Is this The Onion's most overlooked prediction? Also, let's revisit Israeli-Palestinian ceasefires, Michael Moore, Teach for America and Jean Teasdale.
Good recap, as always! Lol Rick isn’t a sympathetic character but feel bad getting glimpses of his misery living with Jean & how things are always getting worse.
I was in TFA and that article got passed around quite a lot in my cohort. That one and a few other references convinced me that there must be some alum on the staff at around that time.
It's interesting that this article deviates from the usual criticism of "Teach for Awhile" that you bring up. I think there's an oblique reference to TFA in a point/counterpoint(linked below) that made a more biting criticism along those lines. This article struck a chord with me and my coworkers though. There were a few times that I identified with Cuellen, comparing his day-to-day with staring at a dead dog in a gutter.
To contextualize it more, I think TFA is thought of pretty differently nowadays and think of it as an organization that undermines public school teachers rather than something government-related. I was in a rural area where there was a teacher shortage, but I know a few TFA members that worked Chicago or Seattle and were essentially considered unionbusters undermining public schools. It doesn't help that a lot of school reform, such as the charters schools that TFA is affiliated with, is now coded as right wing. There was even a brief period where it seemed like Michelle Rhee, probably the most famous TFA alum, was being considered as Trump's education secretary.
*(I guess Michelle Rhee is the most famous TFA alum still in education, the most famous is probably the singer from Vampire Weekend or a journalist executed by ISIS).
Thanks so much for this! I remember Michelle Rhee very well, as I moved to D.C. and was editing K-12 education newsletters when she was running D.C. public schools.
I've heard similar things about TFA, although it always felt to me like there was a distinct difference between people who went into TFA and the larger education/culture wars. For sure, I could see TFA in a rural area versus Chicago serving 2 very different purposes for a school district. And as I obliquely noted, all the "proper" education majors I knew washed out within 5 years (and the one Peace Corps person I knew bailed quickly, too). So ... I guess I have no answers lol.
And thanks for that link! I don't remember the article, but yeah ... sounds about right.
Considered might be a strong word, but there was that brief period between the 2016 election and the inauguration where Trump held court in Trump Tower. I think Rhee went up the elevator a few times.
My sister started teaching at the same time as me (after getting her M. ED) so I've heard both sides. I think that TFA is inherently anti-public school teacher because the underlying premise is that generally competent people can outperform someone with training in the field. The founder was apparently inspired by consulting firms (she attended a Harvard job fair with Bain and McKinsey right before proposing the idea) so there's some similar animosity. Who likes being told "I can do your job better than you because I'm better"? There's also a lot of stats that show that TFA teachers are more effective than other first/second years, which opens the can of worms about student measurement in the first place.
Good recap, as always! Lol Rick isn’t a sympathetic character but feel bad getting glimpses of his misery living with Jean & how things are always getting worse.
Than you! And yeah; first time I've sympathized with Rick, although he should team up with Jean instead of being passive-aggressive.
(sorry for the late comment!)
I was in TFA and that article got passed around quite a lot in my cohort. That one and a few other references convinced me that there must be some alum on the staff at around that time.
It's interesting that this article deviates from the usual criticism of "Teach for Awhile" that you bring up. I think there's an oblique reference to TFA in a point/counterpoint(linked below) that made a more biting criticism along those lines. This article struck a chord with me and my coworkers though. There were a few times that I identified with Cuellen, comparing his day-to-day with staring at a dead dog in a gutter.
To contextualize it more, I think TFA is thought of pretty differently nowadays and think of it as an organization that undermines public school teachers rather than something government-related. I was in a rural area where there was a teacher shortage, but I know a few TFA members that worked Chicago or Seattle and were essentially considered unionbusters undermining public schools. It doesn't help that a lot of school reform, such as the charters schools that TFA is affiliated with, is now coded as right wing. There was even a brief period where it seemed like Michelle Rhee, probably the most famous TFA alum, was being considered as Trump's education secretary.
https://theonion.com/my-year-volunteering-as-a-teacher-helped-educate-a-new-1819594305/
*(I guess Michelle Rhee is the most famous TFA alum still in education, the most famous is probably the singer from Vampire Weekend or a journalist executed by ISIS).
Thanks so much for this! I remember Michelle Rhee very well, as I moved to D.C. and was editing K-12 education newsletters when she was running D.C. public schools.
I've heard similar things about TFA, although it always felt to me like there was a distinct difference between people who went into TFA and the larger education/culture wars. For sure, I could see TFA in a rural area versus Chicago serving 2 very different purposes for a school district. And as I obliquely noted, all the "proper" education majors I knew washed out within 5 years (and the one Peace Corps person I knew bailed quickly, too). So ... I guess I have no answers lol.
And thanks for that link! I don't remember the article, but yeah ... sounds about right.
Considered might be a strong word, but there was that brief period between the 2016 election and the inauguration where Trump held court in Trump Tower. I think Rhee went up the elevator a few times.
My sister started teaching at the same time as me (after getting her M. ED) so I've heard both sides. I think that TFA is inherently anti-public school teacher because the underlying premise is that generally competent people can outperform someone with training in the field. The founder was apparently inspired by consulting firms (she attended a Harvard job fair with Bain and McKinsey right before proposing the idea) so there's some similar animosity. Who likes being told "I can do your job better than you because I'm better"? There's also a lot of stats that show that TFA teachers are more effective than other first/second years, which opens the can of worms about student measurement in the first place.