#ResistTFA?

On February 17^th, SUPE (Students Against Teach for America) went live with a Twitter chat under the hash tag #ResistTFA. Timed to coincide with Teach for America’s final application deadline, the conversation sparked a national debate about TFA’s lack of effectiveness. SUPE specifically argues that the short preparation of TFA teachers, in combination with the organization’s partnerships with large corporations, is problematic.

As a Teach for America alumna, I am not oblivious to the controversies that surround Teach for America, nor do I think the organization is perfect. The power this debate was able to spark via Twitter is telling of the power of social media’s influence in today’s society.  At the same time,  is pointing fingers and placing blame going to help our students in any way? TFA spokeswoman Becky O’Neill argued that, “At the end of the day, we all want the same things for kids…so, it’s a little disheartening when we see these sorts of activities that we don’t necessarily view as helpful, especially in a time when the status quo just is not working for so many kids in this country.” Hannah Nguyen, SUPE co-founder, said with regards to the conversation, “It’s a great start to some tension, and hopefully we’ll see some change from there.” She is right that there is tension.

Quotes from tweets include- “#ResistTFA because it’s used to attack teachers unions…,”  “We #ResistTFA because even clown college is substantially longer than 5.5 weeks,” and “…replacing veteran teachers with untrained tourists short changes our kids…”

What change is she expecting to see from these?

SUPE to me is problematic because it is targeting an organization as the problem in education, rather than addressing the actual problems in education. What about the lack of funding in Philadelphia schools that almost prevented them from opening this year?  Ultimately, we do hope that Teach for America will no longer need to exist, because all students WILL have access to an excellent education. Based on my two years in the Mississippi Delta, however, Teach for America was a valuable asset to many schools and communities, a fact that could be confirmed by many teachers, administrators, and community members in the region.  

In terms of a response to the specific arguments against Teach for America,  Justin Fong wrote a relevant and straightforward blog entry stating the facts. He points out TFA’s emphasis on continued teacher growth and development, the large percentage of alumni who DO stay in education (myself included), and the organization’s commitment to recruiting a diverse selection of corps members. I encourage everyone to read his thoughts in detail here:  http://fongalong.com/2014/02/19/my-response-to-the-resisttfa-chat/ .

Am I taking the whole #ResistTFA thing personally? I try not to. I know that I truly cared about my students and their success, and worked hard to teach and guide them in any way I could. Now, if my commitment to their learning, growth and success is contested  because I was a Teach for America corps member-- I do take that personally.