baffling article from the Hartford Courant.
You know, sometimes I wonder just how schools in this area continue to operate and progress. In today's Hartford Courant, there's an article regarding Hartford hiring 25 teachers through the Teach for America program. Teach For America is the national corps of "outstanding recent college graduates" of all academic majors who commit two years to teach in urban and rural public schools and become leaders in the effort to expand educational opportunity. And yes, that's a noble thing. However, if one reads the article closely, one sees this interesting quote...
"In Hartford, 17 teachers will be assigned to elementary schools and eight to secondary schools, officials said. The teachers will undergo training sessions this summer, will be granted temporary teaching certificates and receive further training as they work toward full certification." (note: highlighted portion is of my own doing)
My question is this: why is it that seventeen individuals, who seemingly have less expertise and ability than I, would be granted two year contracts and temporary licenses to teach in the toughest school system in northern CT while I languish in unemployment, unable to get answers out of districts? That's discriminatory at best, and downright wrong. These kids, who are underprivileged and in some cases, downtrodden, should be given certified, capable and highly qualified teachers; not teachers who lack the skills necessary to manage classrooms that are, at times difficult. And that's the real issue here. Assigning first-year teachers (who in many cases have no intention of continuing on this career path when the two years is up) to difficult classrooms in dysfunctional schools—which is what Teach for America does—is not good no matter what route a teacher has taken to enter the profession. Furthermore, the lack of pedagogical training and knowledge of child development theories among TFA teachers is alarming.
I also tend to believe that TFA demeans teaching by treating it as a Peace Corps–style "rescue mission" rather than a true profession, with salaries appropriate to attracting solid candidates. TFA has recruiters and advocates who have focused much of their attention on the advantaged college graduates for whom TFA serves as something useful to do on their way to their "real jobs" in law, medicine, or business.
Predictably, when I contacted the district to ask about openings and why I couldn't get an honest interview (you may recall the insanity of an interview I was granted last December...I was brought in to audition and interview, told I was an exceptional candidate and encouraged to wait by the phone...only to be blown off and told, eight weeks later...that the position was filled internally. Sad.), I was sent a standard reply that encouraged me to use the system's online application system. It's my opinion that someone is hiding something here. I wonder, does TFA subsidize these teachers' salaries, saving the district money? Are these teachers full members of the union? If not, they have absolutely no representation and can be terminated at any moment for any reason (trust me, I know...). There's far too many questions here that are going unanswered and ignored.
Nevertheless, we press on. I'm as angry as I could be regarding this job search...and I know all too well I'm difficult to live with right now. But I'm seeing a pattern beginning to emerge, and I don't like it. And I'm not so sure there's much I can do about it. However, this latest event has caused me to start wondering how I can ask more questions, on the record, that will give me both the job and the answers I want. The problem is, I haven't yet figured out how to go about it.
Anyone have any an idea? I'd sure like to hear it!
