The Student Labor Action Coalition hosted a panel of education professionals Wednesday as part of the “Teach for America Truth Tour” aimed at starting conversation about aspects of the TFA organization students should consider before joining .
Teach for America started in 1990 with the goal of addressing the growing problems of teacher shortages and inequality, especially in poverty-stricken rural and inner-city schools. However, according to the panelists, the program can actually perpetuate these problems rather than solve them.
Tim Slekar, the dean of the School of Education at Edgewood College, began the dialogue by comparing the preparation he received through his degree in elementary education with the training TFA corps members receive.
After three weeks of teaching he had a panic attack in his classroom and needed to go home, Slekar said.
“I spent four years in college learning to be with students, learning to put together curriculum and reading about all of the traumatizing things that these kids would be going through,” Slekar said. “After all those years of preparation I still blanked.”
Slekar expressed concern that, if he was not prepared even after all of his education and observation hours, TFA corps members could not possibly be prepared after the five weeks of training they complete in the summer before entering the classroom.
Along with lack of preparedness, TFA alumna Annie Tan said she felt a lack of support in her year of teaching special education under the program.
“I think that the school and Teach for America did not give me enough support,” Tan said. “I almost left education altogether, and I’ve wanted to be a teacher since I was six years old.”
While some members of the audience agreed with the panelists, others said it is important to consider that every participant's experience is different and unique.
The panelists concluded that while the program was started on good principle and the corps members generally mean well, TFA has become a corporation that cares more about politics than teachers, students and the state of the nation’s schools.
“When you’re doing Teach for America, you’re not a person. You just teach, teach, teach,” Tan said. “For those who are considering Teach for America, there are better options.”
