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
FYI
February 27th, 2012
5:25 pm
@ Good Mother, 4:43: “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.”
Lying again, Good Mother….Dartmouth College doesn’t HAVE a major in Education.
phones
February 27th, 2012
5:35 pm
gotta give that round to FYI
ouch facts hurt
phones
February 27th, 2012
5:41 pm
but on a more erudite note, education itself took a nose dive in the USA when they banned dunce caps from the classroom. I remember the meeting when the ban was proposed. I warned everyone but nobody would listen. I told them that teachers would have no effective remedy for truancy, illiteracy, and class clowns. A similar drop in discipline occured years before the dunce cap ban when they banned castor oil from the classroom. I mean, how much can the system rely on the school cafeteria’s Tuesday Shepherd’s Pie to maintain the standards that were set long ago by our ancestral curiculuum?
I don’t know, sometimes I just wanna blank it all and start my own school.
Ole Guy
February 27th, 2012
5:41 pm
When the kid even gives the teacher dirty looks, much less physical assualt, the kid needs to have his butt paddled until those cheeks glow. I know I know! It’s agin de law. Why…up to a certain point in time…this was considered routine practice in dealing with kids who have neither a sense of self-repect, self discipline, nor respect for authority. Generations…MY generation…as screwed up as any-and-all kids are prone to be, somehow grew up to become at least semi-productive. I do not care to repeat the litany of ever-increasing social ills, but does anyone detect some sort of possible correlation between corporal no-nonsense/no _ hit punishment and a reasonably safe and productive society vs the current do-as-you-damn-well-please environment and the fine mess of the circus which masquarades as 21st century education which is (politically, at least) supposed to get the younger gen prepared for bigger an’ better things? BULLFRIQUINPOOP!
The tea and crumpet approach toward education, much less toward instilling universal values within kids, IS A COMPLETE FAILURE.
mountain man
February 27th, 2012
5:43 pm
“Especially the smarter part. She has a math degree from GA Tech.”
I believe she said she had a business degree. Question is why would a business graduate from Ga Tech EVER want to be a teacher in South Cobb? Answer: she doesn’t (unless she just can’t find any other job), she just wants to pad her resume.
paulo977
February 27th, 2012
5:51 pm
OleGuy ….RESTORE THE CLASSROOM TEACHER TO FULL CLASSROOM AUTHORITY.
____________________________________________________
I agree ….Teachers , whatever critics keep hurling at them , have attended courses and programs that deal with the disciplines related to teaching …..philosophy, psychology , curriculum and sociology , for starters. But when ,for the last several years , they reach the school system they are confronted by a climate, engineered by bureaucrats who are not educators and comprising rewards and punishments , that is not conducive to what they know to be real education. Most of them valiantly struggle on and manage to really TEACH not only the tests but also the whole child!! Of course a few forget what they have learned and resort to methods more in keeping with rigid rules ‘memorization’!! On the whole , teachers are the backbone of the school system and need our support.
Ole Guy
February 27th, 2012
5:52 pm
All these wonderful programs…as sexy and promising as they may seem, achieve absolutely nothing. Any foolish expectations that these efforts will result in anything of a positive nature would be tantamount to the belief that playing classical music to the fetus will result in a concert pianist. Stop playing (games) with yourselves, acquire a few professional and political spheroids and do the right things. All this educational snake oil only guarantees the state of continuing mediocrity within education.
mountain man
February 27th, 2012
5:53 pm
I think the administrator should fire ALL the teachers and they should take over their classes. Then we would all see how they could fix the system.
I love teaching. I hate what it is becoming...
February 27th, 2012
5:59 pm
Emily,
I could easily have been you. I didn’t decide on a teaching career till after I graduated cum laude with a BA. I too was a top student with excellent grades and high scores on various standardized tests, but I won’t bore anyone with details. I could have followed a multitude of career paths. I tried a year of graduate school in Psychology, before transferring to the Education program. The difference between us is that I chose education as a long term career goal – something I intended to do for my entire working career.
I too started out in a low SES urban school, being reminded daily, “that poverty, broken homes, working parents, etc., are added hurdles” that my students, and I, needed to overcome. In fact, I have spent most of my teaching career in just such schools, working with such students day in and day out for years, not just for the two year commitment that TFA students are required to fulfill. I chose to work in those type schools even after I could have moved on, because I felt I was making a real difference in the lives of my students. I too have a box full of notes and letters from children and parents who were grateful for my guidance and support. I would love to have stayed, but I had to make a choice to either quit teaching, or move to a school were I would no longer be at risk of injury. I had been physically attacked one to many times, and when a student literally tried to hit me over the head with a wooden chair and was back in my classroom the next day, I knew I needed to find a school where the principal would support me and not hide behind a locked door.
I don’t resent you. I welcome young enthusiastic teachers, and hope you will remain in the field. However, that does not mean that I don’t have issues with the whole TFA program, and with the assumption people seem compelled to make that I am not as “smart” or “enthusiastic” as a TFA teacher just because I came through a traditional program.
First, because I spent most of my career in low SES schools, I have worked with several TFA teachers. Some were wonderful. Many were completely overwhelmed but what they faced. Only one stayed past their two year commitment, and several left before the first year was over. I did all I could to support them, giving them tips and lessons plans and holding their hand when necessary. In those struggling schools, you have to stick together as teachers, because often the administration will not offer you any real support. However, it takes time and energy to help a new teacher get his or her feet under her, and I have to admit, it was disheartening to spend hours helping someone become a better teacher, only to have them walk out the door and be replaced within a couple years.
Plus, the TFA teachers received a lot of additional support that those of us who went through the “traditional” programs never received. I was tossed in it was basically “sink or swim”. The support TFA teachers get should be extended to ALL new teachers, and maybe we wouldn’t have such high turnover within the first few years.
For a system to accept TFA members, they have to commit to additional TFA teachers in the future. That means they have to place a certain number, even if it means laying off traditional teachers to make room. TFA teachers are also far cheaper than veteran teachers, so budget strapped districts might well see an advantage in dismissing more expensive teachers (like me) in favor of TFA teachers, even if the veteran teachers are doing a fine job.
Frankly, I suspect the TFA program as part of a nationwide attempt to restructure public education by shifting teaching away from a professional career field and more towards a short term commitment by cheaper, non-unionized employees, like TFA members, who can be paid low wages and offered no benefits or pensions because they won’t be staying long anyway. They are only in it for a couple years till they move on to their “real” careers. I have begun to see a particular “talking point” popping up in public discussions of educational reform that suggests teaching should not be a career, and that anyone who has taught for more than 10 years is obviously incapable of doing anything else and is a burned out loser. I am no loser just because I decided to dedicate my life to helping others and using my talents to teach.
Educational reformers talk about how TFA students are the cream of the crop, so why not work towards recruiting more “cream of the crop” teachers into the traditional field? Why not raise the standards for traditional educators? Why not require more of education majors? After all, if it is so beneficial for students to have those bright TFA teachers for a couple years, imagine what would happen if they had them their entire academic career! Oh, but that would mean making teaching a more attractive profession – attractive enough to entice those “high achieving” students into the traditional educational programs and away from more lucrative career choices. That would mean being willing promote smaller classes, better working conditions, and competitive pay! Can’t have that! This country consistently wants a Five-Star educational experience for their children at a Half-Star level of support.
You sound like an enthusiastic, dedicated young teacher. You sound like the type of teacher we need in the trenches, but you need to be aware that education these days (no matter how much I resent it) also involves a lot of behind the scenes politics – and TFA is right in the middle of it all.
Ole Guy
February 27th, 2012
6:09 pm
Paulo, in preparation for my teaching credential, I took all those nonesense courses in “how to”s…how to get little johnny to straighten up and fly right while tickling his belly. IT”S ALL HORSEDUNG!
Entering the teaching field after a career in the military, I had years of SUCCESSFULLY squaring away young folks, a mere months out of high school. There was/is absolutely no reason why those very same techniques…modulated, of course…cannot be employed in the classroom. Once kids fully understand that their behavioral options are restricted; the classroom teacher is lord and master of the “classroom universe”, they WILL repond favorably. Courses in the many flavors of psychology are fine, but the foo foo dust cannot simply be sprinkled upon the kid…NOTHING in education can be passive. EVERYTHING, from the delivery of subject matter to behavioral expectations, must come with ENFORCED performance goals. That’s the way it’s always been in the real world; that’s the way it has to be introduced at the earliest stages of the kids’ life. Any thoughts; any beliefs to the contrary only serve to guarantee future generational failure.
irisheyes
February 27th, 2012
6:10 pm
@I Love Teaching, I completely agree. What I don’t get is that when teachers express legitimate concerns about TFA (and I’ll admit I’ve never met one), we get told that we aren’t willing to change and are only there to collect a paycheck. That’s insulting. Did I miss the memo where we’re not allowed to express our concerns?
BTW, I had over half of my parents miss their scheduled conferences this afternoon. So now that means that I have to, on my own time, reschedule these conferences because most of the parents that missed have students who are working below grade level. And my own children will suffer because I have to be away from them longer while I try again meet with parents who can’t really be bothered to take 20 minutes out of their day to talk to me about their child’s education.
Old Physics Teacher
February 27th, 2012
6:18 pm
Never attribute to “enemy action” that which can be adequately explained by pure “human actions.”
Cobb pays one of the highest teacher supplements in the state – if not the top. The only first 4-year teachers that get jobs in Cobb are brand new education-degreed physics and chemistry teachers. Us old guys have seen them come and go. The newly minted physics-or chemistry-degreed individual who can’t get a job in-field then decides that “teaching is their life-calling.” They don’t last in the classroom any time at all. Emily MAY be the exception. I have no idea; however, the type of individual she is describing is rare indeed. When you pay top dollar – like Cobb dies – why risk it? They get tons of applications every day. I’m sure none of them say they couldn’t get a job in-field ,and they’re going to try teaching as a career.
Emily, Pay your “dues” first. Then ask for a transfer to the high-achieving schools when you’re got some experience under your belt. Other than that, apply to the schools in the rural areas. We’re always short of high content-knowledge individuals. Unfortunately, we don’t pay very well. Sometimes you’ve just got to “pay your dues” one way or the other.
28 year vet teacher
February 27th, 2012
7:06 pm
” 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?”
Why on earth would you assume that those who have teaching degrees aren’t individuals who believe that the blah, blah, blah?
Your use of the word “or” shows your attitude towards those who have traveled the traditional route.
Dr. Monica Henson
February 27th, 2012
7:15 pm
First of all, thank you, Emily, for devoting your service via Teach for America, and for your heartfelt message!
@mountain man, who posted to Emily, “…as I imagine most Teach For America teachers do, are you going to do your very short stint in a low-SES school, then get a good job in East Cobb where the students are wonderful and they make you look like a great teacher no matter how you teach?”
Actually, what mountain man describes is what MOST traditionally-trained public school teachers in the United States do, not TFA teachers.
Dr. Monica Henson
February 27th, 2012
7:21 pm
Elizabeth posted about working with “‘fast track, boot camp’ teachers whose lack of knowledge of their subject is appalling. An English teacher who cannot speak or write correct English or teach grammar correctly. A math teacher who never took algebra in school and can’t explain fractions or spell correctly.A social studies teacher who does not understaand why Prince Philip is not King of England if his wife is Queen. A science teacher who cannot explain why hot water freezes faster than cold water.”
This is not the case with TFA teachers, who must demonstrate highly advanced subject-matter knowledge and academic excellent to be accepted into TFA. What you are describing sounds like folks who might have gotten into alternative certification programs that are far less rigorous. I used to train alternative certification candidates for The New Teacher Project in Massachusetts, and we used the TFA summer institute curriculum which was highly relevant and rigorous. Our participants were screened for subject-matter knowledge and skill and only the top applicants were accepted.
catlady
February 27th, 2012
7:45 pm
irisheyes, dontcha wish you could charge them $50 for a missed appointment, like the doctor does (as long as the parent chose the day and time for the meeting, that is) ? I would be a very wealthy woman!
Why is it the parents of kids doing well show up whenever you ask, but those parents whose children are years behind stand you up over and over (when they pick the day and time)? Apple fall far from the tree?
Hmmm
February 27th, 2012
7:58 pm
This has become a discussion about TFA versus education schools, and that debate will never cease.
A few things to point out:
1) Emily is a teacher in a suburban high school in Gwinnett. It is low income, but it is not in Atlanta as she states.
2) What is the purpose of her letter? She is gainfully employed, and the Cobb decision does not seem to directly affect her. The letter comes off as an attempt to gain praise under the guise of wanting to “speak out” about the Cobb decision. I say this because it does not appear that she did any research on the issue, but she does spend a great deal of time writing about herself.
3) Emily maybe a wonderful teacher. If she is, then kudos to her for the 6 months of work she’s put in so far, and may she keep it up for another 40!!! I sincerely mean that; however, her students have yet to take EOCTs or even finish a year with her. Why is everyone so convinced that she is an effective teacher? Beyond the Tech degree, she seems like a pretty run-of-the-mill teacher.
4) Her age is only an issue because she picked her major just 2 years ago, and she picked Business. If she is truly dedicated to the teaching profession, why not go get a Master’s degree in education? Many teachers have them, and she will need one if she is in it for the long haul.
5) There are so many unsung heroes in the classroom, it is a shame that this much attention is going to someone who has only been at it for a few months. I am lucky enough to be a teacher, and lucky enough to work with people who humble me constantly. Why won’t the AJC run stories about teachers who have dedicated their lives to teaching, and who have gone above and beyond for years? They exist. Find them. They aren’t going to come to you for recognition.
Fericita
February 27th, 2012
8:21 pm
To Emily Desprez –
Thank you for being such a dedicated and passionate teacher! I hope you continue to teach and change lives for many years. I tutored in a classroom with a TFA teacher in Harlem while getting my graduate degree, and saw first hand how wonderful and dedicated TFA teachers can be, despite minimal preparation.
My understanding is that TFA was designed to put smart, passionate, eager young adults in schools that were chronically understaffed – schools that sometimes even used subs to fill positions. The complaint from teachers in Cobb is not that TFA would be used to fill a void, it’s that they would be replacing teachers. If they were bad teachers, it would of course be cause for celebration. But in the last 3 or 4 years, Cobb has not renewed the contracts of limited contract employees (those hired after the start of the school year), part time employees, while those with less than 3 years experience have been let go or moved. That’s what’s bad for morale. Young, eager, new teachers are hearing that despite their degree and time in the classroom, they will be replaced by someone similar to them…who comes through TFA.
Nope John Paul II
February 27th, 2012
8:33 pm
It’s blogs like this one, an insignificant contention lost in the uncharted regions of reality, perpetuated by bored housewives and corpulent education tenures, that remind us why the world tends to collapse under its own mass. Very few of the responses actually reflect the content of Ms. Desprez’s petition. Nearly all of them avoid answering her question by pettily stabbing at insignificant aspects, like tone and grammar.
Although her voice does flirt somewhere between Miss America and Miss America’s to-bold-for-my-bad-self younger brother, something as shallow as that does not foil her efforts. Only a fool silences another on the sole presumption of youthful infidelity. Peel off the falsies and wipe off the gloss, and you find a strong-willed young women determined to make a difference. She has a true point to make, and if the only way to infiltrate the masses and spill the wisdom of her youth was to assume such a voice, then so be it. You can hardly blame her for caking on the rhetorical make-up while exposing herself to the likes of these bloggers. Forget what her article actually assesses. The AJC could have printed the same headline and written the lyrics to “Birthday Sex” ten times over, and these responses would be the exact same. Half would criticize the tone of the song, half would wet themselves over a trivial comma-splice, and nearly all would completely miss the content at hand. With that said, it’s too bad she did not assume a muckraker’s tone, and call out these teachers for their true nature: Middle-aged, small-town losers who were once young and idealistic like Ms. Desprez, but long ago gave up on their dreams, ending up as overweight abdicates who collect ransom money for the screwball youth they hold captive 8 hours a day, five days a week, 180 days a year.
All Ms. Desprez did was petition her workforce peers to see her side of the equation, to explain where SHE is coming from, and how it can serve to close the achievement gap. She did not claim to be the education-messiah; she only asserts herself and the rest of Teach for America as another effective tributary to our youth’s stream of consciousness. Yet all the opposition insists on damming, and the worst of you, damning, her, some taking it so far as to accuse her of claiming educational-divinity, and thus nail her to the cross (no less made from the rotting Board of Education) yourselves.
In the end, Ms. Desprez only did what all teachers, or all Americans for that matter, should encourage: She questioned the authority. And once again, we see the age old struggle plaguing the educational-universe in its entirety since the Romantic first lesson in Eden: The student raises their hand to question, and the teacher slaps it down.
To Mountain Man
February 27th, 2012
8:59 pm
YOu commented and asked “Answer: she doesn’t (unless she just can’t find any other job), she just wants to pad her resume.”
Nope.
Teaching won’t pad her resume. We in business .don’t give a hoot about teaching experience nor do we care about education degrees. In fact, they can be a liability in business. You don’t have to believe me jsut look at any job on any web site such as Monster.com or Dice.com. They all list required skills and highly desired skills and NONE of them list teaching and education degrees as a desired or required skill. Education degrees and teaching experience will only help you get an education job. EVen corporations which need corporate trainers do not want public k-12 school teachers. There is room in IT for physics majors, math majors, business majors. NONE for education majors.
The education degree is not respected and for good reasons. The crap that universities are turning out i their education departments and colleges is deplorable. My child’s tenured teacher who has an education degree cannot speak or write common, simple, everyday English “If your child need(sic) to use the bathroom….” and “Hier pencil go(sic) in the pencil box” and “she have inform(sic) me that….” There is no past tense, no subject and verb agreement and she uses words incorrectly, for example, instead of using the word “tentative” to describe a date that isn’t completely decided, he used the word “attentive.” IT is astounding and cringe-worthy and he is working on his MASTERS degree in EDUCATION. ROTC (rolling on the floor crying because this is the best we can do? Pitiful.
So, no, Emily isn’t padding her resume. We in business look down on education degrees because they are worthless. and…
So let’s pretend Emily wants to teach just to be able to be employed. That should tell you alot about her character — she has one. I didn’t work in my field either when I graduated from college because those were the Reagan years and I took the job that I could get — you can’t ault her for that. What would you prefer? That she apply for welfare and be a parasite on society?
Good Mother
Maureen Downey
February 27th, 2012
9:03 pm
@Hmmm.
Have to disagree about your characterization of her school as suburban. And her high school is metro Atlanta.
From GOSA
80 percent of the students qualify for free and reduced lunches
46 percent Hispanic, 34 African-American, 7 percent white
I also think that as a TFA teacher, she had good reason to address the decision in Cobb.
Maureen
Dr. Monica Henson
February 27th, 2012
9:14 pm
William Casey posts that Emily seems to be an exception to the candidates from “quickie teacher preparation programs.” I can speak to two issues from experience: (1) Teach for America is not a “quickie” program, and (2) Emily is an example of the rule, not the exception, for TFA. TFA only takes the cream of the collegiate crop.
To FYI from GM
February 27th, 2012
9:20 pm
You wrote that Dartmouth doesn’t have an Ecucation major. You’re right. They don’t call it that. For the 50K a year price tag one doesn’t calll it an “education major” as state “public” (ew) colleges do. My sister in law has a degree from Dartmouth known as a Masters in Liberal Arts and she taugh early childhood education at a public school until the kids came along and her Dartmouth-educated banker husband doesn’t need the income. What a life indeed…but yeah, I didn’t expect you’d understand all that and neither would I ( Iwent to a “ew” public university too).
GM
just another parent
February 27th, 2012
9:22 pm
To Hmmm
You state that “Beyond the Tech degree, she seems like a pretty run-of-the-mill teacher.” What about scoring in the 98 percentile of the math section of the GACE. Typical? How close did you come to a perfect score on the math portion of the GACE? Give the 22 year old kid a break. You come across as being a little jealous.
Baltimore loves Emily
February 27th, 2012
9:30 pm
Emily, When you get tired of the negativity in Georgia, please consider moving to Maryland. We would love to have a teacher with your passion and commitment in our schools. You are an inspiration to me as a parent and teacher.
Ronin
February 27th, 2012
9:31 pm
@Mom: TFA are just one option, they may bring a different style or method to deliver material vs. traditional teacher training. Another option is utilizing charter schools with TFA staffing.
While you don’t have to reinvent the wheel, our public education system does have a flat. I’ve heard the longtime educators say that “we need more funding” or “more parent involvement” to deliver a better product. Well, public education in Georgia definitely needs to better serve it’s customers (students and families).
There is not enough transparency in the district school and there is too much management and too few teachers. We need fewer assistant principals, learning coaches and specialists and more subject literate expert teachers, certified or not, TFA, fine too. However, many young teachers start out ultra motivated like Emily, but few start with that level of intelligence. You can take a closet full of Master, Specialist and Ph D degrees in education or leadership education and they would not rank near a math or physics degree from Georgia Tech in terms of the difficulty of the curriculum. While that comment may ruffle a few feathers, in my opinion, it’s true.
So to use a 90’s expression and “think outside the box” for alternative education options that best serve the customer and not the establishment.
If the school system can attract and retain experts in various fields of science it may pay dividends for our students.
Dr. Monica Henson
February 27th, 2012
9:33 pm
Parent’s corner posted, “Here is the difference between parents and teachers on this blog: Parents wish there were more teachers like Emily. Teachers wish there were less.”
Not this National Board Certified Teacher, who started out as an idealistic 22-year-old alternative certification teacher, way before the days of Teach for America! I wish every student in the United States had a teacher with the passion and excitement and academic knowledge of Emily. As a principal and district administrator, I can vouch for the effectiveness of teachers like her. If we provide the Emilys with appropriate support and ongoing training/staff development, we’ll entice many more of them to stay beyond the two-year TFA commitment. I’ve been around since 1985!
just another parent
February 27th, 2012
9:34 pm
To: Nope John Paul II
what an outstanding post! (and screen name). You certainly know the power of words and how to use them in a clever fashion. A good (non-TFA teacher of course) probably couldn’t even come close to your writing skills. Maybe teaming you as a creative writing teacher with Emily as a math teacher in south Cobb would help move those schools from last to first. your writing is so refreshing. Emily’s attitude is so refreshing. The negative Cobb teachers and their cohorts are so yesterday.
Tiff
February 27th, 2012
9:44 pm
The GACE exam is a pass or fail test. How did Emily determine that she scored within the 98th percentile? The results do not state your score even if you pass.
Tamara
February 27th, 2012
9:45 pm
I work with a group of several TFA teachers and they are very high quality and highly motivated individuals who are MUCH BETTER PREPARED for the rigors of teaching in a high poverty middle school than other traditionally educated teachers. Don’t knock TFA folks until you have worked with them. They are absolutely over qualified and under paid. I love them.
Hmmm
February 27th, 2012
9:54 pm
Thank you for the reply Maureen! I consider Lilburn a suburb; it is certainly not within Atlanta city limits. When the author of the letter stated she obtained a teaching job on Atlanta, I think the mistakenly lead people to believe she is an APS teacher.
irisheyes
February 27th, 2012
10:00 pm
@Good Mother, I’m not sure why I’m doing this, but here goes. I went on Monster.com and looked for a job in Atlanta. Here’s one I found and the qualifications they want:
Requirements Education and/or Experience:
• Bachelor’s Degree – Got that
• 4+ years of related outsidesales/service experience – Don’t have that, but neither would a nurse
• Knowledge of OR/SPD processes – Don’t have that, but I could learn it
• Microsoft Office competence – Got that! I use MS Office everyday
• Ability to travel – Guess I have that
Key Competencies: Knowledge, Skills, & Abilities Required
To perform this job successfully, an individual must be able to perform each essential duty satisfactorily. The requirements listed below are representative of the knowledge, skill, and/or ability required. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.
• Proven track record of successfully leading teams – I lead a team of children every day, plus I work on a grade level team
• Demonstrated leadership ability – Guess who the leader in my classroom is?
• Collaborative problem resolution skills – Yeah, I do that every, single day with the other teachers on my grade level
• Strong relationship management bias – I’ll be honest, not sure what this is
• Communication and interpersonal skills at a high level to include verbal and written proficiency – Got that!
• Ability to deliver excellent results within the established timeframes while managing multiple priorities – That’s every day for a teacher
• Ability to develop and implement strategic plans and process improvements – That’s what they call lesson planning
• Flexible and adaptable – Can you teach school and not be flexible and adaptable?
• Confident, assertive, driven and resilient with strong commitment to customer service – I think all of the e-mails and phone calls I make to parents show that I an committed to customer service.
• Excellent analytical and problem solving skills
• Must be detail oriented in a multi-tasking, fast paced, customer focused environment – I’d say 25+ seven year olds qualifies as fast paced.
• High level of responsiveness – Have you ever tried to respond to an angry parent on the phone?
• Ego Free – What teacher has an ego??
Now, while I don’t have the industry specific qualifications, neither do TFA teachers until they go through their “boot camp”. However, I think just about any teacher here has the flexibility, adaptability, and leadership that would allow them to succeed in business. Of course, you are going to use your child’s teacher as an example of how we’re all worthless. I’ll make you a deal. If you don’t judge all teachers based on one example, I won’t judge all parents based on the one in my classroom who hasn’t returned a single thing I’ve sent home all year, and stood me up for her conference for the third time this year. (She’s really nice when I call her on the phone, though!)
S.B.
February 27th, 2012
10:33 pm
I think Mountain Man said it well. It’s one thing to go into a program knowing that it’s only for two years, and that at the end of those two years if you don’t want to continue teaching you can apply to graduate school or jobs in the education sector. It’s a whole other thing to go to school intending to teach either as a career or until you burn out. I honestly believe that the intentions of TFA members are good, but the only real solution to the achievement gap is the eradication of poverty and all of the problems that go with it. A good teacher is a good teacher, but time and time again it has been shown that the best teachers are those who have been thoroughly trained, have taught for years, and still love the profession–not bright young graduates.
Truth in Moderation
February 28th, 2012
1:34 am
To teach math, one MUST teach math facts to mastery by third grade. Students with dyscalcula (3%-6% of the population) must be identified. These students need MUCH more drill and repetition than most students. They also need more one-on-one instruction and untimed tests. In addition, many work better when concepts are visualized. I have found Math-U-See great for the lower grades, and Discovering Algebra : An Investigative Approach is a good series for high school students when combined with review of traditional practice problems. Teachers, here’s a website with dyscalcula info : http://dyscalculiaforum.com/viewpage.php?page_id=1 If these students are not helped early, they will HATE math and be on the road to failure.
The “one size fits all” way of teaching math does NOT work, especially for students with dyscalcula. Home educators excel in providing customized education. If one method does not work, others are tried until the child succeeds. Hands-on opportunities to apply what the student has learned are invaluable and can greatly increase a child’s interest level. More and more, children who don’t fit in the public school box are being home schooled with great success.
I love teaching. I hate what it is becoming...
February 28th, 2012
6:14 am
@just another parent “A good (non-TFA teacher of course) probably couldn’t even come close to your writing skills. ”
Why, oh why, do people feel compelled to make comments like this… ? Belittling merely for the sake of belittling?
just another parent
February 28th, 2012
8:16 am
to: I love teaching. I hate…
You are correct. The belittling statement i made was immature on my part. I know there are a lot of outstanding teachers and for me to cast a demeaning statement toward them was petty. Thank you for calling me on it. Going forward i make an effort to be more thoughtful toward others.
rascal
February 28th, 2012
8:35 am
Just a few facts for you HS Government Teacher
Georgia teachers get tenure after 3 years, not exactly a NON-Union attitude toward job security. Not many professions get tenure ever. What is so special about teaching that it deserves tenure over performance based job security
In Georgia, teachers with 3 years experience teacher are fired at a rate of 1.36%
Under 3 years teachers are fired at a rate of 0.25%
Do you really believe the honest judgment of education administrators is that 98.6+% of teachers in Georgia are doing an adequate job, adequate enough to retain their position? Georgia government run education is just barely better than “street smarts”. You’d learn more working in a Vietnamese shoe factory than in Ga schools. Most kids in poor neighborhoods are going backwards in their education. The damage done to these kids is for a LIFETIME, yet you defend the status quo and just want to maintain teacher security as a priority over families choosing the type of education they give their children. What are government run schools scared of? If they can do an adequate job and convince parents to come to their schools, school choice should be no problem for you.
SBinF
February 28th, 2012
10:30 am
If she cares so much about teaching, she could apply through the normal protocol and see where the chips fall.
irisheyes
February 28th, 2012
10:57 am
I just noticed that Maureen used the adjective “heartfelt” to describe the essay. Why is it that there are people who love this author’s passion and love for children, but when a teacher writes their own “heartfelt” essay about how much they love teaching and how they want to improve schools, they get called a “whiner” and someone “who just wants to continue the status quo.” I’m thinking specifically of the time Jordan Kohaniam (sorry if I misspelled it!) wrote her own wonderful, hearfelt essay. The names she got called here on this blog were embarrassing.
Maureen Downey
February 28th, 2012
11:11 am
@Irish, Just went back and read over the response to that great piece that Jordan and her colleagues Larken McCord and Cathy Rumfelt wrote, which I also ran in the print edition. Most of the responses were positive. I also know that the piece was linked from sites all over the country. There were the usual naysayers, the late Dr. No, for one, but most of the comments were quite positive.
Maureen
http://blogs.ajc.com/get-schooled-blog/2011/08/11/dear-parents-we-wont-give-up-on-your-kids-not-now-not-ever/
Prof
February 28th, 2012
1:24 pm
@ rascal, February 28th, 8:35 am: “Just a few facts for you HS Government Teacher. Georgia teachers get tenure after 3 years, not exactly a NON-Union attitude toward job security. …”
Sigh. As a University professor who’s had “tenure” for more than 20 years, I can assure you that it’s not at all the same as what is called “tenure” in Georgia’s K-12 education; and you seem to mix them up.
“Tenure” for my sort of educator comes after 7 years of teaching apprenticeship, if your department, college, and University decide they want to give it to you, after a year-long rigorous process of consideration. It means that the professor can only be terminated for a few specific reasons, such as “moral turpitude” (very serious shenanigans such as dealing drugs or having sex on the floor of your office with a student), criminal guilt as found by court, or “financial exigency” by the school (programs are closed for financial reasons).
But “tenure” for K-12 educators comes automatically with their third-year contract, and simply means that the school must observe due process when firing them….as is true for all state employees in this state. Absolutely different sort of “tenure.”
B. Killebrew
February 28th, 2012
2:53 pm
http://blogs.edweek.org/teachers/living-in-dialogue/2012/02/hyper-accountability_burnout_a.html
Long time educator
February 28th, 2012
5:51 pm
If a math major from Georgia Tech has a passion for helping kids, I say let her teach! Place her in a low SES high school in urban Atlanta, or in any school with low achievement in math. What could it hurt? It is hard to get people to stay in these tough areas, so here is someone wanting to make a difference, GREAT! That is absolutely no threat to anyone. Even if they only last a few years, think of it as the Peace Corps, where most folks volunteer for a time and move on to something else. They still make a difference during the time they are there. Someone who needs a good math teacher offer this girl a job! If I were still hiring, I would.
Note
February 28th, 2012
6:10 pm
Dear Emily,
We’d love to have you in Cobb. However, at this time there are no vacancies. Please reapply next year. Thank you. CCSD
If there were vacant positions, why not? But, there are no vacancies. Just ask all the teachers laid off from the last RFT who demonstrated less than 2 years teaching experience as the only reason their positions were eliminated.
I love teaching. I hate what it is becoming...
February 28th, 2012
6:39 pm
@just another parent,
Thank you for being willing to rethink your comment. That is an all too rare quality. You have gained my respect.
notastatistic
February 29th, 2012
10:51 pm
Emily…
Please keep your head up and continue to work hard. Do not listen at the negative comments. I am appalled at the way these teachers have been so ugly to you. They make me ashamed to be classified with them. I too started out as a non-traditional teacher and have experienced the same things you are going through. Keep up the great work and do not become a statistic.
TimeOut
March 2nd, 2012
1:05 pm
It’s always a good thing to share the workplace with enthusiastic, motivated colleagues. It’s not uncommon for those new to the workforce to form opinions or take positions that reflect their inexperience in their chosen field. If this young woman chooses to remain in the classroom, she will experience much that will inform her world view. Most teachers with whom I’ve worked spend ten hour days on the job and then take work home, or participate in unpaid after-school events. Many have degrees that were earned separately from their teaching credentials. Many manage to do a good job in a difficult situation, while raising families and contributing in other ways to their community. Martyrs we do not need. We could use some folks who are proficient in content and delivery. It would be nice if teaching as a profession in the United States carried the same caché that it does in Finland and other locations. In many other places in the world, parents view their children’s teachers as professionals who hold hard-won positions for which they are both well-compensated and well-respected. There are not enough potential teachers in the world who want to be the recipient of taxpayers’ resentment, systems’ low pay and poor working conditions, parents’ and students’ disregard and disrespect, all while trying to be all things to all people at all times and in every way. It’s true that some colleges of education are not of the quality that they should be. It’s true that some workers in our schools are over compensated, given the quality of their work. Such conditions do not justify the suspicion, contempt, and hostility that so many heap upon those who work with K-12 students daily in our public schools. So many comments on this site reflect a limited understanding of the work world of teachers. So many comments are based on so little knowledge. It’s depressing.
Supportive Teacher
March 2nd, 2012
8:10 pm
Every teacher – no matter which certification process he or she completes – should possess the same level of concern and devotion to students’ success as Emily clearly does. Critics (and overly-defensive teachers) are missing her message: School districts should embrace educators who wish to promote student engagement, learning, and performance, regardless of whether they are TFA teachers or teachers (like myself) who completed a degree in education. If a school needs passionate, innovative educators who are trained on implementing best practices, teachers like Emily should not be snubbed just because some veteran teachers might get their feelings hurt. She made it clear in her piece that she is constantly seeking professional support and advice from her experienced colleagues and continues to learn strategies to improve herself; she did not claim to be the Messiah for her school, so why are people so afraid of what she has to offer?
By the way, I work with Emily, and she is truly an inspiration. Her students love and respect her, and she is beyond effective at teaching them the skills they need to be successful.
Bill Betzen
March 3rd, 2012
12:06 am
I think the newly published article by Dr. Diane Ravitch may help add facts to this issue. See http://www.nybooks.com/articles/archives/2012/mar/22/how-and-how-not-improve-schools/ Dr. Ravitch used to work with the US Secretary of Education. What she says comes from decades of work within the US Educational System.