Association questions Teach for America

---

Tweet

Since Brett Baker first saw a presentation from Teach For America, he knew he wanted to make an impact in the world of education. Baker joined Teach for America in 2008, hoping to improve education for underprivileged children.

Baker became part of a group of program applicants that has been steadily rising — receiving a record number of more than 48,000 applications for fall 2011 — but some education critics have said they feel it does not provide graduates with enough training before they enter the workforce.

Teach For America pairs college graduates to teach in schools in impoverished areas across the country for at least two years.

Last week, several members of the National Education Association expressed concern with association president Dennis Van Roekel for collaborating with Teach For America on the grounds that students in low-income areas need highly trained teachers, according to The Washington Post.

Students at MSU’s College of Education study for about four years to complete all of the prerequisite classes before working for one year as an unpaid intern and earning their degree, professor of education Charles Anderson said.

Teach For America participants study for about five weeks before being placed in a teaching position.

Baker said he could have gone through the College of Education to earn a teaching certificate but he wanted to enter the workforce as soon as possible.

Baker, who went through the Teach for America program from 2008-10, said despite the short training period, he felt as prepared as a new teacher could be.

“A lot of critics will come down on (the organization) and say it isn’t enough time to train a teacher, but I think it is the school that you’re at’s responsibility to train you,” Baker said. “I’m of the belief you’ll never get enough training.”

College of Education Secondary Teacher Education program coordinator Kelly Hodges said she supports Teach for America’s work identifying important problems facing education in the U.S.

“We need to make sure that, by all means, we are focusing on the (preparation) of the teacher and intending to make sure students have a quality experience and the tools they need to be successful,” Hodges said.

MSU alumna Lauren Albery said it has been challenging working at an underpriveleged school through the program.

“It is definitely a situation full of unexpected obstacles,” she said. “They take recent college (graduates) in underserved schools that involve a lot of attention to detail.”

Albery, who graduated in 2009 and now is teaching seventh and eighth grade science in Denver with Teach For America, said the program trains participants to teach in underserved schools, unlike traditional teaching institutions.

“At a four-year college (such as) MSU, you would be trained (to be) more well-rounded to work with any sort of population, whereas ours is targeted at students who are underprivileged,” Albery said.

---