We further analyze our data in order to isolate the effect of the TFA teaching experience itself on alumni views. First, we use the same cutoff-based research design to study the effects of being admitted to TFA, regardless of whether those who were admitted actually participated. That is exactly what we find. Second, we focus only on applicants who were admitted to TFA and directly compare the views of those who did and did not participate. In making these comparisons, we adjust for observable differences in the demographic and educational backgrounds of individuals in the two groups, including their age, gender, college grade-point average, socioeconomic status, and religiosity.
We detect statistically significant differences in the views of participants and non-participants across 15 of our 19 outcomes that are broadly consistent with the differences we documented above when we compared applicants who were barely admitted to those who were barely rejected.
Because TFA teachers work in exactly the type of schools where educational disparities between low- and high-income children are most prominent, these teachers hold important perspectives on what causes, and can close, inequality in academic achievement. We find that TFA teachers, who all have the social and economic advantages of being high-achieving college-educated adults, are more able to see through the lens of the disadvantaged as a result of their TFA experience.
These alumni hardly share identical points of view. Our research makes clear, however, that the kinds of experiences they had with TFA do influence beliefs about inequity and the tools by which to advance change. The next step is to examine whether these attitudinal and belief shifts translate to behavioral changes, such as being more likely to vote and be active in civic life.
It remains to be seen whether the perception that there is greater social injustice translates to greater activism on a broader scale, as well as efforts to build a sturdier economic and social ladder for disadvantaged individuals to climb.
Katharine M. Lovison is a doctoral student at the Harvard Graduate School of Education; and Cecilia Hyunjung Mo is an assistant professor of political science and public policy at University of California, Berkeley. Former Teach for America corps members hold prominent leadership roles in education, public policy, and advocacy organizations. Current role : Nebraska State Senator, District 7. Current role : Activist and co-founder of Campaign Zero. Current Role : Superintendent of Richmond, Va.
Last updated October 8, Sign in. Log into your account. Forgot your password? Privacy Policy. Password recovery. Recover your password. Get help. Education Next. I had few insights or resources to draw on when preteen boys decided recess would be the perfect opportunity to beat each other bloody, or when parents all but accused me of being racist during meetings.
Or when a student told me that his habit of doing nothing during class stemmed from his admittedly sound logic that "I did the same thing last year and I passed. Because many corps members do not receive their specific teaching assignments until after training has ended, the same training is given to future kindergarten teachers in Atlanta, charter-school teachers in New Orleans, and high-school physics teachers in Memphis. I was not alone in my trouble with student behavior.
Jessica Smith, a corps member I recently called up, agrees. I asked if she reached out for support. We also provide continuing support for corps members who have trouble fitting in.
Jessica has decided not to return to TFA for a second year. She said she was so unsupported that she felt justified reneging on her two-year commitment. Compared with the experiences of other Teach for America teachers, though, my placement and training were actually fairly lucky. I know more than one Religious Studies major who arrived in Atlanta ready to teach elementary school, only to be told that she was being reassigned to teach high-school mathematics.
Of course, becoming "highly qualified" to teach upper-level math meant passing the state teaching test in that subject, and some recruits found out midway through the summer that they had failed. After being recruited by TFA, successfully completing training, and hearing time and again that we would be supported throughout the hiring process, we received the following e-mail, a terse reminder of how alone we actually were:.
If you did not pass your exam, you will have to Emergency Release from the corps—your position will be reserved for the [next] Academic Year and you will not be required to attend Institute.
You will be able to apply for open positions within Teach For America, receive guidance on how to apply to other opportunities within the Atlanta area, and be able to use the Teach For America Corps Member Computer Lab and Resource Room as needed during your transition.
After I complimented her espadrilles, she replied that she'd gotten them at a discount through her retail job. I am standing, arms crossed, back hunched, whispering with Ms. Jones, as we sort supplies our students will need for the Criterion Referenced Competency Test. In the last few free minutes before testing begins, Ms. Jones is sharing her candid, and often hilarious, views on first-year teaching.
Jones is known as a no-nonsense veteran teacher, and I had found her quite intimidating before I realized she is incredibly kind. I went through a teaching program, and I taught in four different classrooms before I ever had these kids on my own.
The intercom buzzes to announce a five-minute warning before testing will begin, and that reminds Ms. Jones of the labyrinthine set of test procedures to come. You know we have to cover ourselves. Jones is not fixing to be on Channel 2 tonight. By the end of the school year, I felt like I would scream if I ever heard the phrase cover yourself again. Within Atlanta Public Schools, this phrase embodies a general spirit of fear and intimidation, not to mention sad tolerance for the fact that teachers are seen as little more than passive cogs in the wheel of the city's education machine.
Valuable minutes of classroom instruction time were lost to filling out accident reports when kids occasionally fell out of their chairs or poked each other with pencils. When I was once asked to fill in for an unexpectedly absent colleague, one of her second-graders chose to confide in me about his abysmal home life.
I immediately reported the incident to an administrator, who reacted with what appeared to be annoyance that one more paper had to be filed at p. This was an administrator who really does care about children and wants to improve their lives—but the all-important duty of covering the legal interests of the district can make crucial social work feel like just another rubber stamp.
The circumstances children are born into predict the opportunities they will have in life. But Teach For America has learned that dramatic progress is possible. It takes bold, grounded leaders working together, inside and outside of schools, fighting for the aspirations of children and their families. Working shoulder to shoulder with students, educators, and community members, Teach For America corps members support the academic and personal growth of students. The impact corps members have in the classroom fuels a lifelong commitment to their students and shapes the trajectory of their lives and careers.
Alumni and corps members work in partnership with rural and urban communities across the country, inside schools and from every sector that shapes education. Realizing educational equity and excellence will take a broad and diverse coalition of people united around a common purpose and shared values. Change must be shaped by those of us who are most directly impacted by educational inequity.
And progress is only possible if each of us works effectively across lines of difference—with students, parents, partners, and each other—and if each of us understands and leverages the assets we bring to this work based on our identities and life experiences. Read more Open in New Window. Read more. In communities across America, Teach For America alumni and corps members are helping expand access and opportunity for children. As a collective force—educators, advocates, entrepreneurs, policymakers, community members—we are committed to profound systemic change so that our students can create a better world for themselves and for all of us.
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