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Teach For America validated
June 09, 2004
Via Eduwonk.com comes a story on a study examining the performance of Teach For America in a number of mostly urban schools.Teach For America places recent college graduates in classrooms in public schools around the country, especially in high-need areas, even though these folks aren't "certified" to teach. Eduwonk writes:
The study -- examining TFA teachers in six regions (Chicago, Los Angeles, Houston, New Orleans, and the Mississippi Delta region) used random assignment to gather data from 17 schools, 100 classrooms, and about 2000 students -- found that TFA teachers were as effective as the general population of teachers in these districts in teaching reading and more effective in teaching math.(Emphasis in the original.) We're pleased that folks who have little or no training in any "School of Education"--but who, in fact, know something about a real subject--can hold their own in comparison to mostly certified teachers. We're especially pleased that these new teachers haven't been through the two years of brainwashing into progressive techniques and philosophy, but rather, cut their teeth in the real world of the classroom.
Can someone explain to us what role "teacher certification" holds if non-certified teachers can do just as well, if not better? Any professional with the guts and the desire to want to become a teacher should have the freedom to teach. The certification requirement is an artificial obstacle.
Tear down this wall!
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Hear, hear!
I love teaching, at all ages. I have taught in college and in industry. I have a bachelors' and a master's in chemistry, and 23 years of industrial experience including extensive experience developing, implementing, and teaching professionally. I would love to take a sabbatical for 2 or 3 years and teach high school. But the schools don't want me, since I don't have an education degree or certification.
And watching how progressives are ruining my daughter's excellent elementary school by imposing socialist ideas to discourage excelling and encourage conformity, I don't think I want to have anything to do with public education any more.
In fact, I'm in the early stages of scoping out what I would need to do to homeschool my daughter in a couple of years, when she hits middle school. Several of her classmates, all G&T, have already been pulled out this past year to homeschool, and she is begging me to take her out, since she's bored out of her mind - she's easily 2-3 years ahead of grade level, where less than half of the kids are even AT grade level. And this is an EXEMPLARY school! I'd hate to see what a POOR school is like.
No, I don't think the system can be fixed. It's too big and too entrenched, and no politically elected official will evern have the courage and vision to do what needs to be done. So like many parents, I see no alternative other than to opt out.
Claire June 17, 2004 11:58 AM