After studying at an institution that encourages the Jesuit tradition of volunteerism and service, many students wish to donate a few years of their time to a worthy cause upon graduation. After living in an environment which mandates achievement and success, it is no wonder that many students wish that their donation be both prestigious and practical.
Consequently, ambitious altruists have been attracted to Teach for America (TFA), a non-profit organization which recruits and trains volunteer teachers for two years of service in low-income communities throughout the United States. Since its inception in 1990, the program has grown from 500 to 3,500 members, who teach at 26 different sites. These teachers claim top universities as their alma maters, wielding resumes which often attract a plethora of competitive employers.
Despite the grand success of TFA, the organization’s magnetic pull on college graduates is still mystifying. Eight percent of Georgetown’s class of 2006 applied for the program, and TFA was the largest single employer of graduated Hoyas from that class. Other top universities, such as Harvard and Dartmouth, graduated a similarly enthusiastic group of students, with Yale’s application rate as high as 12 percent. The statistics show that many young people are determined to fight the great battle of inequality, especially if they can still get their MBA by the time they are 26.
Yet like any social welfare project, improvement does not come cheaply. The two years, for those who make it through, are an incredibly grueling exercise. These inexperienced 22-year-olds enter the most challenging teaching scenarios after five quick weeks of training. Advocates of the program claim that the difficulty of these assignments is a justification for the selectivity of the admissions process, which only accepted 15 percent of applicants last year. Georgetown, by comparison, accepted 22 percent of applicants last year.
“While Teach For America doesn’t seek any single profile, corps members have an average GPA of 3.5 and 96 percent held leadership positions on their college campuses,” regional communications director Sara Blasing said. “Recruiting and retaining high-quality teachers is one of many factors that will contribute to achieving the ambitious goal of eliminating the achievement gap in the United States.”
Dr. Daniel Porterfield (COL ’83), Assistant Professor of English and Vice President for Public Affairs and Strategic Development at the University, has mentored many Georgetown students through the application process and their experience with TFA. Dr. Porterfield recently wrote an article about his observations of the program for the online publication Inside Higher Ed. After following the stories of his students, he claims that determination is crucial to a teacher’s success.
“Many different types of students of mine have enjoyed the experience and been very successful at it.” Porterfield said. “But it is a deeply, deeply challenging experience, and you need to have a lot of resilience for it.”
Indeed, both current and past teachers, along with the organization itself, agree that these 2 years will probably be the most difficult of a corps member’s life. TFA loses 11 percent of its members annually due to the strain of the job, and many teachers admit that not every day is a positive experience.
Caitlin McAndrews (SFS ’06) is currently in her first year of service, teaching sixth-eigth grade special education for Bryant Elementary School in West Philadelphia. She became interested in the program after working as a counselor for an environmental education summer camp and participating in GU Melody, which provides performing arts instruction to underprivileged children. She applied despite being “certain” that she would be rejected, and was ecstatic when she was proven wrong.
“I was lucky enough to get a great public education when I was growing up, just across [Philadelphia],” McAndrews said. “I believe that an appropriate, free education is the civil rights cause of our day, and I wanted to participate in that.”
After nearly finishing her first semester on the other side of the desk, McAndrews still feels positive about her decision to serve in TFA. However, she openly admitted to the challenges and frustrations that have become part of her daily routine.
“After Christmas, I hear you get into more of a rhythm. But at first, it feels like you’re on the front lines of a war zone.” McAndrews said, laughing. “It really is the hardest thing you’ll ever do.”
McAndrews faces additional tribulations since she teaches children who are not only disadvantaged economically, but also suffer from mental or learning disabilities. While corps members are asked if they have a preference between teaching general education or special education classes, the need for special education teachers in economically depressed regions supercedes an individual’s preference. According to McAndrews, the five week training program, while extremely demanding and intensive, did not provide enough training for interacting with children who need special education. However, she did note that TFA is currently revamping their training curriculum in order to improve teachers’ abilities to handle such situations.
She told the story of one mentally retarded student who had a propensity to scream at other students during the course of the day. On the afternoon when her program director visited to observe and evaluate her performance, the girl engaged in an especially bad screaming spell, forcing McAndrews to remove her from the class.
“The program director was not judgmental at all about the situation, and offered different ways to resolve the issue,” she said. “And the next day, I sat her down and told [the girl], ‘Today, we’re going to make it through the day without screaming.’ And she did fabulously. She didn’t want to leave when her mom came to pick her up.”
McAndrews credits her program director as a major force of support and representation of TFA’s involvement in her classroom and school. However, some teachers have been disappointed by TFA’s lack of continued participation. Immediately after graduation, Daris Isbell (MSB ’06) was looking forward to beginning his service in New York City. While he found the summer “boot camp” training program to be arduous, he remained confident about the positive effects of TFA.
Unfortunately, his optimism was short-lived. Near the end of the summer, he was informed that he was being transferred from elementary school teaching, on which his training focused, to an eighth grade “Inclusion” class at MS 582, which is composed of 60 percent general education students and 40 percent special education students. Unlike McAndrews’ class, his special education students suffer from “emotional problems” rather than a mental or learning handicap. Consequently, Isbell feels that his training was inadequate in preparing him for interacting with these children.
“To teach special education, to face so many different types of kids everyday, you really need to have a master’s in education or something.” Isbell said. “Right now, I feel like more of a babysitter than a teacher.”
Isbell applied to TFA because he believed in its stated mission, and wanted to avoid the emptiness of a Wall Street profession. While he is still a proponent for education rights and admires several aspects of the program, he often feels disappointed and occasionally depressed about his experiences thus far. His main complaint is his last minute transfer and general lack of preparation, but he also criticized TFA for not making a reasonable effort to create a decent environment at its new sites, such as MS 582.
“The principal [of the school] is completely disconnected from TFA and myself.” Isbell said. “I don’t even think he realizes that I’m with TFA. I’m just thrown in there with veteran teachers, who don’t listen to me because they feel I’m inexperienced. There’s just too much conflict.”
Conflict appeared to be thematic of Isbell’s experience. Many of the students, who range in age from 12 to 16, often misbehave violently, sometimes at the physical expense of Isbell himself. On the day of his interview with The Voice, one student had shoved him down a flight of stairs after he scolded the boy for interrupting his class. Isbell, who is openly homosexual, also noted that he is subject to crude insults from most of his students as well as implicit homophobia from his coworkers.
“One good thing about this experience is that nothing could ever hurt my feelings again,” Isbell said. “But I definitely don’t feel that it’s the safest environment.”
Not everyone has experiences as trying as Isbell’s. Craig Wallace (MSB ’06) landed back in D.C. with TFA, teaching Geometry and Algebra II at Anacostia Senior High School—or simply “Animal-costia,” according to one parent. Located in the infamous Southeast section of D.C., the high school has been the site of gang-related violence and a well-publicized parking lot shooting in the fall. Metal detectors and a gruff security guard greet you as you enter. As for Wallace himself, he is reminiscent of the young teachers you had in high school: fatigued but not defeated. Despite the bags under his eyes, he spoke positively of his experience and proudly of his students’ accomplishments thus far. His walls were decorated with poster-boards of encouragement as well as a roster of the “A-Team,” consisting of students who scored highly on their past exams. Like McAndrews and Isbell, he admitted that teaching has been an incredibly hard task; however, he appeared comfortable with his current position and optimistic about the upcoming months.
The students themselves, while somewhat rowdy, were certainly not monsters. Two students disrupted the class with loud talking, two others discreetly listened to music via earphones and another student slept through the majority of the 80 minutes. Aside from these outliers, the students were rather engaged in the material, especially considering that math is often an unpopular subject among teenagers. Wallace, while occasionally threatening a participation grade reduction, maintained control of the classroom. By the end of the class, Wallace appeared emotionally and physically unscathed, unlike his former MSB colleague.
Many wonder what TFA teachers do after their service is complete. Blasing claims that their futures are often as diverse as they are, although many stay committed to education. Lisa Shea (COL ’03) has continued teaching with many of her TFA colleagues at a public college preparatory school in Harlem, New York. Kristen Hutchens (SFS ’04) is currently pursuing a law degree at Washington and Lee University. However, not all Hoyas leave TFA after two years. Stephen DeMan (COL ’04), who was extensively featured in the Washington Post after he took his TFA class from Roma, Texas on a field trip to Georgetown, is currently the Recruitment Director for the area. Hanseul Kang (SFS ’04) is currently working as a Development Manager for TFA in San Francisco. After interning in TFA’s office in New York during the summer in between her two years of service, she decided that she wanted to work to increase support for corps members at various sites. She was recently awarded a Jack Kent Cooke scholarship, which she will be using to attend Harvard Law School next fall. Kang was emphatic about the benefits of putting other plans on hold in order to participate in TFA.
“I know a lot of people tend to worry about the two year commitment and that was certainly a concern for me,” Kang said. “In the end I’m so, so glad that I took this time, even if it isn’t my long term career.”
Exactly how much of a commitment is it to sign on with TFA? As previously mentioned, a significant portion of TFA corps members do not make it through the entire two years. However, leaving the program can prove to be quite difficult. For instance, Isbell took out a loan from TFA in order to pay for the sizable move-in costs of New York City. He would also have to pay the tuition for his certification training, which TFA covers for members who complete their service. His decision to volunteer came with unforeseen financial entanglements.
However, both Isbell and Kang agree that the real disincentive of leaving early is the children. These students have usually gone through a cycle of teachers, and no corps member wants to augment that feeling of abandonment.
“Teaching is very hard, and you’ll have bad days. But the only way you can really fail as a teacher is giving up.” Kang said. “It puts these kids in a terrible position.”
In light of the different experiences of Hoyas in the TFA corps, the job is truly what it advertises itself to be: a challenging yet rewarding experience. The organization itself may need to improve its outreach abilities, as Isbell recommends. Still, its popularity and growth reflect a positive trend among the nation’s graduates and as it evolves it will likely become an even more important force in the public education system.
