difference—with students, parents, partners, and each other—and if each of us understands and leverages the assets we bring to this work based on our identities and life experiences.

Read more Open in New Window. Read more. In communities across America, Teach For America alumni and corps members are helping expand access and opportunity for children. As a collective force—educators, advocates, entrepreneurs, policymakers, community members—we are committed to profound systemic change so that our students can create a better world for themselves and for all of us.

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To put it bluntly, the last thing our students — undergoing mass school closings, budget cuts, and chaotic school policies — need is short-term, poorly trained novices. Read what other TFA alumni have written, eloquently describing why they no longer support the organization. Investigate research on TFA, its effect on education, and the shoddy research they use to support their practices.

Follow facebook groups like Resistance to TFA. Listen when groups of college students launch anti-TFA campaigns on their campuses. This pushback has nothing to do with you personally. There have been multiple abuses already endured in the cities you are entering, which TFA exploits. How else are stakeholders supposed to respond as TFA takes precious resources from districts and states in budgetary crisis? Or as TFA steals jobs from experienced teachers and qualified, fully credentialed teacher candidates?

Or undermines our profession with false claims that teachers need little preparation? Or partners with the very wealthy and politically connected forces wreaking havoc on our schools against the will of communities?

You new recruits did not create this current situation. But by participating in TFA you will become a part of the problem. If you truly want to work with children as a teacher, give those future students the greatest chance possible by doing a full preparation program before teaching alone in that classroom.

Those of us in the teaching profession welcome bright young beginning teachers with open arms. If you are not sure teaching is for you, volunteer in a school, tutor, participate in after-school programs. All children deserve a fully prepared teacher for every day of their educational careers. Please do not participate in denying them that right. And please do not become a foot soldier for the corporate education reform movement.

Do not partner with the very people trying to destroy public education for their own personal gain. You have a choice to make. TFA may open doors to lucrative careers, help you get into prestigious law and graduate degree programs, even give you direct paths into high-paid jobs in the worlds of education, business, or politics.

But are you willing to participate in the destruction of public education, destroy the teaching profession, and deny children experienced long-term educators? Please make the right choice. And then join those of us on the ground fighting for real reform.

We need your passion and drive. Katie Osgood is a special education teacher in Chicago currently working at a psychiatric hospital. She previously taught in the Chicago Public Schools. This article is adapted from a blog post originally posted on At the Chalk Face atthechalkface.

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