Reply to How do we get top students (as defined by high school SAT and GPA) to enter public school teaching?

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]
One way that top students can be steered into public school teaching is through Teach for America.  It's how one of my kids -- an honors graduate of a top 10 liberal arts college -- entered the field.  While many TFA alums move on to other things, some don't -- including my kid and several others who I know well.

In the case of my kid, though, she was able to stay in the profession notwithstanding the relatively low pay because (1) she had no student loans and (2) her husband -- a graduate of the same college but with a less impressive college transcript -- went into private industry and almost immediately began making more money than her.  
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Teach for America really devalues the importance of training to creating effective teachers. I am sure your daughter and her friends have the best of intentions, but you don't learn to teach by going through a a brief course the summer before you're plunked into a classroom. And most of the TFA alumni I know didn't go back to learn how to teach. Some of them went to get MEds so they could go into administration, because those who can't do administrate.

Which gets to one of the main things that drive people from the profession: Being overseen and evaluated by things that don't reflect your ability by people who don't understand your job. That, and the low pay, are going to drain the pool of talent faster than anything else.

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+1 TFA came at what seemed like the right time with the best intentions but any experienced teacher knows that a successful classroom is 85ish% classroom management. This comes with experience, both life and professional.[/quote]

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