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"In areas like voting, charitable giving and civic engagement, graduates of the program lag behind those who were accepted but declined and those who dropped out before completing their two years, according to Doug McAdam, a sociologist at Stanford University, who conducted the study with a colleague, Cynthia Brandt.
The reasons for the lower rates of civic involvement, Professor McAdam said, include not only exhaustion and burnout, but also disillusionment with Teach for America’s approach to the issue of educational inequity, among other factors"
I think there is a lot more to this issue than these look at, but I totally see that if the experience is not positive, then a civic service position can turn people off, thoroughly.
Conversely, a positive experience - either as recipient or provider - can have a lifelong effect.
Last edited by jps-teacher; 01-04-2010 at 07:44 PM..
Reason: oops - bad title! Don't know what happened!
Interesting article. I have taught with many TFA teachers over the years. I think a lot depends on why a teacher went into TFA in the first place. I believe there was a time (around 2000 or so) when a corp member would get additional grants for masters degrees and such, and I knew a few people who were just killing time to get money for med school. Then I met people who were genuinely committed to the idea of educational equity and even if they didn't stay in teaching they went into similar fields. Also, even though my info is strictly anecdotal, a good number of the TFA teachers I knew were seriously burnt out and didn't feel that they got the support they needed from the organization- I can see how that might turn one off civic involvement, which was one of the things the study found, if I recall correctly.
Of coure, Wendy Kopp is already disputing the findings, which she does whenever anything paints TFA in a less than 100% postive light.
Some good points. I had several nieces and nephews talk about entering the teaching field this way. For them, though, their views of education were limited to their own experiences and they really did not understand where Teach for America was leading them. Most of my nieces and nephews attended some type of magnet or gifted school. One is doing his research a bit deeper into the realities and still seems interested. If it works out, he has a lot to offer. I can see him, though, becoming disillusioned with a bad experience.
Some good points. I had several nieces and nephews talk about entering the teaching field this way. For them, though, their views of education were limited to their own experiences and they really did not understand where Teach for America was leading them. Most of my nieces and nephews attended some type of magnet or gifted school. One is doing his research a bit deeper into the realities and still seems interested. If it works out, he has a lot to offer. I can see him, though, becoming disillusioned with a bad experience.
If he really wants to be a teacher, I'd suggest that he consider a more traditional route that includes student teaching. As much as that experience was very challenging in a lot of ways (including financially!) it was invaluable for me. TFA corps members get six very intense weeks, and IMO, it's not enough. I worked with corps members as a faculty advisor and it just seemed like it was so rushed. In my experience, coming in with a more traditional background gave me confidence and strong skills.
I'm not surprised. I don't think the people that do Teach for America are any different then the general population. My daughter teaches in a charter school in Harlem alongside TFA people and she told me at Christmas time that she doesn't really think of them as TFA people any more - they are just fellow teachers trying to get through the school year in a difficult school. I think what leads you to become a better community member is not especially a job, it's more likely to be your parents or maybe college experiences.
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Does Teach for America Build Civic Engagement?
