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Although the imminence of the big, bad “what the hell are you going to do after you graduate?” question is closer for some of us than for others (sorry seniors, sadistic reminder), the question of where to go next is one that, by definition, looms over the entirety of the college career.
In response to this often-irritating query, which I am guilty of repeating despite how much I hate answering it, one of the only things I hear with the same consistency as “I have no idea” involves aspirations for Teach for America. Yesterday, TFA hopefuls from the first round of applications, UW students among them, found out the fate of their efforts. Despite the fact that Teach for America is pretty much the new black, I — and I think I can find more than a few others — am still a little mystified by its admissions process.
I have divided TFA selection results into three groups (this is totally official and authoritative): 1) Predictable 2) What? and 3) What+? In the first group are candidates for whom we can say “I could have called that,” i.e., we can see how they would or would not get in. In the second group, we have those we cannot believe got in, and in the third group, those that we cannot believe didn’t get in. In my experience, the second and third groups, and especially the third, are disproportionately more populated than the first. I have neither experience nor qualifications for judging who will make a better teacher, but I think it can be universally established that the best candidates are those who can teach the material. Clearly, measuring this quality is more difficult than establishing it as a qualification, so it makes sense to see how TFA sorts its applicants. Although the program website states there is “no one profile of an ideal applicant,” the selection committee seeks “perseverance in the face of challenges, organizational ability, ability to influence and motivate others” and demonstrated leadership skills. The screening process consists of an application review, followed by two rounds of interviews, with weed-outs at each step.
The characteristics described above appear to allow for a relatively broad range of members. However, the interviewing process may foster a narrower — perhaps problematically so — conception of a qualified TFA fellow. Kate, a UW senior who recently applied for the program, says the interview questions were framed to promote applicants with a na�ve attitude. For instance, Kate’s phone interview included the question, fairly typical for TFA interviews,”Would you have the same expectations for low-income students as for those coming from an upper middle-class background?” Since the goal of the teaching fellow is to catch up students whose skills are often several years behind the national average, Kate told her interviewer that her expectations would initially be different, but that she would adjust them in accordance with student progress. The interviewer responded with skepticism, asking whether different expectations meant holding low-income students and parents to a lower standard. Although these are obviously relevant concerns for program administrators, there is a problem if what is sought is not the”critical thinking” the TFA website claims to seek, but rather an unwaveringly idealistic “I just want to change the world” mentality. In other words, students should not be punished for expressing an understanding of the nuances involved in fulfilling the TFA mission.
If it is true the admissions process adheres too closely to one particular paradigm, then it risks weeding out better applicants than the ones it admits. I am not claiming Teach for America only hires blissful optimists who think they’ll fix urban poverty in two years. I do, however, think this issue warrants, at the very least, further inspection. Teach for America has already come under fire for its ideology and practices (i.e., whether it is beneficial or even ethical to bring inexperienced college graduates into the nation’s most struggling classrooms), and there is little data on the viability of the selection process and its role in program impact. While the legitimacy of the program as a whole is a separate issue, if TFA is to continue with its current goals, a stronger effort should be made to ensure those bearing responsibility for some of America’s most troubled students demonstrate more than a desire to remedy the achievement gap.
Hannah Shtein ([email protected]) is a senior majoring in philosophy.
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You obviously are majoring in philosophy and not journalism. This isn’t a 5-paragraph essay…it’s a fucking op-ed! Jesus Christ, Badger Herald. How can you run this bullshit? Break up the paragraphs. Are the editors complete dumb-asses? Edit for style!
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Well said, Hannah. Smathers could learn a lot from you.
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Being na�ve and overly optimistic is what they want. If a bunch of jaded folks like Katie were admitted they would not have these really high goals set for their students. Yes these goals are going to most likely be re-evaluated in the light of assessment but in the end they will mirror more of what Katie would have orginally set out rather than katie’s new goals changed from her original lackluster bar she orgionally set. That being said overly optomisctic means higher achievement vs jaded and practical which is what there is too much in public schools.
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“In the first group are candidates for whom we can say �I could have called that,� i.e., we can see how they would or would not get in. In the second group, we have those we cannot believe got in, and in the third group, those that we cannot believe didn�t get in.”
You just described the results of every admissions process in America. TFA already has quite possibly the most highly qualified twentysomethings admissions pool of any organization this side of Harvard Law School. And from that admissions pool, they only accept approximately 10%, which already accommodates as many students as they can handle (last year was, I believe, the first time they ever had to reject applicants who met all of their admissions criteria). Even if you account for some error, those selected for TFA are still about as qualified a bunch of people you can get. No admissions system can ever be perfect, even if your article fails to recognize that, but TFA’s is more than good enough to get the job done.
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I was just accepted into Teach for America. I agree that their application selection process isn’t idea, but as the commenter above me said, all such processes aren’t.
I don’t work for TFA yet, and can only speak from personal experience, but it seemed to me that respect for students and parents from low-income students, as well as a belief that you CAN make a difference, is what they were looking for. You have to believe in what you’re doing, or else why do it? (Besides to pad the resume, etc., but I think we can all agree that that a person applying just for that reason shouldn’t be accepted.)
However, while they’re looking for people who believe in the mission of Teach for America, I don’t think they’re just looking for naive optimists. They tell during the interview that if you’re accepted, teaching is going to be tough, and you might not feel like you’re making a difference. Further, my answer to the question �Would you have the same expectations for low-income students as for those coming from an upper middle-class background?� was much like Kate’s, and my interviewer didn’t seem to have a problem with it. I think the main thing is to make clear that you don’t mean that low-income students aren’t capable of achievement, just that you think that they face greater challenges in doing so.
I’m sure I’m naive in many respects. I grew up in a middle class home, and can not know exactly what it is like to grow up in poverty. Still, I do know that the educational problems faced by America are huge, and won’t be solved by me in two years. I also know that my time with Teach for America will be hard, and that I won’t be able to permanently change the life of every student I encounter. However, despite all that, I want to do what I can to make a difference, and I think that Teach for America will help me to do that.
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I did not get into Teach for America, and I feel like I expressed exactly what you say they were looking for.
The point of this article is not the fact that there are three categories, because yes, in any admission process there will be those categories. However, in this case the categories seem disproportionately skewed: it appears that there are more people in the 2nd and 3rd category, when the majority of people should be in the 1st. She is suggesting the possible reason for that is the fact that TFA places more weight on idealism than skill.
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As a TFA alum & someone who has worked for them corporately, I am a bit frustrated that this article was not better researched. First, it is not just about being able to “teach material.” How many boring, unmotivating teachers have you had, but you succeeded despite them because of your advanced skill set and intelligence? TFA teachers must make small miracles happen in terms of student achievement, and it is a tried and true RESEARCH-based theory that HIGH EXPECTATIONS are the foundation of high student achievement. Teachers HAVE to believe that all students can learn and do so at advanced levels, otherwise they make no significant difference compared to those who go in believing their children can’t do much.
Secondly, just FYI, TFA bases their application process on a rubric, not a bell curve, and attempts to admit everyone that satisfies that rubric. The rubric is created and then re-hashed year after year based on the characteristics identified in highly successful TFA corps members that aided in their success. The success of great corps members is documented, on the TFA website, by The Urban Institution and other researchers—and can be found with a simple google search. How, then, is there not “data on the viability of the selection process and its role in program impact?”
I don’t always agree with the way TFA does everything, and even with its rigorous process, there are some “resume builders” who just slip through the cracks—happens everywhere. I just can’t stand it when people don’t base argument on fact. With all due respect, it doesn’t really seem that you know what you’re talking about, and that’s poor journalism—opinion piece or not. I have higher expectations than that.
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Amen.
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I agree 100% and then some.
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This is one of the worst articles I have ever read. No facts or data. Sure, there are things TFA could improve on, but to be one of the Top 10 organizations to work for out of college, you must be doing something right.
It sounds like the writer was not accepted and is bitter.
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Hannah, you’re clearly in the first pool. Definitely not getting in. As someone in TFA right now, I would not want you setting the children back even further. Oh, by the way, it is one of the highest performing organizations in the nation. Pretty sure they know what they’re doing.