I thought about joining Teach for America but predicted that I would be the victim of racism, so I decided not to apply.

[Edited on January 9, 2010 at 11:23 AM. Reason : s]

1/9/2010 11:22:35 AM

I just got through reading the article that is on this page. That is freakin' crazy what that guy had to go through. Makes me appreciate the school that I am in.

1/9/2010 1:40:42 PM

Quote :

"What sort of training did you get prior to being placed in a classroom? Did it help you?"

We went through a 5 week boot camp of sorts over the summer. we taught summer school in an inner city atlanta middle school. it was intense. there was one week of prep, then 4 weeks of teaching, classes, conferences, meetings, etc. i was lucky if i got 5 hours of sleep. I averaged 3-4. it was definitely the hardest thing i've ever done. several people dropped out. but it was also one of the most rewarding things i've done. and there's aspects of the training that could definitely be improved, but at the same time, it did prepare me somewhat for teaching. i say somewhat, because you still feel wholly unprepared when the school year starts, and i think you just learn most by experience.

[Edited on January 9, 2010 at 9:48 PM. Reason : ]

1/9/2010 9:47:36 PM

WOW ... powerful article

Where was TFA to defend this guy???

1/9/2010 11:48:48 PM

Quote :

"I’ve come to believe that the most unruly and violent children should go to alternative schools designed to handle students with chronic behavior problems. A school with a more military structure can do no worse for those children than a permissive mainstream school, and it spares the majority of kids the injustice of having their education fall victim to the chaos wreaked by a small minority."

^This.

DC public schools are some of the worst in the nation. I didn't do TFA because they don't cater to Raleigh, but in hindsight I'm glad I didn't. Reading this article makes me appreciate my kids--crazy as they may be sometimes, disrespectful as they often are--and honestly, even in our schools here we've got some of the same problems. There's a huge pressure on teachers to pass kids, and there are parents who don't believe you when you call and say "your daughter walked out of my class today, was gone for half an hour, and I have to write it up." On the opposite end you have the parents who believe that their students have a right to make up work that they just flat didn't do--not because they were absent, but because they didn't feel like it.

This is my second year teaching in public school and it will likely be my last, as much as I hate to say it. I went into teaching believing that I would do it for life, and I'm already burning out. There's a lot of extra responsibility given to teachers (discipline, dealing with tardies, professional development) on top of planning, grading, and teaching. It's not an easy job, and despite success stories I've heard from TFA, I don't think I could recommend it to someone with NO classroom experience. Not in certain environments, at least. Classroom management is hard.

1/10/2010 1:16:31 AM

^truth.

1/10/2010 7:21:22 PM