Teach for America educates students, offers option for service
James Baker
Issue date: 4/15/09 Section: News
Every April, college seniors grow restless as they face the dilemma of either taking on internships, service programs such as AmeriCorps or graduate school.
Teach For America is a highly competitive program that offers another option by placing top college graduates in the classrooms of disadvantaged school districts for two-year assignments.
Salaried students begin teaching months after graduation as they work toward receiving their teaching certificate, avoiding the usual wait of a year or more.
More than 35,000 applications were submitted for 3,700 open slots in 2008, a 42 percent increase from 2007.
"This was a pretty significant increase and record for the organization in terms of number of applicants," said Trevor Stutz, TFA national communications manager.
Eleven percent of Ivy League seniors applied for the 2009 teaching corps.
"We specifically look to recruit people who are majoring in math and science, engineering and technology, because there's such a need for excellent teachers who have subject area expertise in those particular subjects," Stutz said.
Social sciences majors constituted 35 percent of the 2008 TFA corps members, and math, science and engineering together made up 13 percent of members.
When Jessica Smith, a UA junior studying history and French, attended an informational meeting with the intention of keeping TFA as a backup plan before graduate school, she left with a sense that the program "is definitely a little more intense than that."
The program involves rigorous education and training leading up to the fall, when most applicants begin teaching.
"You really have to want it," Smith said.
The need for intense training for membership is underscored by the results of the 2006 Program for International Student Assessment, an international exam administered every three years.
U.S. students trailed 23 of the 30 countries in math and were behind 16 countries in science in the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, which represents the world's richest countries.
Education inequity is still an issue in the United States, where 9 year olds in low-income communities are already three grade levels behind their peers in high-income communities, according to TFA.
So far, finding domestic college graduates who have had more than enough experience in math and science has proved difficult. Colleges of engineering find a plethora of international students who focus on math and science, illuminating the lack of a competitive edge for American students.
In addition to the lack of public funding in disadvantaged school districts and unavailability of teachers well versed in science and math, the issue of getting girls interested in math and science, more specifically in computer sciences, physics and engineering, also must be addressed to pick up the pace.
Though women earned 58 percent of all bachelor's degrees in 2004, with 51 percent in chemistry, 62 percent in biological sciences and 46 percent in mathematics, only 22 percent obtained a degree in physics and 21 percent in engineering, according to the Institute of Education Sciences.
And though boys usually score higher than girls in math and science on standardized tests measuring general abilities, the notion of girls' inabilities in the two subjects lies more so in the belief of their own capabilities, according to IES.
The self-confidence encouraged by parents and teachers is more important for young girls learning math and science than their initial interest, according to research by a team of vocational psychologists at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee.
The increased focus on math and science in classrooms could spawn generations of more educated teachers originally taught by TFA teachers.
High school students taught by TFA corps members usually outperformed their peers, including those taught by fully certified teachers, according to a 2008 Urban Institute study.
However, despite the rewards, involvement in the program still can seem daunting to some, with the intensity of program training nearly matching the major task of taking on the multitude of causes of American sluggishness in math and science, from lack of public funding in disadvantaged school districts to longstanding gender roadblocks.
"It sounds more involved than what I wanted to do or the direction I wanted to go," said Junior Meghan Anderson, a history major, though she said she has friends "who have absolutely loved it."
For more information, visit Teachforamerica.org.
Teach For America is a highly competitive program that offers another option by placing top college graduates in the classrooms of disadvantaged school districts for two-year assignments.
Salaried students begin teaching months after graduation as they work toward receiving their teaching certificate, avoiding the usual wait of a year or more.
More than 35,000 applications were submitted for 3,700 open slots in 2008, a 42 percent increase from 2007.
"This was a pretty significant increase and record for the organization in terms of number of applicants," said Trevor Stutz, TFA national communications manager.
Eleven percent of Ivy League seniors applied for the 2009 teaching corps.
"We specifically look to recruit people who are majoring in math and science, engineering and technology, because there's such a need for excellent teachers who have subject area expertise in those particular subjects," Stutz said.
Social sciences majors constituted 35 percent of the 2008 TFA corps members, and math, science and engineering together made up 13 percent of members.
When Jessica Smith, a UA junior studying history and French, attended an informational meeting with the intention of keeping TFA as a backup plan before graduate school, she left with a sense that the program "is definitely a little more intense than that."
The program involves rigorous education and training leading up to the fall, when most applicants begin teaching.
"You really have to want it," Smith said.
The need for intense training for membership is underscored by the results of the 2006 Program for International Student Assessment, an international exam administered every three years.
U.S. students trailed 23 of the 30 countries in math and were behind 16 countries in science in the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, which represents the world's richest countries.
Education inequity is still an issue in the United States, where 9 year olds in low-income communities are already three grade levels behind their peers in high-income communities, according to TFA.
So far, finding domestic college graduates who have had more than enough experience in math and science has proved difficult. Colleges of engineering find a plethora of international students who focus on math and science, illuminating the lack of a competitive edge for American students.
In addition to the lack of public funding in disadvantaged school districts and unavailability of teachers well versed in science and math, the issue of getting girls interested in math and science, more specifically in computer sciences, physics and engineering, also must be addressed to pick up the pace.
Though women earned 58 percent of all bachelor's degrees in 2004, with 51 percent in chemistry, 62 percent in biological sciences and 46 percent in mathematics, only 22 percent obtained a degree in physics and 21 percent in engineering, according to the Institute of Education Sciences.
And though boys usually score higher than girls in math and science on standardized tests measuring general abilities, the notion of girls' inabilities in the two subjects lies more so in the belief of their own capabilities, according to IES.
The self-confidence encouraged by parents and teachers is more important for young girls learning math and science than their initial interest, according to research by a team of vocational psychologists at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee.
The increased focus on math and science in classrooms could spawn generations of more educated teachers originally taught by TFA teachers.
High school students taught by TFA corps members usually outperformed their peers, including those taught by fully certified teachers, according to a 2008 Urban Institute study.
However, despite the rewards, involvement in the program still can seem daunting to some, with the intensity of program training nearly matching the major task of taking on the multitude of causes of American sluggishness in math and science, from lack of public funding in disadvantaged school districts to longstanding gender roadblocks.
"It sounds more involved than what I wanted to do or the direction I wanted to go," said Junior Meghan Anderson, a history major, though she said she has friends "who have absolutely loved it."
For more information, visit Teachforamerica.org.
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JesseAlred
posted 4/15/09 @ 7:11 PM CST
I am a veteran teacher in Houston seeking a dialogue with Teach for America teachers nationally regarding policy positions taken by former Teach for American staffers who have become leaders in school district administrations and on school boards. (Continued…)
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