It is not a secret that I am no fan of Teach for America. The very idea of the organization I find absolutely baffling. (Let’s cure educational inequality by exacerbating the inequality of placing poorly trained, inexperienced teachers in our neediest classrooms? Huh?) But TFA’s recent actions have sent me over the edge. Last night, on twitter, I was […]
Friend David Green’s #TFA commentary @nytimes comes at a good time
May 6, 2013 By 1 Comment
I’m starting to feel as if the TFA brand is getting a tad tarnished. It’s not fooling a lot of people anymore, as is apparent from many of the responses Mr. Greene received. When I spoke at the 92Y last month, I was right after Wendy Kopp. She left immediately after her talk, the prima donna […]
The achievement gap is a wedge issue for #TFA
April 15, 2013 By Leave a Comment
Former TFA Corps Members Planning TFA Protest in Chicago
April 2, 2013 By Leave a Comment
Click to enlarge.
GUEST POST: Myths of committing to TFA, Julie Gorlewski
March 14, 2013 By 16 Comments
Buffalo, NY, a city desperate for jobs that will allow young people to remain in the area and mitigate the “brain drain,” is on the verge of hiring 60 Teach for American (TFA) temps. The Buffalo News, which has published an editorial supporting this decision, is not interested in publishing my piece: Another Voice: TFA: […]
Is #TFA a cult?
March 8, 2013 By 6 Comments
The Ends Do Not Justify the Mean(ness)
February 25, 2013 By 3 Comments
Amputation is an instant and effective weight-loss strategy, but I don’t recommend it. Mathematica Policy Research releases a new report on Knowledge Is Power Program (KIPP) charter schools Tuesday, February 26, 2013: “The new KIPP evaluation covers 41 KIPP middle schools in 13 states and in the District of Columbia.” Let me state for the […]
The Lowest Expectation of Them All
February 17, 2013 By 9 Comments
Corporate education reformers love to rave about how schools that “beat the odds” are full of teachers with “high expectations”. There are echoes of George W’s “soft bigotry of low expectations” in this mantra implying that in the past, teachers–stifled no doubt by those innovation-hating unions–all had “low expectations” for their students and somehow THAT is why students […]
Good to highlight this perspective from a #TFA un-supporter…
February 16, 2013 By 1 Comment
The TFA PR Machine Even Works in the Critics
January 7, 2013 By Leave a Comment
Walt Gardner has a post on the TFA PR machine, and in it he shows exactly how effective the TFA PR machine is by perpetuating the lie that TFA teachers perform as well as, or better than, professionally-prepared teachers. The protracted recession has caused many graduates from top-tier schools to put their real career plans […]
How many times do we have to remind reform apologists like @alexanderrusso?
According to Mr. Russo, 2013 may be the year of teacher preparation. Too bad it’s half over. To wit: Since 2009, the California-based NewSchools Venture Fund, with the support of the Carnegie Corporation of New York, has been convening Learning to Teach, a 40-member group of teacher prep organizations that includes both traditional and alternative providers. […]