Teach for America & Traditional Teacher Training
How Well are Teachers Doing With Only Five Weeks of Training?
Oct 10, 2009
The reviews are very good from principals who have hired Teach for America teachers. Just who are these teachers? They come from other fields of expertise, decide they want to be teachers, go through a five-week training period, and end up in a classroom. That’s right, they do not attend the traditional four or five-year college education program.
Teach for America Screening Process
The typical college student that wants to enroll in a college education program goes through no screening. ACT scores could range anywhere from 19 to 36 and standardized test scores are a non-issue.
On the other hand, Teach for America screens prospective students. Thousands are rejected and those that are selected come from more selective colleges and have higher ACT and SAT scores than the typical four-year college education student. Those applying for Teach for America must already have a four-year college degree.
President Barack Obama is a strong supporter of individuals without teaching degrees becoming educators by the Teach for America process that takes five weeks. Some universities offer a transition-to-teaching program that provides a year of training before entering a classroom and teaching.
What Makes Teach for America Teachers so Impressive?
Principals that hire Teach for America candidates state they are well trained. They bring
- enthusiasm
- expertise in various subject areas
- the same effectiveness ratings as teachers with four year teaching degrees
They are also more up to speed on educational research and how to use test results to improve reading.
Not Everyone Supports Teach for America
Linda Darling-Hammond, a Stanford University professor of education, urges caution in hiring Teach for America teachers because it may just work against students with disabilities. "The kids may get a teacher who is enthusiastic and is a nice person, so they may feel good about the year. But if you have not already learned to read and you’re a second-grader and you have any challenges in learning to read and don’t have support at home, your odds of cracking the code and becoming a fluent reader are going to be less," says Darling-Hammond. [1] She also states that teachers from four-year programs are better prepared to reach children with deficits and disabilities.
The question is also raised about various topics not taught by Teach for America such as multiple intelligences, differentiated learning, learning styles, and how to actually teach students to read. There are great limitations in the curriculum when training is only for five weeks.
Are Teacher Colleges Committing the Sin of Omission?
If administrators are so impressed with Teach for America candidates because of their ability to interpret data well and knowledge of current research information, is this information that the colleges should also be including in their curriculums? Is there a real life disconnect between schools of education on college campuses and what administrators want their teachers to know? It seems quite ironic that a 5-week course has become a standard for hiring by many administrators.
Do schools need to take a hard look at what colleges are requiring teacher candidates to learn? It probably deserves a close review. A five week "Shake 'n' Bake" curriculum should not trump four years of education training.
[1] Andy Gammill, "Untraditionally trained teachers getting mixed reviews: More of your child’s instructors don’t have a degree in education. But maybe that’s a good thing," October 4, 2009, indystar.com.
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