A Teach for America teacher asks why she and her colleagues are unwelcome in Cobb
I ran a shorter version of this heartfelt essay on the education page in the AJC, but wanted to share the full piece here. This piece was written by math teacher Emily Desprez, a Teach for America teacher, after Cobb County’s decision not to proceed with plans to hire 50 Teach for America teachers.
By Emily Desprez
It’s 2:10 and the high school release bell just sounded. I arrived at school this morning at 6, but I won’t leave until 5. My students’ futures are at stake and are worthy of a few extra hours of my time. I am a 22-year- old high school math teacher at a Title 1 school in the Atlanta area. Less than five years ago I was a student at Sandy Creek High School in Fayette County.
It was then my passion for equal educational opportunities launched. I sat in an AP Calculus class taught by an inspiring teacher whose students consistently passed the final AP test –thereby automatically earning college credit. I looked around and saw mostly white faces. Conversely, the demographic mix of my non-AP English class reflected the black majority of Sandy Creek. I was puzzled. Why so few non-whites in my AP math and science courses? This question lingered in my head during my remaining time in high school and at Georgia Tech, where as an honors graduate, I earned a degree in business management.
While in college I received numerous scholarships, immersed myself in cultural events, volunteered around Atlanta and started an awareness group that focused on hunger and homelessness. I also studied abroad for a year. Much of my success at college was a direct result of the education I received at Sandy Creek.
As a senior at Tech, I applied for a position with Teach For America. TFA’s goal is to ensure that children, whose life circumstances put them at a disadvantage, are not denied an excellent education. TFA accomplishes this goal by identifying and fast-tracking leaders into teachers who are expected to put the education of children above all else. They reinforced this expectation by driving home a startling fact: only 8% of kids growing up in low-income communities graduate from college by age 24.
Only after filling out an application, writing an essay, participating in phone interviews, teaching a sample lesson, and attending a day-long interview was I accepted into the program. A program in which less than 10% of the applicants are accepted. To top off my joy, I was thrilled to learn that I would be teaching high school math in Atlanta.
Following my acceptance, I attended what TFA euphemistically calls “summer institute,” but is more like teacher’s boot camp. At “camp” I taught eighth grade math in an Atlanta Public School to middle school students who failed the CRCT. These summer school sessions focused on CRCT math to help the kids pass the CRCT and then move on to high school.
Each day, after teaching these classes, I attended intensive training workshops on topics that ranged from high-rigor lesson planning to classroom management. I learned about the levels of Bloom’s Taxonomy, Lee Canter’s Behavioral Management Cycle, special education practices, and differentiation based on student needs—many of the same topics discussed by my friends who studied education in college.
Although boot camp gave me the tools and knowledge I required as a first-time teacher, nothing could have fully prepared me for the day-to-day challenge of teaching algebra to 180 students of diverse backgrounds.
Still, on that first day of school in August, I entered my classroom knowing that every child has potential, and it was my mission, and as a teacher, my responsibility to ensure they would receive the education necessary to unleash it. I had come full circle from that day years ago in my high school AP Calculus class. I was ready.
During my first semester I built strong relationships with my students, some of whom had never passed a math class in high school without taking it multiple times, or were soon to be the first high school graduate in their family. I teach students who walk to school when they miss the bus, who live in two-bedroom apartments with 10 family members, who hated math for the first 16 years of their lives, or who never believed they could “dominate” (as we say in my classroom) every math problem they encounter — if they only believed in their potential and trusted that every problem has a solution.
I learn much from my students each day about the impact that growing up in a disadvantaged environment has on their school life. I’m reminded daily that poverty, broken homes, working parents, etc., are added hurdles that they and I, as their teacher, must overcome.
From this I’ve learned that success in the classroom is as much the teacher’s responsibility as it is the student’s. Each day when the 6:45 a.m. bus unloads my first period class of Math I repeaters, I’m reminded of the relationships we have built, of what I’ve learned from them, and what it takes to close the achievement gap between low-income schools and those in more affluent areas.
And so I was puzzled to read in The Atlanta Journal Constitution that the Cobb County Superintendent “averted a fight over Teach for America, withdrawing, at least for now, his proposal to hire 50 teachers from the program.” The article stated that Superintendent Michael Hinojosa wanted to hire TFA teachers to help close a gap in achievement at schools in South Cobb, where test scores have consistently lagged the district average.
Unfortunately, teachers and some board members were critical of the proposal, saying it undermined staff morale. How, I wondered, would hiring Teach for America teachers undermine staff morale?
I teach at a school where veteran teachers fully embrace my optimistic and exuberant personality, and consistently assist me in becoming a better teacher. Few know that I am not a “traditional teacher.” To them, I am a young college graduate who wanted to jump right into the heart of public education’s largest downfall: not offering equal opportunity to students from difficult circumstances. Many teachers I collaborate with also come from non-traditional backgrounds, such as accountants, journalists, and even a few with law degrees. I’m just another teacher.
I passed the GACE (Georgia Assessments for the Certification of Educators) for high school math in the 98th percentile. I immediately enrolled in an alternative certification program in which I will earn my renewable teaching certification by the end of this year. I attend almost every available staff development workshop because I want to do everything possible to ensure that my 180 students are receiving a rigorous math curriculum delivered with engaging and real-life applications.
Between my math department mentor at my school, my manager of teaching and leadership development at Teach for America, and my alternative certification program adviser, I am constantly receiving and reflecting on feedback from their observations of my teaching, lesson planning, and classroom management. Interestingly, my presence in my high school isn’t decreasing teacher morale.
So, I’m a typical TFA teacher and my co-teachers accept me as one of their own. Why won’t you, Cobb County teachers and board members, hire me? What is more important when it comes to hiring educators: a teaching degree or an individual who believes that the achievement gap must be closed, and is willing to do anything necessary to make that a reality?
If the Cobb County Board of Education put student achievement first, the question of whether or not reducing a few teachers’ level of morale in exchange for 50 Teach for America teachers wouldn’t even be asked. The answer is obvious.
To those opposing teachers in Cobb, I would like to share with you an excerpt from a thank-you note from one of my students: “You are my favorite math teacher ever! You always have patience and try to explain things so clearly. Thank you for having such a positive attitude toward students and trying to get us to do well and get good grades. Thank you for making me end my day in a good mood by always having a smile on your face and being so outgoing and understanding about things. Thanks for always being here for me when I need help, encouraging me to set and reach goals, for all the nice and kind things you have done to help me accomplish things at school. I had never made above a C in math before now. You motivate me to want to achieve my goals so I can be someone in life.”
“So I can be someone in life.” Talk about high morale. If I ever stop taking steps toward ensuring increased levels of student achievement I will stop teaching.
Should not the teachers in Cobb County have the same attitude –for the students? For high morale?
–From Maureen Downey, for the AJC Get Schooled blog
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199 comments Add your comment
Beverly Fraud
February 27th, 2012
1:00 pm
“Unfortunately, teachers and some board members were critical of the proposal, saying it undermined staff morale. How, I wondered, would hiring Teach for America teachers undermine staff morale?”
Let’s see, someone who has invested twenty years in a career, twenty years in their STUDENTS, has undertaken untold hours more professional training than the Teach for America candidate, doesn’t want to lose it ALLMbecause some administrator tries to make THEMSELVES look good by cutting the budget with a “cure du jour” that chances are, will leave the profession in a couple of years?
Oh how HORRIBLE they should be upset!
Now is it ALSO possible someone has been a BANE to the existence of students for the better part of twenty years, (can’t be accused of “checking out mentally” because they never had the acumen to “check IN”) and is getting a little nervous the gravy train is coming to a halt?
Yes, that IS true, whether or not teachers like to admit it.
And finally, is it a DISTINCT possibility, due to the ever present specter of RETALIATION, that the dedicated, COMPETENT teacher is at a GREATER risk of losing their job than the “kiss up incompetent”?
THAT is unfortunately true, and that’s what MANY of the “let’s blame the teacher” crowd simply cannot comprehend.
For Bootney
February 27th, 2012
1:09 pm
@bootney — If you are going to criticize someone’s grammar and spelling in public, you really should run a spell check yourself. It’s grammar, not grammer. I hope you are not, as you state, speaking as one of our “professional educatators” (spell check that one, too). I fear that you are not just pretending to be a teacher to have a bit of fun but, instead, are really an example of the kind people we have teaching our kids!
jm
February 27th, 2012
1:17 pm
Many of the teachers comments on this blog strike me as the reason our education system is failing its customer, the student.
It confirms that the teachers are the problem. Not the students. We must empower our principals to have free reign to fire second rate teachers and then hold the principals accountable for the performance of the school and its teachers.
Why TFA Stinks
February 27th, 2012
1:21 pm
#1) As a professional teacher/educator, I find it denigrating to the Profession of Teaching to say that people can be prepared to teach in 5 to 6 weeks. Simply b/c people have attended Brown or Yale or wherever may mean they are intelligent, it does not mean they have some innate understanding of the complexity of teaching and learning that genuine teacher preparation programs instill in their candidates. It is offensive and pretentious to think otherwise.
#2) Equally denigrating to the profession is the notion that teaching is something you can “dabble in.” Oh, do it for a couple of years, assuage your (usually white/suburban/privileged) guilt and then get on with your “real life” in law school or business school or wherever. Teaching, you see, isn’t all that important and anybody can do it for a couple of years (which, by the way, their own statistics don’t particularly bear out — check out what their attrition rate is in the first year – and consider it’s their statistics, so adjust for reality). How do we feel about “Nurses for America?” Or, better, “Doctors for America?” The lack of respect for teaching as a profession is historic — based on seeing it as a “feminine” profession and one that does not pay what “real” jobs pay. Teach for America continues to support that historic disrespect for the profession by treating it as something one can do until something “better” (read high paying, more prestigious, etc.) comes along.
#3) TFA is patronizing, patriarchal, and colonialist. It continues a “wonderful” tradition of upper class noblesse oblige which says, essentially, “Well, we will take a little time out of our (important) lives to help you poor children of color (briefly) and then we’ll leave (because we can!).”
#4) Little or no decent support is supplied to the Novice Teachers who go out into some of the most difficult and stressful schools in our cities. Anyone who knows teaching will tell you that support and genuine mentoring are essential in the first few years of teaching.
#5) Many districts see TFA “volunteers” as fodder (there’s a wonderful piece in The Onion, online, about this) and shift them around willy-nilly to “fill in” gaps they have in staffing. How does that help anyone — and, particularly, how does it help the students these “volunteers” are supposed to be serving?
#6) TFA perpetuates the miserable conditions in urban schools. It allows politicians to claim, “Look, something’s being done” when, in fact, no significant change is occurring. In all its time in existence TFA has NEVER made a policy statement that their real goal is to improve urban schools to the point of making TFA unnecessary. Their motto, if they were sincere in improving schools, should be “Put us out of business.” But that’s not their goal. TFA has become a cottage industry, and a self-perpetuating one at that, which allows the mass of society to look the other way and essentially say, “See, there’s really no hope for those urban schools (and those children who are, clearly, “unteachable”). Teach for America keeps trying and there’s no progress.” TFA is, at best, a medicated band-aid but a band-aid nonetheless. Our urban schools are hemorrhaging and TFA is a band-aid — and that’s fine because in the world of Fox News, that looks as if an effort is being made. It’s clearly the fault of the children and their families if there’s no decrease in the “achievement gap.”
#7) For those who survive TFA and then join their ranks as recruiters or “Executive Directors” or whatever, their allegiance to the organization is cult-like. It is not a Learning Organization whose goal is to better the schools. Like some evangelical sect, their goal is to recruit more members, receive more recognition (usually from right-wing “do away with public schools” types), and continue to sing their own praises as saviors of some sort (“If we weren’t there, who would be?” Which begs the deeper questions about “How can we actually fix the system instead of putting our TFA finger in the dyke?”).
http://www.biljohnson.com/thoughts-on-tfa.html
irisheyes
February 27th, 2012
1:25 pm
@jm, that’s great. Now, tell me how you will determine who is 2nd rate and who is 1st rate. Are 1st rate teachers the ones will the lesson plans with all of the standards listed? Are 1st rate teachers the ones who stick to the curriculum calendar religiously and make no deviations? Are 1st rate teachers the ones who have brightly colored word walls and well written essential questions? Are 1st rate teachers the ones who have students who can parrot the answers back perfectly?
OR, are 1st rate teachers something a little different??
(BTW, before everyone gets their panties in a wad, it’s conference day. And, I have time to post, since the parent of a student who is currently working at least a year behind chose not to come.)
jm
February 27th, 2012
1:27 pm
irisheyes – the principal will determine that. And if the principal doesn’t perform, he / she will be fired.
Good principals know who the good teachers are and who the bad ones are.
get it?
To Tonya C from Good Mother
February 27th, 2012
1:30 pm
You ask a good question “Good Mother:
Just an FYI, APS is the LARGEST recipient/participant in the TFA program in the state of Georgia. Just so you know. How’s that been working out?”
Great! I love TFAs and wish we had more of them. What I don’t want is the teacher my child has who has an education degree. She can’t use common simple, standard English. Her spoken English is atrocious and her written English is an embarrassment to everyone. My child’s classroom has children from several differenet countries and each of those parents, who were born and educated in a foreign country in a foreign language speak better English than she does. My child has picked up the horrific speech of his/her teacher “If your child need to use the bathroom…” “I aksed him a quershun….” “My student have inform me…”
This, from an EDUCATION major. pffffft. some education. I’ll take a 22 year old smiling Georgia Tech math grad, offer to clean her classroom, provide her with every piece of office supply she needs and thank her and God every day for her.
Good Mother
Tonya C.
February 27th, 2012
1:36 pm
I wasn’t referencing the cheating scandal. That’s secondary. The fact is that while alternative programs are HEAVILY emphasized in APS (not only TFA, also TAPP and a foreign-teacher program) the results aren’t stunning. No better than the “friends and family” plan.
But I’m biased. I will no longer let my kids have teachers under the age of 25 if I can help it. Too many poor experiences too count.
Tonya C.
February 27th, 2012
1:44 pm
jm:
The problem…the system is full of poor principals. As a parent, I can attest to that. And standards? Teaching in a public school as a good or great teacher doesn’t necessairly mean squat. I’ve seen Teachers of the Year laid off before one with a MULTITUDE of parent complaints. Popularity contests didn’t end in high school. Too often poor or average teachers aren’t moved out of teaching; just out of the classroom.
To Hillbilld D
February 27th, 2012
1:46 pm
You write “however well meaning, people like me, 50+, really don’t like being lectured to by 20 somethings just out into the work force. That goes for just about any subject, not just education.”
It doesn’t matter what 50+ year olds “LIKE”. In the real world plenty of we old folks answer to, report to, are managed by young whipper snappers. Age has nothing to do with it.
If the 22 year old has an idea, listen to it. Just because we are older doesn’t make us smarter.
Good Mother
irisheyes
February 27th, 2012
1:54 pm
So, if my principal decides that they don’t like me because I don’t toe the party line and do what’s best for my students, I’m out of a job? What criteria should prinicpals use to determine 1st rate teachers? We wouldn’t want students to be graded on such vague guidelines as “the teacher will know who is smart or not”, so why are we OK with grading teachers like that?
BTW, yet another no-show!
NolaDawg
February 27th, 2012
1:56 pm
Quoting: Josh February 27th, 2012 12:20 pm “A Georgia Tech grad is much better prepared to teach than any education school graduate.”
This is a common fallacy. Being an expert in a subject does not mean you can teach it. Some people have a natural gift for being able to explain things in ways such that those with less understanding of the subject will be able to catch on. Others need instruction in how to do this. Some, no matter the preparation, just can’t do it. I’ve had the honor of working with many brilliant people–some of which couldn’t teach a kid to add 2 + 2 if their life depended on it.
jm
February 27th, 2012
2:13 pm
“So, if my principal decides that they don’t like me because I don’t toe the party line and do what’s best for my students, I’m out of a job?”
And if your principal fires good teachers, he’ll be out of a job because the principal will be held to the performance standard. You obviously don’t get it.
“the teacher will know who is smart or not”
Who does the grading? (answer: teachers using judgement) Irish eyes, you are a symptom of the problem in education.
jm
February 27th, 2012
2:14 pm
“I don’t toe the party line and do what’s best for my students, I’m out of a job?”
IF YOU DON’T DO WHAT’S BEST FOR YOUR STUDENTS, YOU SHOULD BE FIRED.
Good grief what a disaster this country is in because of teachers like you. Vouchers please…..
Batgirl
February 27th, 2012
2:17 pm
@9:12, “Good Mother” informed me that no on outside of education looks for teaching experience. Maybe, but they often look at former TFA teachers in the same way they look at Peace Corps volunteers.
Also, I did not in any way belittle Emily. I said that I was glad she was seeking alternative certification and looked forward to hearing from her in 10-15 years.
Yes, I am a teacher, but I am also the school librarian, so Emily will have to go back to college and get a master’s degree before I have to worry about protecting my turf from her. I’m more worried about my system’s central office deciding they don’t need certified librarians than I am about Emily and her friends at TFA.
jm
February 27th, 2012
2:17 pm
Tonya
“The problem…the system is full of poor principals.”
And bad principals should be fired. Charter schools would also help solve the problem of bad principals.
“Too often poor or average teachers aren’t moved out of teaching; just out of the classroom.”
Because there are crummy principals, which means the school system isn’t doing its job. Which is why all public schools should be converted to charter schools.
There are good principals available out there.
jm
February 27th, 2012
2:19 pm
“protecting my turf from her.”
You teachers have a silo win-lose mentality. It’s pathetic frankly. There are plenty of good teachers and staff out there, but clearly you are not among them.
Please do our kids a service and quit.
irisheyes
February 27th, 2012
2:21 pm
But, I asked, what standards are you going to use to determine whether a teacher is first rate or not, and all you gave me was “the principal knows who is good”. I use STANDARDS to determine whether my students are ready to move on to the next grade or not. I am given a grading scale to determine whether a student earns an A or a D. So far, the only STANDARDS that systems seem to be using are test scores of students. What other STANDARDS do you suggest? And stop using the tired adage “You’re just part of the problem”. That shows you don’t want dialogue, you just want someone to blame. Fine. Blame me. Or we could blame the parents who haven’t shown up for their children’s conferences, even though I bent over backward to give them the times that they said they wanted. But, if you’ll sleep better believing that I love the fact that there are poor teachers in my building, and that I only work 6 hours a day for 6 months out of the year, and that I only have to work for 10 years before I get a gold-plated pension plan that is funded completely by the taxpayers, then go for it.
BTW, you can have an awful principal and still have a school get excellent test scores. I know. I lived it for two years.
irisheyes
February 27th, 2012
2:24 pm
jm, you misunderstood me. What I meant was that I don’t toe the party line and instead do what’s best for my students. But, your inference shows me that you already have some preconceived notions of teachers.
BTW, would you like this charter school?
http://www.tampabay.com/news/education/controversy-over-scientology-influence-clouds-future-of-pinellas-charter/1217239
Beverly Fraud
February 27th, 2012
2:25 pm
“It confirms that the teachers are the problem. Not the students.”
Just waiting for jm to explain how, when a student PHYSICALLY ASSAULTS a teacher, and the principal allows him to return to class with MINIMAL consequences, it “confirms” the teachers are the problem.
Maybe you are not aware how NOT uncommon an occurrence that is.
And as far as students being “customers” Fine. As long as “businesses” (schools) are allowed to REMOVE them from the establishment when they violate if not outright OBLITERATE the established social order.
weetamoe
February 27th, 2012
2:25 pm
Several years ago the ajc carried a article about a group of brilliant young Spelman grads who had secured positions at TFA. They mentioned that a few of their classmates, education majors, had been turned down because TFA did not want to hire education majors. I would advise Emily to be very careful. We have seen in many news reports from NY, NJ, and WI how dangerous teachers can be when they feel threatened.
jm
February 27th, 2012
2:27 pm
irisheyes, since the teachers are against using student testing scores, we can’t very well use those to measure the results and quality of teachers can we.
Basically, teachers want to be unaccountable. That can’t happen. By making them accountable to principals, it allows flexibility and intelligence that student test scores can’t completely provide.
But if you want to rely solely on student test results, fine. I look forward to you singing the praises of hiring-firing based on test scores.
tim
February 27th, 2012
2:29 pm
Millions of employee arrive at 6 and will leave at 5 everyday. Don’t pat yourself on the back Emily.
BTW……….Did you write your letter on taxpayer time. If you did….shame on you.
jm
February 27th, 2012
2:29 pm
“when a student PHYSICALLY ASSAULTS a teacher, and the principal allows him to return to class with MINIMAL consequences”
If that happens, the principal should be fired. Disruptive students should be sent to remedial schools and handled by people specially trained to contend with students of that nature.
Tonya C.
February 27th, 2012
2:29 pm
jm:
I’m more than aware GREAT principals exist. But to look to charters as a solution for all this….delusion at its finest. I am am a advocate of charter schools and a former charter-school parent. Again, popularity contests don’t stop at the school level. Look at the competency of many of the school superintendents.
Irisheyes:
I feel for you. I am appalled by the number of parents who miss parent-teacher conferences. Even at the kindergarten level.
shaking my head
February 27th, 2012
2:31 pm
I’m saddened by a lot of the comments on this topic. It’s apparent that most of the naysayers are current or former teachers or administrators. If you accept or concede to the status quo, then IMO you should not be even remotely allowed to interact with students. There are tons of “education” majors in our school system now, and that still has not a boost. Just because you major in education (whether it be a dream or easy way out of college) that does not make you a good teacher. I would rather have someone that has an advanced degree in Math with a passion to teach than to have an “education” major teaching math to our students any day of the week.
Our entire education system is fundamentally flawed in that we entrust over 65% of our children’s time to individuals that may not have the skills or passion to teach and reach students effectively. There are some great teachers out there, but they are in the small, small minority. We need a system, similar to a doctor’s residency, in which potential teachers are trained and groomed into being teachers. Some made comments about the “summer institute” of TFA, but that’s more than a lot of these so-called teachers received.
My advice to current teachers that feel threatened is to embrace and be a part of the effective change that we need otherwise your “profession” as we know it will be replaced with something or someone more effective.
jm
February 27th, 2012
2:39 pm
Tonya 2:29 that is why the state should have the ability to shutdown underperforming charter schools
I don’t care if the principal plays favorites or not, if he/she gets results. Which is what matters.
The petty favoritism, territoriality, gossip sniping garbage doesn’t matter one iota at the end of the day. Get past the bickering, and produce good quality students. That is what matters.
The Deal
February 27th, 2012
2:43 pm
Not sure how Emily can be criticized for her age. Aren’t there education majors who begin teaching at age 22? Do they get the criticism and hate and “just wait 15 years” that Emily is getting? Or do teachers somehow have to magically drop from the sky with 15 years of experience in order to be good enough for some of the people in this discussion?
For the record, every profession deals with “outsiders” telling them how to do their job or programs or website that purport to do as good of a job. Doctors have “doc in the box”. Lawyers have legalzoom.com. Anyone who dedicates his or her life to any profession can feel marginalized by an “outsider” who either tries to tell them how to do it better or moves up the ladder quickly. It’s not just TFA and the teaching profession.
Still, just like really, really bad teachers can come out of an education doctoral program, really, really good teachers-to-be can come from TFA. The whole range is possible. If you’re going to stereotype TFA as young, useless kids, then you have to allow the bitter, old, jaded teacher stereotype, too. They both exist.
And just because someone doesn’t know they want to be a teacher when they declared a major their 2nd year in college doesn’t mean they won’t ever get the desire to do that later. TFA allows for that.
At the heart of this blog’s argument is that Cobb’s administration was going to use TFA to displace experienced teachers, en masse, at a time when there are experienced teachers out of work. This doesn’t negate TFA’s mission or usefulness; it just means it wasn’t the time or place for Cobb right now.
Tonya C.
February 27th, 2012
2:50 pm
jm:
Then that leaves a whole in the education for those students. Look, it can work, but it is far from idealistic. I moved from FL, where all of this was trumpeted as the change that would re-make the school system. They are still struggling with lack of results and unintended consequences to this day. Producing good-quality students sounds like a great soundbite. The fact is, that is already happening. The problem is no one has figured out a successful way to do it on a large scale.
Beverly Fraud
February 27th, 2012
2:51 pm
All this wailing and gnashing of teeth. How much further along would we be if we even spent a TENTH of the effort we do on “fixing the teacher” on holding the STUDENT accountable for learning AND behavior?
Or are we not allowed to ask that question?
Tonya C.
February 27th, 2012
2:53 pm
I support TFA in areas where there is a true, documented, unmet need for teachers. That is sure as heck no the case in Cobb County. They have a school of ed next door (KSU). Why not just start a program students from there more hands-on experience in the classroom in return for a commitment to teach in Cobb Schools? A residency- like program?
Just A Teacher
February 27th, 2012
3:00 pm
Emily, when I first graduated from college, I couldn’t find a teaching position either. I became a substitute teacher for 3 nearby school systems so I could earn some money and get my foot in the door. After one semester, I took a job in a very low performing school in south Georgia. I had to uproot my family and move, but I was earning a living by teaching. After 1 1/2 years in that job, I found another school I liked better and went to work there. I wish you the best of luck and wanted to let you know that an intelligent motivated person like you can find work as a teacher. You might have to move, but if Cobb County doesn’t want you, you’ll be much better off going somewhere else.
just another parent
February 27th, 2012
3:07 pm
Three cheers for Emily! I wish you could teach my kids. Thank you for taking a stand, and assuming the risks doing so entails.
Reading these negative, defensive posts remind me of the biblical David and Goliath. A young free thinking kid right out of college taking on the big bad teacher machine. Are you guys afraid of a little competition from a 22 year old with a half year of teaching experience? What’s the matter? A degree from Ga. Tech isn’t good enough? Scoring in the 98% percentile of the GACE isn’t good enough? She takes the time and effort to convey to the public the characteristics and attitude of a typical TFA teacher, and the best you guys can do is belittle her because of her age, and supposed naivety? All you can muster are unsubstantiated premises about her values, intentions, aspirations, etc. then attack her on them? Is that the best you can do? Is that all you got? What’s the matter? The truth hurts?
Mom
February 27th, 2012
3:44 pm
I appreciate the input from Teacher at 12:20 on the true goal of Teach for America. It does not change my mind however, and if anything, makes me even more opposed to TFA. I cannot see how this program can be a long term solution to any of the problems with low performing schools. Sending enthusiastic, intelligent, 22 year olds into the inner city for two years at a time looks great, sure, but it is a gimmick–a stunt–its not a real solution to real problems.
Further, its simply insulting to the education profession to argue that TFA creates a pool of experienced future education “leaders.” We already have a pool of experienced education leaders and they already know what we need to do to fix our schools. They tell us all the time. They have been telling us for years. But we never accept those solutions because tax payers (like me) and politicians do not have the will to do so. We want the solution to be something easier, less expensive, and most of all, less politically terrifying.
The premise of TFA is flawed–and lets be honest here, the premise is that these young people are smarter, because they are not education majors (wow!) and more enthusiastic, because they are young, naive, and not invested in the system. They are just passing through–”giving up two years” to teach the poor. Like missionaries. And for some reason, that means parents are supposed to trust them to be better teachers and eventually, better leaders of teachers, than the experienced, highly trained professional force that we already have in place. How does that make any sense?
I have a better idea, lets forget about gimmicks and support the teachers, administrators, and education system we have now. Lets stop insulting them, berating them publicly, picking over the details of their compensation as if they were welfare recipients, and constantly questioning their judgment on matters we know little or nothing about. Lets stop pretending that the bad teachers we all know exist are representative of all teachers–thinking that way just gives and excuse to blame teachers for problems that we know have their roots elsewhere. Finally, lets praise our good teachers the way we do the TFA recruits. If those young people are “giving up two years” to teach–if their presence in the classroom is a sacrifice–what does that say about the good teachers who have “given up” 10, 20 or 30 years? How is their service not the same sacrifice? Why is Emily “giving up 2 years,” but other teachers on this board are just losers? I don’t get that.
As a parent I do not want gimmicks like this presented as solutions to failing schools and failing policies. I want my government to have the will to make real changes with real long lasting solutions using the resources and professionals that we already have in place. I simply do not understand the argument that the cure for education in our country is to reach out to noneducation professionals. Its insulting, arrogant, and ultimately, making things worse for our children as we all spin around and around in circles looking for solutions in all the wrong places.
jm
February 27th, 2012
3:48 pm
Tonya C
“The problem is no one has figured out a successful way to do it on a large scale.”
I agree its not easy. But Asia does it. We can too.
jm
February 27th, 2012
3:49 pm
just another parent – amen
To Mom from good Mom
February 27th, 2012
3:54 pm
Mom makes a comment and asks a fair question “And for some reason, that means parents are supposed to trust them to be better teachers and eventually, better leaders of teachers, than the experienced, highly trained professional force that we already have in place. How does that make any sense?”
The reason it makes sense is because the young, very bright, enthusiastic TFA teacher is not jaded. The TFA teacher doesn’t dwell on all the problems and doesn’t dwell on the past. The enthusiastic employee has a can-do attitude and attitude matters.
If you read these blogs enough, mom, you will feel all the burned-out Betty type teachers who say things like “I’ve given up. I don’t care. I’m just going to coast for the next four years until retirement.”
Surely, a mom like you and other moms like me value someone with a GA Tech degree in math who can and does work form 6 a.m. to 5 p.m. and cares and wants to work as a teacher rather than someone who wants to collect a paycheck until they retire.
Good Mother
Ronin
February 27th, 2012
3:56 pm
I applaud the actions of Emily. We need more young instructors who bring new ideas to the teaching profession. With all due respect to the teaching establishment; it’s painfully obvious that the current method of delivery is not working.
Don’t get me wrong, there are some fantastic public school teachers and some who should be escorted out the door. However, the political climate at many schools often involves power struggles between different teachers and groups. Group A has “always done it this way” and that should never change. Group B (TFA types) builds a better mousetrap but has trouble getting “their product” to market because it doesn’t conform to the established standards. It comes down to pure politics. What’s lacking is another option for parents who are stuck in a failing district.
If the other 49 TFA candidates are as motivated and energized as Emily, hire them all.
seen it all
February 27th, 2012
4:06 pm
Mountain man said it all for me. He is exactly right. I used to work for the Cobb County School District. People do things like this. Areas like South Cobb are considered “less desirable” when compared to West and East Cobb because of the racial and socioeconmic differences between the areas. Everybody wants to work in the East and West Cobb schools because East Cobb schools are “old money” white neighborhoods and West Cobb is composed of mostly white, upper class suburbanites. North Cobb is made up of mostly white, working class people. All of these areas are considered before South Cobb, an area of mostly minority students (20-60% black to 10-70% Hispanic, 10-20% white).
Many white new teachers take jobs in South Cobb because it is the only job they can get in the CCSD coming out of college. The other jobs are locked down by the veterans and there are few openings in those schools. After a year or two of experience, the newbies get out of South Cobb as soon as they can. The fact of the matter is that they never really wanted to work in those schools down south anyway. They don’t really like the children or the neighborhood. Hey, it’s their choice.
But most administrators nowadays, especially with the bad economy, will pass over these Teach for America, alternatively certified teachers. Why should they hire any of these people? There are plenty of decent, experienced, certified teachers out there they can choose from to fill one of the FEW openings they have.
Mountain Man
February 27th, 2012
4:08 pm
“I’ll take a 22 year old smiling Georgia Tech math grad, offer to clean her classroom, provide her with every piece of office supply she needs and thank her and God every day for her. ”
But you won’t vote to increase your taxes so we can permanently have teachers like that.
seen it all
February 27th, 2012
4:10 pm
Kim- another beautiful response that says it all. I need not say more.
Mountain Man
February 27th, 2012
4:10 pm
And you won’t vote in BOE members who will tell their principals to stand behind their teachers, stand up to those helicopter parents, solve the discipline problems, and hold back those that fail for the year!
Rick in ATL
February 27th, 2012
4:14 pm
The courageous Walter Williams, cast in the same mold as Bill Cosby and Spike Lee, says this:
“Students who have chosen education as their major have the lowest SAT scores of any other major. Students who have an education degree earn lower scores than any other major on graduate school admission tests such as the GRE, MCAT or LSAT. Schools of education, either graduate or undergraduate, represent the academic slums of most any university. They are home to the least able students and professors. Schools of education should be shut down.”
Now, you can quibble a little bit-some Business majors are equally bad students with equally bad college entrance exam scores. But I hope this shuts up the teachers who are whining about Emily’s lack of an education degree. That’s a feature, not a bug!
Mom
February 27th, 2012
4:18 pm
Ronin–I am asking sincerely–not to goad. In your thinking, how does TFA present a solution to the “current method of delivery,” the “political climate” at many schoosl, or offer “another option for parents who are stuck in a failing district.” I think all your points are valid. More than valid, in fact. I just don’t see how TFA is the answer to any of them. With the exception of mid-life career changers, every teacher in our schools was once 22 years old, enthusiastic, energetic, fresh out of school, and full of new ideas. Then time went by and they weren’t, and a new group of 22 year olds came through, and another, and still the same problems exist in public schools. I have met a lot of extremely intelligent, extremely enthusiastic young and old traditionally certified teachers. Are we to believe that Emily is more enthusiastic, more energetic, or simply smarter than the average traditionally certified teacher?
I ask because I think we need to question our assumptions about how and why we believe TFA is a solution, because our assumptions about the solution will guide us in our thinking about the probelm. If the argument is that we desire her over other enthusiastic 22 year olds because she is smarter, then we know the problem is that we need to do whatever is necessary to recruit smarter teachers. If the argument is that we seek her enthusiasm and motivation, then we know that our current policies that drain our teachers’ enthusiasm and motivation need to be changed. Do you see what I am thinking?
d
February 27th, 2012
4:29 pm
I’m going to start by saying that I am a proud member of NEA, GAE, and ODE….. I don’t care how a teacher comes to my profession if he or she can do the work. This does not mean that the student has the content knowledge alone – they actually have to be able to deliver the material in a way so that the students assigned to them can be successful. I have an undergraduate degree in field and a masters in Social Studies Education. I wouldn’t imagine being able to teach Economics without understanding the pedagogy behind it. Does this mean that I think it cannot be done? No, but I think that it does give an advantage to me over a potential alternatively certified teacher. Where I *do* have a problem with TFA is that it is such a short-term commitment to the profession. Yes, about half of teachers leave within the first 5 years, so we don’t need TFAs adding to that statistic. Come into the profession because you want to be in the profession, and not because you want to use the public schools and children as a stepping stone in a professional goal.
catlady
February 27th, 2012
4:40 pm
Well, we were all beginning teachers, and we all thought we could bring something new to the table. Emily, no doubt, feels the same. I am hopeful that she also brings a good attitude of willingness to learn. Her fellow teachers have MUCH to teach her. She would do well to pick their brains, and lose the “Great Me” attitude. Many, many teacher can claim similiar stellar records (not all teachers are bottom of the pile, as the AJC would have you believe).
Let’s follow her career. Maybe she will persist. Let’s do a follow-up every 2 years.
To Mom from Good Mother
February 27th, 2012
4:43 pm
Mom asks an honest question “Are we to believe that Emily is more enthusiastic, more energetic, or simply smarter than the average traditionally certified teacher?”
The answer is ….YES.
Especially the smarter part. She has a math degree from GA Tech. THAT is impressive. Any education degree at any university is a yawner at all universities except the Ivy Leagues. So when my sister in law graduated from Dartmouth, people were impressed…until she said she majored in education…and then everyone at the restaursant said…..”oh.”
No one is impressed by an education major.
Good Mother
KIM
February 27th, 2012
4:50 pm
@William Casey: I can’t even figure what you want to say in your comment to me. I could not care less where Emily graduated from. GT does not a math teacher make…any more than ANY univeristy does. But one thing I know: knowing content alone does NOT make a teacher. Oftentimes the native speaker of a foreign language is the worst taecher because he’/she cannot understand why a non speaker does not understand. And so it goes that way with all content areas. My point (and I thought this was what the article was about) had to do with why Cobb might not want to hire TFA candidates. They may actually not need to go with TFA if they have good candidates who know content and pedagogy. It costs less and you get greater value. Maybe a GT graduate IS a good teacher, but maybe not. TFA has a good reputation for sending out smart people…not smart teachers. Teachers need to be smart and talented, trained and ready to go. With all due respect to GT, it is arrogant to think being graduated from there makes one ready to teach. I know from experience with a MIT grad that is NOT the case. Saddest situation imaginable for the students. When I was a principal I could always tell when I got this call “I am a chemical engineer” or “I am a CPA” and “I have decided I’ve always wanted to teach.” Yeah. Right. I know ONE former chem. engineer who WENT BACK TO SCHOOL to get teaching credentials and has turned into a DEDICATED educator. He has not taken educating students as a stop gap until a better paying job came along. ONE. ONE.
To Mountain man from good Mother
February 27th, 2012
5:00 pm
you wrote about my post “But you won’t vote to increase your taxes so we can permanently have teachers like that.’
I have voted and voted and voted to raise taxes and it never got us anything. SPLOST was a joke. We never got the additions our overcrowded school desperately needed and my property taxes sure have increased too.
Why Hire TFAs? GM
February 27th, 2012
5:04 pm
“But most administrators nowadays, especially with the bad economy, will pass over these Teach for America, alternatively certified teachers. Why should they hire any of these people? There are plenty of decent, experienced, certified teachers out there they can choose from to fill one of the FEW openings they have.”
Because TFAs are not jaded and entrenched in turmoil. They are also a “try it before you buy it” type of commodity. To fire a traditional public school teacher is very difficutl and almsot impossible to get rid of a tenured one.
School systems use TFAs a lot like businesses use contractors. It allows the company or system to see what they are capable of before making a long term commitment that costs them a lot in pensions and benefits. If a TFA doesn’t work out after two years…buh bye…if a contractor doesn’t work out …buh bye…no paper trails, no reasons, just buh bye.
employees and traditional teachers take a lot of time to document and a great deal of effort to get rid of. In the long run, TFAs are much cheaper, just like contractors.
GM