Read on Twitter
A very, very good thread. Greatful for shea https://twitter.com/sheathescholar/status/1288129250021781506
I’ve been struggling with my relationship to TFA since 2012. I left w a sour taste in my mouth after a white manager told me I was seen as “too critical” during performance review & it seemed like an SVP was going to be able to stay after some v problematic remarks (he didn’t)
I’ve also seen brilliance and brilliant people come out of the org. There were programs I got to pilot (like a social justice pre-institute) that were fantastic. I learned so much there. Sadly, though, it never moved beyond a pilot and I don’t know where that work lives now.
Some of the problems TFA bad are problems that I think any educational nonprofit has in our white-dominant society. What’s hard is that TFAs results has a direct impact on kids and communities. And we won’t escape that cycle without radical change, which is hard to do w big orgs.
Which isn’t an excuse. I get why people want to tear the whole thing down. I also know it fills real need in places, incl out here in HI where we have huge shortages. I don’t know how we would fill those shortages in the short term w/o TFA (who works hard to recruit local CMs).
I don’t want TFA to have to exist in 5 years. I absolutely see it as a bandaid vs creating grow-your-own teacher programs in areas and creating an education that equitably serves kids and produces teachers that stay in those schools.
In the meantime, we (everyone involved w TFA) need to do better to ensure that bandaid isn’t more harmful than helpful.
Anyways that’s this AMs ramble. Sorry I’m not as articulate as shea’s awesome thread. I still struggle a lot with this.
Anyways that’s this AMs ramble. Sorry I’m not as articulate as shea’s awesome thread. I still struggle a lot with this.
(Actually realized as of this year I’m no longer involved w TFA in anyway outside of my friends which is sort of weird)
