<p>True. But prestige matters to a lot of people. It’s a shame that the low standards of education programs contribute to undervaluing of teaching and of teachers. (There’s a lot of gender stuff mixed in here, too, of course – just as there is in nursing. Work seen as women’s work is undervalued across disciplines.)</p>
<p>Teaching has become a good paying job. Not a surefire path to wealth but get into a public system and you can make a living wage; a decent one, have benefits and a pension and some security. I would love for my kids to get a public teaching position. A lot better career path than they are facing now. </p>
<p>I had some idea that Teach for America placed kids in schools where there was a shortage of teachers. I did not know they were hired in lieu of certified teachers vying for jobs. Thanks, mini , for your links. I did a quick lookie see on my own too. Not knowledgeable about this at all.</p>
<p>But I do know that it’s a plum job to get a teaching position in any of districts where I lived. Many, many candidates for few postions. Also even getting into a teaching certification program here in NY is not that easy, especially the state schools. Getting into any cert program here that leads to a decent pay check is competitive. I don’t understand what the issue is here, in having to recruit for more teachers. As far as I am concerned, the Teach for American and other campaigns should be focusing on getting teachers and others who can work with children or those in need in areas where there are shortages, not in areas where there is a surplus.</p>
<p>
I respectfully believe that this is changing very rapidly in light of the economic crisis, the shortage of jobs overall, and the shortage of teaching jobs. It is just so competitive now and many people know that based on the colleges their kids’ teachers came from or because people have tried to get teaching jobs and have failed.</p>
<p>I hope you’re right, zoos, though I don’t see any evidence that it’s changing the status of teaching relative to other professions. The economy is definitely elevating the prestige value of getting a professional job, period.</p>
<p>TFA teachers are as good or better and do not replace regular teachers. They fill vacant spots.</p>
<p>Ravitch is now just another paid union goon.</p>
<p>[Getting</a> the Facts Out | Teach For America Blog](<a href=“http://www.teachforamerica.org/blog/getting-facts-out]Getting”>http://www.teachforamerica.org/blog/getting-facts-out)</p>
<p>Just keep drinkin’ the Koolaid. </p>
<p>Any schoolboard that is semi-broke (or totally broke, as in Philadelphia) looks for whatever Koolaid it can get.</p>
<p>New smarter blood at many such schools can do nothing but help give them a boost. Most teachers at those schools are tired and defeated.Just serving time until they get their years in. Also they serve in broad array of schools so you can’t broad brush them.</p>
<p>Teach For America’s geographical impact has also grown. Originally serving only 6 regions, Teach For America is active in 46 regions as of the 2012-13 school year:
Alabama
Appalachia
Baltimore
Bay Area
Charlotte
Chicago
Colorado
Connecticut
D.C. Region
Dallas-Fort Worth
Delaware
Detroit
Eastern North Carolina
Greater Nashville
Greater New Orleans-Louisiana Delta
Greater Newark
Greater Philadelphia
Hawai’i
Houston
Indianapolis
Jacksonville
Kansas City
Las Vegas Valley
Los Angeles
Massachusetts
Memphis
Metro Atlanta
Miami-Dade
Milwaukee
Mississippi Delta
New Mexico
New York
Northeast Ohio-Cleveland
Oklahoma
Phoenix
Rhode Island
Rio Grande Valley
Sacramento
San Antonio
South Carolina
South Dakota
South Louisiana
Southwest Ohio
St. Louis
Twin Cities
Washington</p>
<p>I’m surprised the teachers’ unions permit this sort of thing. I’m no fan of unions, but this is the exact sort of thing I would support them making sure does NOT happen, not the bull that they get enmeshed in a lto of times that give them bad names.</p>
<p>@Barrons - Would you want your kid in a TFA classroom? Is five weeks’ teacher training enough to prepare them to teach and do well enough to have a positive influence on the kids in their classroom? I certainly wouldn’t want my kids taught by a TFA “teacher.” </p>
<p>They are cheaper than highly skilled and experienced teachers. When there are oodles of teachers applying for teaching jobs, there is no shortage. Seattle is a good example. They now have TFA “teachers” and lots of real teachers would like those jobs. I haven’t looked at a TFA contract for several years but but someone posted the Seattle contract on a blog a few years ago and if I recall correctly the district has to hire a particular number of TFAers. They DO displace other teachers and most of the TFAers do not stay in the teaching profession, they go on to work in education policy or become education administrators. It’s just a stepping stone and most of them have policies that actually harm students (Michelle Rhee) instead of making education better.</p>
<p>Compared to half the drones out there–sure, why not? I taught school (8th grade) with no training for a semester. Just a BS econ degree. It’s not rocket science. Look at all the kids getting home-schooled these days. Most seem to do fine.</p>
<p>I don’t see a problem with TFA if they are being deployed at areas where getting certified teachers is a problem. They should not replace any certified teacher and should be hired only when there are none for the jobs. </p>
<p>Most of the teachers my kids have gotten are of the ilk of TFA. My kids went to private schools, and many of their teachers were not certified. They often got departmental degrees in the subject they were teaching in hgh school, and most were highly knowledgeable about their field. I think they were superior by far, to any of the public school teachers as a whole. It isn’t even close. There are outliers, but as a grouping, no contest. But they were carefully vetted and selected, as were the students. </p>
<p>For public schools, the infra structure just isn’t there to do this. There are also the unions to protect those who have committed to going into teaching and to ensure uniformity in qualification and give them wages that are far higher than the private schools’, as a rule.</p>
<p>I wouldn’t characterize the long term teachers I know as tired and deflated- that includes some at 30+ years and some in the most challenged schools here. They still inspire and bubble about their kids.</p>
<p>Good chance D2 will be working in a program next fall where she serves as an ancillary teacher. Loves kids, has been doing this sort of thing through her college. </p>
<p>The answer isn’t as simple as putting fresh blood into the system. We’ve heard about issues with TFA. You can think a young 'un will rile up a stale old system, but it’s tough to assume he/she can navigate the waters (in the classroom; after all, we expect them to be effective, not just a change) just because there’s a recent diploma in hand and some short training period. </p>
<p>If D2 gets that program this fall, she told me she doesn’t want to become a teacher, after. She has other ideas.</p>