OccupyTeachForAmerica

[HiPointDem]

https://www.facebook.com/OccupyTeachForAmerica

[BainsBane]

1. Right, because the last thing we want

is well-educated young people teaching kids.
No wonder there are only 300 likes.

[ellenrr]

2. does it occur to you to educate yourself about Teach for American before you comment?

no...of course it doesn't,

[BainsBane]

4. I know that I had some first-rate students

going into teach for America. It was hardly about money. They were graduating from a prestigious institution and could have had far more lucrative jobs. They went into the program because of a commitment to the nation's children.

[LWolf]

5. Really?

Have you followed up? How many of them are still committed to teaching the nation's children after 2 years? After 5?

[BainsBane]

6. I have no idea

What is your point? They shouldn't be allowed to teach children? How many teachers burn out after a few years? Many. Is it suddenly a requirement to be an NEA member to post on this site?

[LWolf]

7. My point is that TFA

is part of the move to privatize education, which I oppose. Part of the effort to downgrade teaching as a profession.

That TFA sends in young people that, while eager to do well, are woefully under-prepared. Young people that, while willing to commit a few years, don't have the intent to spend a career doing so.

The number of teachers that leave the profession after three years, then five years, is staggering. And those are people who prepared for, planned for, making education a career instead of a tour of duty. The NEA you brought up offers this:

http://www.nea.org/home/12630.htm

You don't have to be a union member to participate on DU, but if you are a Democrat or other "progressive," you ought to be a union supporter. You don't have to be an NEA nor AFT member to post about education, either.

I'm an NEA member, but generally oppose the way they pander to tptb's privatization agenda, and say so frequently.

My opposition to TFA has nothing to do with the NEA, and everything to do with the steady degradation of my profession brought about by the efforts of privatizers.

[duffyduff]

8. TFA is trash and the whole thing racist

though it didn't start out that way.

Note that students in poor neighborhood schools--disproportionately minority--are infiltrated by these temporary, unqualified people, while the white bread suburbs have fully trained, certified teachers.

You tell me this isn't a civil rights violation.

TFA should be outlawed.

[duffyduff]

9. Let these "brilliant" students actually do the work and go through traditional licensure

There is NO shortage of teachers, and therefore there is NO reason for this outfit to exist.

The whole point of it is to degrade the workplace by putting in unqualified people who can't teach squat because they don't know what in the hell they are doing. This is all about saving money on salaries and pensions.

These people are NOT teachers.

[BainsBane]

10. What makes them unqualified?

They don't have a degree in education?

[Riley18]

3. You completely miss the point of TFA.

The last thing it is about is "well educated young people" because TFA is a revolving door of people interested in money first and foremost. We already had well educated people teaching in our public schools.