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I did a quick search of the forums and didn't find any topics about Teach for America so here goes:
I posted on here a month or so ago about American University and got a lot of great responses. I'm applying to AU but I'm also applying to TFA with the D.C. Region as my top choice. I'm applying for the early childhood/preschool program.
I'd just like to know if anyone has worked with TFA in the D.C. Region and what it's really like. I know it will be long hours and little pay (it is still an entry-level teaching position) but did it help you advance to other positions after the two-year program?
My sister-in-law did the program in DC, and now she works with a prominent educational policy group in DC and loves her job. The DC TFA program is very tough - be prepared for a stressful, but rewarding, two years if you are accepted! I can imagine that completing the program would make you an ideal candidate for teaching positions or other educational positions, like my sister-in-law is in now. Best of luck!
The recent Chancellor of D.C. schools, who received national high-profile media attention, actually got her start in "Teach for America" where she significantly raised the grades of her classroom. Click here http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michelle_Rhee
My sister-in-law did the program in DC, and now she works with a prominent educational policy group in DC and loves her job. The DC TFA program is very tough - be prepared for a stressful, but rewarding, two years if you are accepted! I can imagine that completing the program would make you an ideal candidate for teaching positions or other educational positions, like my sister-in-law is in now. Best of luck!
Do you have any idea if she requested the DC area? I've read that TFA doesn't always honor region requests but DC seems to be one of the larger regions.
She did request it, and thankfully it was honored -my brother was in law school in DC at the time. There is no guarantee that your request will be honored, but it often is.
As luck would have it, TFA took about 40 kids from my university last year, and some of them happen to be my close friends. One friend was placed in DC, another in New Orleans, and another in the Mississippi Delta region.
From my weekly dinners with the DC member, I've gathered a few key facts:
1. The teachers in the DC TFA program are close knit. My friend has shared that this is the number one reason she hasn't gone insane yet. Apparently, the DC group is very social and fosters a community of helping/supporting each other through the process. Such a TFA culture tends to be the norm in the urban communities with large cohorts of teachers.
2. You will have some serious behavioral issues on pretty much an enduring, daily basis. My friend is one tough cookie, but I've seen her brought to tears due to frustration. An anecdote to consider: <http://www.city-journal.org/html/13_1_how_i_joined.html> (focus on the snippets about dealing with the children; the administration issues could just be specific to the school, but I know the problematic children are endemic to all the schools).
3. As for post TFA, I've gotten the impression that most of the graduates have headed back to graduate school, at least from some of the talk I've overheard. Honestly, I think it's up to the individual to leverage their experience towards whatever they want to do. Though, I'm certain that being in D.C. will make it easier to transfer to some think tank or public policy job because of your TFA experience. But, it won't be a handout.
Otherwise, if you'd actually like to connect with my friend, I could ask and see if she'd be ok with trading e-mails.
That's a possibility, but I don't think its the norm. You have to go in understanding how difficult it is, and you MUST connect with the kids. It's a requisite. One of my sister-in-law's coworkers, also in TFA, had her car keyed and her tires slashed (on multiple occassions). The reason being that she didn't really like it there, the kids knew it, and the kids felt patronized. My sister-in-law looks an awful lot like Hilary Swank in the early scenes of "Freedom Writers" (Wide-eyes, white as can be, and from a rich Alexandria family), but she connected with them. She still struggled, and found it to be tough as all hell, but she is SO happy to have done it!
It is what you make of it.
That's a possibility, but I don't think its the norm.
It actually is the norm. TFA has twice the burn out rate of first year teachers compared to the average of any other program putting teachers in schools. This is even when you consider the fact that teachers sign 2 year contracts--THAT many TFA teachers are still quitting after a single year.
You're right that you have to go into it with eyes wide open, but it's easier said than done. The average teacher education program focuses on heavy duty lesson planning skills, teaching methodologies, and types of learning styles to equip new teachers with ways of presenting information to students. Studies have shown that the best form of classroom management is effective instruction. Make the lessons interesting, and you'll have less problems.
In contrast, TFA gives teachers a crash course in lesson planning and then focuses on behavior management. I believe the whole course is 6 weeks, and then they throw you into a classroom. Their philosophy is that if you can control the kids, they'll listen to you better and you can teach them whatever way you're comfortable doing. Different philosophy that's not necessarily wrong...but I don't think it's the most effective.
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