Why Teach for America isn’t ‘the answer’

10-24-2011

Guest blog by Anthony Cody/Washington Post

I wrote a piece a few days ago about civil rights groups pressing for truly qualified teachers. The post hit a nerve because it received numerous comments, including sharp questions from a reader named Mike Hailey: Mike Hailey writes: “I have a couple of questions: First; Is the objection that TFA and other alternatively credentialed teachers are teaching in the classroom at all or that they have been designated as “Highly Qualified” teachers? Second; Who teaches these students if you successfully bare the above from the classroom? I will hold my comments pursuant to your answers. Thank you for a very thought provoking article.” Mike, These are tough issues and I appreciate the questions. It is worth digging in to see if we can find answers that do not just paper over the problems. Here is my objection. We have a problem in Oakland filling classrooms with teachers in the fall, because we have challenging working conditions for teachers and the lowest pay in the area. We have “solved” this problem by placing poorly trained interns in the classrooms, who turn over at even higher rates than teachers from traditional pathways. (more...)

Personal tools

Sections

Why Teach for America isn’t ‘the answer’

Document Actions