After reading Benji Cohen’s recent op-ed “Celebrating mediocrity,” which cautions University undergraduates about applying to Teach for America, I felt compelled to offer my counterpoint as a recent U.Va. Teach for America alumnus. Having returned to the University to pursue my doctorate in higher education administration through the Education School, I firmly stand behind Teach for America’s mission and the opportunity it provides U.Va. undergraduates.
Growing up in a family of educators, I quickly learned the importance of a quality education and the positive impacts it can have on one’s future, but I was not necessarily set on pursuing the family profession. As I entered my fourth year at the University, I was contacted by a Teach for America recruiter looking to speak with me about the program. As I learned more about Teach for America’s mission and efforts to provide quality education to students who desperately need it, I became interested in helping the movement. However, it was not until I heard from Teach for America teachers and their students that I saw the transformational change that occurs when you join the corps. They were driven, dedicated and knowledgeable individuals making a meaningful impact on their students’ lives. When making my decision to join Teach for America, I thought of the lives of the students I could help improve, which has continued to be the driving force in everything that I do to date.
The University’s designation as a top contributor to Teach for America’s 2013 corps recognizes students who aspire to be part of a solution to the educational opportunity gap. The educational challenges facing low-income student populations are so significant that no single organization is capable of solving them alone. Recognition of the enormity of the educational problem in the U.S. is one of the first steps in solving it.
Even though I come from a family of educators, I would have never learned the extent to which educational injustices occur on a daily basis throughout this country if I had not seen it for myself as a Teach for America teacher in New Orleans. Some of my students came into the sixth grade not knowing how to read and write. I worked with students with severe behavioral challenges that prevented them from performing in the classroom and made every day a constant struggle to achieve. I worked with students who fought to stay awake in class because of malnutrition or issues at home. I worked with students whose lives were governed by gang violence. While this was the most challenging work I’ve ever done, it was also the most satisfying. Not all TFA teachers seek out a lifelong career in teaching, but everyone comes away with a lifelong commitment to helping students gain access to quality education.
Every new job has a learning curve that is enhanced or hindered by the quality of professional support. TFA’s summer institute (a rigorous five-week training prior to the start of the school year) is an intensive pre-service training program that prepares teachers to be successful in the classroom. The institute is just the beginning of a two-year program of training and support. Corps members receive continuous coaching from both veteran teachers in their school and Teach for America instructional coaches, who work one-on-one with new teachers to improve their skills. My instructional coach, Nady, was an incredible resource for showing me new ways to teach my special education students. Not only did she bring the perspective of a veteran teacher, she also displayed a willingness to observe, interact and assist me with all aspects of my teaching. In addition, all of my fellow corps members in New Orleans would gather every other month for additional professional development that was directed to our particular teaching position. These training sessions provided the opportunity for strategic planning, resource exchange, and fellowship.
The positive results of TFA’s accelerated pre-service training and ongoing support are well-documented. Between 2009 and 2012, statewide studies in North Carolina, Tennessee and Louisiana concluded that TFA was among their states’ top teacher-preparation programs. In independent surveys conducted every two years, an overwhelming majority of principals report that TFA corps members make a positive difference in their schools. Recently, a study by Mathematica Policy Research found that on average, students taught by TFA teachers showed improvement equivalent to an additional 2.6 months of learning in math over the course of a year.
Nearly two-thirds of TFA alumni continue their commitment to educational excellence and equity beyond their initial two-year commitment working full-time in education — half as classroom teachers, and half in administrative roles such as principals, administrators and district leaders. Today there are 32,000 TFA alumni across the country, and teaching is the most popular profession among them. Among TFA alumni who are no longer employed in education, many have chosen related fields in medicine, policy and research that endeavor to help students and families in low-income communities.
Teach For America, or teaching for that matter, is not for everyone. TFA is, however, compatible with so much of what the University of Virginia inculcates in its graduates—the belief in the power of education to have a meaningful impact on the world. The University produces leaders with uncommon drive, dedication, and willingness to take on formidable challenges. Its graduates believe in opportunity and justice. It is no surprise that growing numbers of University grads are choosing to join me on this pathway into teaching. Our kids deserve nothing less than our best.
Hal Turner is a second-year doctoral student in the Education School. He is the president of the Education Council.
Read More
LETTER: Medical students stand in support of transgender youth
By Rachel Rezabek , Russell Hawes , Ishaan Rischie , Elianna Dunster , Kaile Maske , Zain Ahmad and Zoe Ziff | 14 hours agoAs future physicians, we cannot remain silent, especially since U.Va. Health is one of the most comprehensive gender health centers in the country.
HUYNH: The Supreme Court must support civil rights litigation in Virginia and beyond
By Viet Huynh | 19 hours agoThe Supreme Court must prioritize protecting the litigating power of the people against potentially tyrannical laws by their government.
EDITORIAL: U.Va. Health lets fear trump its mission to do no harm
By Editorial Board | YesterdayIt is high time to resist these authoritative and dangerous actions before there are no federal avenues left for resistance.
