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Relentless Pursuit: A Year in the Trenches with Teach for America
A revealing look inside a national phenomenon, Teach For America, which, since its founding in 1990, has pursued one of the most daring—and controversial—strategies for closing the educational achievement gap between the richest and poorest students in the country.
The story is set in South Los Angeles at Locke High School, an institution founded in 1967 in the spirit of renewal that followed the devastating Watts riots but that, four decades on, has made frustratingly little progress in lifting the fortunes of the area’s mostly black and Latino children. Into this place, which resembles a prison as much as a school, are dropped a group of “recruits” from Teach For America, the fast-growing organization devoted to undoing generations of disadvantage through a fiercely regimented selection and deployment of America’s best and brightest. Nearly twenty thousand top college graduates apply for two thousand slots. Then, with only a summer of training, the lucky ones are sent to face the most desperate of classroom environments.
Giving us a year in the life of Locke through the absorbing experiences of four TFA corps members—Rachelle, Phillip, Hrag, and Taylor—Donna Foote recounts the progress of their idealistic but unorthodox mission and shares its results, by turns exhausting, exhilarating, maddening, and unforgettable. As the four struggle to negotiate the expectations of their Locke colleagues (most conventionally trained, many skeptical) and the relentlessly exacting demands of the overseers at TFA headquarters (to say nothing of the typical stresses of youth), we see these young people assume a level of responsibility that might crush a seasoned educator. Limited training must often be supplemented with improvisation in a school where Rachelle’s special ed biology students prove to need remedial reading more urgently than lab work, while Taylor’s ninth-grade English classes show themselves equal to discussing Shakespeare. Through it all, these teachers are sustained not only by the missionary fervor of their cause but also by the intermittent evidence that they can make a tangible difference.
Without romanticizing the successes or minimizing the failures, Relentless Pursuit relates, through the experiences of these four new teachers, the strengths, the foibles, and the peculiarities of an operation to accomplish what no government program has yet managed — to overcome one of the most basic and vexing of social inequities, a problem we can no longer afford to ignore.
The story is set in South Los Angeles at Locke High School, an institution founded in 1967 in the spirit of renewal that followed the devastating Watts riots but that, four decades on, has made frustratingly little progress in lifting the fortunes of the area’s mostly black and Latino children. Into this place, which resembles a prison as much as a school, are dropped a group of “recruits” from Teach For America, the fast-growing organization devoted to undoing generations of disadvantage through a fiercely regimented selection and deployment of America’s best and brightest. Nearly twenty thousand top college graduates apply for two thousand slots. Then, with only a summer of training, the lucky ones are sent to face the most desperate of classroom environments.
Giving us a year in the life of Locke through the absorbing experiences of four TFA corps members—Rachelle, Phillip, Hrag, and Taylor—Donna Foote recounts the progress of their idealistic but unorthodox mission and shares its results, by turns exhausting, exhilarating, maddening, and unforgettable. As the four struggle to negotiate the expectations of their Locke colleagues (most conventionally trained, many skeptical) and the relentlessly exacting demands of the overseers at TFA headquarters (to say nothing of the typical stresses of youth), we see these young people assume a level of responsibility that might crush a seasoned educator. Limited training must often be supplemented with improvisation in a school where Rachelle’s special ed biology students prove to need remedial reading more urgently than lab work, while Taylor’s ninth-grade English classes show themselves equal to discussing Shakespeare. Through it all, these teachers are sustained not only by the missionary fervor of their cause but also by the intermittent evidence that they can make a tangible difference.
Without romanticizing the successes or minimizing the failures, Relentless Pursuit relates, through the experiences of these four new teachers, the strengths, the foibles, and the peculiarities of an operation to accomplish what no government program has yet managed — to overcome one of the most basic and vexing of social inequities, a problem we can no longer afford to ignore.
352 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 2008
17 people are currently reading
417 people want to read
About the author
Donna Foote
2 books4 followersDonna Foote is a former Newsweek correspondent who has covered many of the major stories of our times. While based in London, she reported on political and cultural affairs in the U.K., the war in Northern Ireland, Princess Diana and the British Royal Family, the War in Afghanistan, and Pakistani politics under Benazir Bhutto. As Deputy Bureau Chief of Newsweek’s Los Angeles Bureau, she covered the Rodney King riots, and both OJ Simpson trials. She also wrote extensively on education. She lives in Manhattan Beach, California with her husband James Shalvoy and her fourteen year old son James.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 95 reviews
March 5, 2010
Hmm...it's hard to separate the content of the book from my feelings on the topic. I'll try. So this journalist follows four Teach for America corps members through their first year(s) of teaching. She gives background on the organization and the work that these teachers--and their cohorts--are doing to improve inner city schools. It's fairly objective, and in that regard, a 'good read.' But I was still cringing while reading it.
Personally, although I am all for supporting educational reform, I think TFA's one-size-fits-all, cultish approach to training misses the mark. I get that they want to attract "the best and the brightest," because teachers are generally not respected and bring in low salaries that do not reflect their enormous workloads. But, the implication that all (or even most) traditionally-credentialed teachers are poorly trained and incompetent is just not true. We "put up with" the comparatively low pay because we are invested in kids' lives. And in return, we have right to a reasonable and humane work day.
I respect TFA's quest to explicitly teach classroom management, quantify results, hold teachers accountable, and make schools more efficient. Corps members are young, idealistic, and ridiculously overworked in (usually) charter schools. Isn't there some kind of dialectic between these two extremes? Can't we revamp teacher training programs WHILE acknowledging that teachers cannot sustain 12-hour days without union protection? Unless we do, we'll suffer terrible attrition rates, which makes it nearly impossible to maintain any school's culture and its staff's morale. In the end, the students suffer.
I don't have the answers; I just ask the questions.
Personally, although I am all for supporting educational reform, I think TFA's one-size-fits-all, cultish approach to training misses the mark. I get that they want to attract "the best and the brightest," because teachers are generally not respected and bring in low salaries that do not reflect their enormous workloads. But, the implication that all (or even most) traditionally-credentialed teachers are poorly trained and incompetent is just not true. We "put up with" the comparatively low pay because we are invested in kids' lives. And in return, we have right to a reasonable and humane work day.
I respect TFA's quest to explicitly teach classroom management, quantify results, hold teachers accountable, and make schools more efficient. Corps members are young, idealistic, and ridiculously overworked in (usually) charter schools. Isn't there some kind of dialectic between these two extremes? Can't we revamp teacher training programs WHILE acknowledging that teachers cannot sustain 12-hour days without union protection? Unless we do, we'll suffer terrible attrition rates, which makes it nearly impossible to maintain any school's culture and its staff's morale. In the end, the students suffer.
I don't have the answers; I just ask the questions.
June 19, 2010
I am never sure if I want to read books about being a teacher. Since I am a teacher, I don't like being hit over the head with warm fuzzy "you can change the world one wonderful child at a time!". And being a teacher every day, do I really want to think about teaching even more by reading a long book about it?
This book was worth it. It's basically an ethnography of four first-year Teach for America teachers in a very bad LA high school. Interspersed with their individual stories is the story of TFA itself--how it came about, its motto, its changes over the years, the story of one Program Director. The author keeps it objective, which is pretty impressive.
I definitely found myself comparing the teachers with myself as a teacher and as a person. (Maybe everyone does this with all characters? I don't konw.) They grow and change and have frustrations as the year goes on. We see snippets of students and interaction too, but it's definitely focused on the teachers themselves, as opposed to the growth of a particular student over time.
I read this in about a week, which is quite fast for a nonfiction book for me. It's easy to read, well-paced (though some of the TFA business stuff gets a little boring sometimes), and leaves you with a lot of questions and thoughts about the education system. I definitely recommend it for teachers and those in education and those interested in education or teaching.
This book was worth it. It's basically an ethnography of four first-year Teach for America teachers in a very bad LA high school. Interspersed with their individual stories is the story of TFA itself--how it came about, its motto, its changes over the years, the story of one Program Director. The author keeps it objective, which is pretty impressive.
I definitely found myself comparing the teachers with myself as a teacher and as a person. (Maybe everyone does this with all characters? I don't konw.) They grow and change and have frustrations as the year goes on. We see snippets of students and interaction too, but it's definitely focused on the teachers themselves, as opposed to the growth of a particular student over time.
I read this in about a week, which is quite fast for a nonfiction book for me. It's easy to read, well-paced (though some of the TFA business stuff gets a little boring sometimes), and leaves you with a lot of questions and thoughts about the education system. I definitely recommend it for teachers and those in education and those interested in education or teaching.
September 21, 2008
I think this book does an excellent job of bringing to life the struggles that TFA teachers go through. It doesn't dwell on awful conditions or cute kid stories, but explains what's in the head of the corps members, their TFA advisors, and other education people as the year progresses and tough decisions have to be made. TFA CM's are often accused of using TFA as a stepping-stone to other careers, and I think this book shows, at a minimum, that when they do leave a school or the profession, it is never taken lightly. It is clear from this book that all players had good intentions and a lot of commitment, regardless of whether you agree with their ultimate decisions.
Definitely the best TFA book I've read, and highly relevant in light of the transition of Locke HS (the featured school) to Green Dot Charter Schools.
Definitely the best TFA book I've read, and highly relevant in light of the transition of Locke HS (the featured school) to Green Dot Charter Schools.
February 28, 2023
Does teaching have to be a twenty-hour-a-day job? Can it be a lifelong profession or does everyone burn out after a couple of years? Why is it so difficult? Why aren’t more children learning? How can we make it better?
This is the story of a group of Teach for America teachers working in one of the worst schools in America, a high school in urban LA. Some of the stories were so horrible I couldn’t imagine how I would last a month. Some of the teachers produced excellent results with the students, although moving from an average reading level of third to fifth grade when students are in high school is still leaving lots of room for growth.
This is the story of a group of Teach for America teachers working in one of the worst schools in America, a high school in urban LA. Some of the stories were so horrible I couldn’t imagine how I would last a month. Some of the teachers produced excellent results with the students, although moving from an average reading level of third to fifth grade when students are in high school is still leaving lots of room for growth.
October 11, 2008
371.3 Well written and interesting account of 4 new teachers, recently graduated from the accelerated Teach for America program as they tackle teaching in an inner city L.A. high school. The sections dealing with the history of the program are alittle dry.
June 22, 2017
Foote goes behind the scenes and into the classrooms and personal lives of TFA teachers assigned to a tough high school in South Los Angeles. The year includes many challenges, daily failures, and the ultimate rewards that good teachers will recognize.
August 3, 2016
“Relentless Pursuit” is an interesting look at the Teach for America program. The book alternates between telling of the history and mission of Teach for America and going through the ins and outs of a year in the lives of a handful of corps members. Teach for America, though obviously not a solution to educational woes in the United States, are certainly a step in the right direction in my opinion. Anything that gets more of our most talented people into the teaching profession, even if only temporarily, is moving the needle the right way.
This book follows the lives of four Teach for America (TFA) corps members (called CMs throughout the book). It details the hiring process, the training process, and the nuts and bolts of the job of a Teach for America corps member. Teach for America is an organization that recruits talented soon-to-be college graduates to teach in high-need school districts, typically poor urban and rural districts. These recruits do not have teaching training or certifications, but are trained over an intense five week period in the summer. The next school year, they are placed in high-need districts as full-fledged teachers with two year commitments. The teachers’ unions hate Teach for America because it threatens the protection of high barriers to entry into the profession. Also, Teach for America corps members often perform better than other first year teachers, lending credence to the idea that the certifications and extra education that it takes to become a teacher are not as important as the unions would have people believe.
The teachers chronicled in this book teach at Locke High School in South Central Los Angeles. Locke is in a very rough neighborhood with substantial gang activity. All of the students are familiar with crime, violence, and underground activity. Though historically a predominantly black school, the school at the time of observation is now made up of a Hispanic majority. The TFA corps members, high-achieving recent graduates from all across the country, are often very out of place in this environment. Not only must they learn the day-to-day ins and outs of teaching, but they also must navigate a different cultural environment and earn the respect of their students. Furthermore, TFA has many requirements of its teachers to collect data on its students to measure performance throughout the year. TFA is a data-driven organization, unlike the vast majority of school districts across the country. This places even more burden on these already overwhelmed teachers. A couple of the new TFA teachers at Locke leave during the first year, but a vast majority of them tough out the first year and grow to positions with more leadership responsibilities in their second years. Some even choose to stay at Locke beyond their two year commitment, though many decide to go to graduate school (or law or business school), take other jobs in the educational field, or enter different fields entirely after their two year commitments are up.
It is pretty clear that the teachers’ unions and the monopolization of areas by public school districts are the main reasons why the United States education system is mediocre. The problem certainly is not money; we spend gobs of money on education, far more per pupil than our peers. Unions have made it very difficult for new entrants to enter the teaching profession without jumping through lots of hoops. In many states, you now have to complete a graduate degree before you can teach. Inevitably, the bottom of the barrel academically has gravitated toward the teaching profession. If one is going to undergo five to seven years of post-secondary schooling, teaching is among the least lucrative professions to pursue. It tends to attract students with worse academic qualifications than virtually any other subject on college campuses. Also, the faculty within schools of education is among the lowest quality of any discipline on college campuses. The best way to alleviate this glut of low performers in the education field is to open up teaching to our most talented graduates. The vast majority of high-performing students may want to pursue teaching, but would never pursue it due to the extra years of schooling it would take. It is much easier to go make twice as much money and not have to jump through all those extra hoops. Teach for America and charter schools are on the front lines to make these ideas a reality. I have a lot of respect for the young men and women chronicled in this book. Their jobs are very difficult and they endure this because they want to make a difference. TFA is surrounded by a cloud of idealism, but I certainly believe that it can and has made a difference.
This book follows the lives of four Teach for America (TFA) corps members (called CMs throughout the book). It details the hiring process, the training process, and the nuts and bolts of the job of a Teach for America corps member. Teach for America is an organization that recruits talented soon-to-be college graduates to teach in high-need school districts, typically poor urban and rural districts. These recruits do not have teaching training or certifications, but are trained over an intense five week period in the summer. The next school year, they are placed in high-need districts as full-fledged teachers with two year commitments. The teachers’ unions hate Teach for America because it threatens the protection of high barriers to entry into the profession. Also, Teach for America corps members often perform better than other first year teachers, lending credence to the idea that the certifications and extra education that it takes to become a teacher are not as important as the unions would have people believe.
The teachers chronicled in this book teach at Locke High School in South Central Los Angeles. Locke is in a very rough neighborhood with substantial gang activity. All of the students are familiar with crime, violence, and underground activity. Though historically a predominantly black school, the school at the time of observation is now made up of a Hispanic majority. The TFA corps members, high-achieving recent graduates from all across the country, are often very out of place in this environment. Not only must they learn the day-to-day ins and outs of teaching, but they also must navigate a different cultural environment and earn the respect of their students. Furthermore, TFA has many requirements of its teachers to collect data on its students to measure performance throughout the year. TFA is a data-driven organization, unlike the vast majority of school districts across the country. This places even more burden on these already overwhelmed teachers. A couple of the new TFA teachers at Locke leave during the first year, but a vast majority of them tough out the first year and grow to positions with more leadership responsibilities in their second years. Some even choose to stay at Locke beyond their two year commitment, though many decide to go to graduate school (or law or business school), take other jobs in the educational field, or enter different fields entirely after their two year commitments are up.
It is pretty clear that the teachers’ unions and the monopolization of areas by public school districts are the main reasons why the United States education system is mediocre. The problem certainly is not money; we spend gobs of money on education, far more per pupil than our peers. Unions have made it very difficult for new entrants to enter the teaching profession without jumping through lots of hoops. In many states, you now have to complete a graduate degree before you can teach. Inevitably, the bottom of the barrel academically has gravitated toward the teaching profession. If one is going to undergo five to seven years of post-secondary schooling, teaching is among the least lucrative professions to pursue. It tends to attract students with worse academic qualifications than virtually any other subject on college campuses. Also, the faculty within schools of education is among the lowest quality of any discipline on college campuses. The best way to alleviate this glut of low performers in the education field is to open up teaching to our most talented graduates. The vast majority of high-performing students may want to pursue teaching, but would never pursue it due to the extra years of schooling it would take. It is much easier to go make twice as much money and not have to jump through all those extra hoops. Teach for America and charter schools are on the front lines to make these ideas a reality. I have a lot of respect for the young men and women chronicled in this book. Their jobs are very difficult and they endure this because they want to make a difference. TFA is surrounded by a cloud of idealism, but I certainly believe that it can and has made a difference.
August 21, 2008
Follows closely four Teach for America (TFA) teachers (sorry, "corps members" -- TFA jargon is thick on the ground in this book) through their first year in a highly challenging Los Angeles high school.
I found it ultimately pretty depressing, as a lot of bright people of good will working their behinds off do not suffice to get the school turned around as a whole, though there are some nice moments and success stories with individual kids and to some extent classrooms. That's not the author's fault, though, but just the reality of school reform.
It was interesting to read this at a time when TFA alumna Michelle Rhee is in pitched battle with the DC Public School teachers' union over contract negotiations, the main sticking point being tenure vs. flexibility to reward good teachers and get rid of ineffective ones. In the book it is made clear that the main reason TFA's gung ho young teachers are mostly placed in high schools in LA is that the union would not let them in the earlier grades, where their focus on literacy and student performance might do even more good.
As to the book itself, besides taking on a fascinating topic, positives include: (a) fairly unbiased -- it seems clear that the author admires TFA and its mission, but she's able to present missteps as well; (b) mostly day-to-day focus on individual teachers, but she also did a good job of clarifying larger organizational/national picture, such as the TFA hope that its alums will become potent forces politically on educational issues.
A small negative to me was the author's bland, cursory treatment of research and assessment. There were for instance pages of admiring, quotation-intensive description of TFA's emphasis on tracking which teachers help kids make "significant gains" on tests, followed by a couple sentences acknowledging that this metric has little meaning when the teachers themselves make up the [nonstandardized:] tests and the conditions under which they are administered. Teachers can thereby easily manipulate difficulty level and corresponding rates of mastery. To its credit, it sounds as though TFA is moving away from this methodology, but I could have used a more critical analysis on this and other points in the book.
Still, while I wouldn't rely on this as a primary source for research on TFA or on school reform issues in general, it's a very interesting read on what the experience is like for new teachers.
I found it ultimately pretty depressing, as a lot of bright people of good will working their behinds off do not suffice to get the school turned around as a whole, though there are some nice moments and success stories with individual kids and to some extent classrooms. That's not the author's fault, though, but just the reality of school reform.
It was interesting to read this at a time when TFA alumna Michelle Rhee is in pitched battle with the DC Public School teachers' union over contract negotiations, the main sticking point being tenure vs. flexibility to reward good teachers and get rid of ineffective ones. In the book it is made clear that the main reason TFA's gung ho young teachers are mostly placed in high schools in LA is that the union would not let them in the earlier grades, where their focus on literacy and student performance might do even more good.
As to the book itself, besides taking on a fascinating topic, positives include: (a) fairly unbiased -- it seems clear that the author admires TFA and its mission, but she's able to present missteps as well; (b) mostly day-to-day focus on individual teachers, but she also did a good job of clarifying larger organizational/national picture, such as the TFA hope that its alums will become potent forces politically on educational issues.
A small negative to me was the author's bland, cursory treatment of research and assessment. There were for instance pages of admiring, quotation-intensive description of TFA's emphasis on tracking which teachers help kids make "significant gains" on tests, followed by a couple sentences acknowledging that this metric has little meaning when the teachers themselves make up the [nonstandardized:] tests and the conditions under which they are administered. Teachers can thereby easily manipulate difficulty level and corresponding rates of mastery. To its credit, it sounds as though TFA is moving away from this methodology, but I could have used a more critical analysis on this and other points in the book.
Still, while I wouldn't rely on this as a primary source for research on TFA or on school reform issues in general, it's a very interesting read on what the experience is like for new teachers.
February 20, 2013
Incredibly inspiring. Not just for educators, for anyone engaged in leading a dynamic, growing organization. The passion and dedication of everyone presented in the book is infectious. The challenge Teach for America presents their corp members with is nothing short of monumental. It's a miracle that any of them at all get through their first year. It humbled me to hear of the perseverance in the young teachers and the organization as a whole.
I found plenty of parallels between my own work managing a creative agency and that of Teach for America, at both an organizational and a classroom level. I can certainly relate to the TFA teacher in the book who would wake up in the morning, unable to get out of bed because he wasn't sure if he had the energy to face everything he was up against that day. But the difference is, if I don't do my job, a corporation doesn't get its project on time, if the teacher doesn't do his job, the future of a hundred kids are at stake. Not to mention, the teacher has the chips stacked against them at every corner, and they're paid an embarrassing salary for what they do. Makes me ashamed to have ever complained about the stress of white collar business.
The detailed look this book provides into the inner workings of Teach for America's management is equally fascinating. This is an organization for which there was no roadmap, no blueprint, and they had to figure out how to make it work. It has required everything from a methodical approach to performance data tracking to learning how to perfect their pitch to new recruits. It's a very interesting case study on how to grow an organization without any template to follow.
Teach for America certainly has its critics, and this book makes no attempt to sugarcoat the challenges of the organization. It is certainly not a perfect organization, but I would ask, what is the alternative? Continue to live with the status quo? Continue to debate the education gap in ivory tower think tanks? I would suggest that we're better off with an imperfect organization making an ernest effort than not trying at all, or relying on government to solve the problem. TFA has shown that it's not afraid to make course corrections when they discover a practice that isn't working. We've been teaching our students the in same way since the Industrial Revolution, it seems to me what we desperately need in education reform are more people willing to try new things, not less. Is that gambling with kid's lives? Again, if the alternative is the status quo, I think it's a gamble worth taking.
I found plenty of parallels between my own work managing a creative agency and that of Teach for America, at both an organizational and a classroom level. I can certainly relate to the TFA teacher in the book who would wake up in the morning, unable to get out of bed because he wasn't sure if he had the energy to face everything he was up against that day. But the difference is, if I don't do my job, a corporation doesn't get its project on time, if the teacher doesn't do his job, the future of a hundred kids are at stake. Not to mention, the teacher has the chips stacked against them at every corner, and they're paid an embarrassing salary for what they do. Makes me ashamed to have ever complained about the stress of white collar business.
The detailed look this book provides into the inner workings of Teach for America's management is equally fascinating. This is an organization for which there was no roadmap, no blueprint, and they had to figure out how to make it work. It has required everything from a methodical approach to performance data tracking to learning how to perfect their pitch to new recruits. It's a very interesting case study on how to grow an organization without any template to follow.
Teach for America certainly has its critics, and this book makes no attempt to sugarcoat the challenges of the organization. It is certainly not a perfect organization, but I would ask, what is the alternative? Continue to live with the status quo? Continue to debate the education gap in ivory tower think tanks? I would suggest that we're better off with an imperfect organization making an ernest effort than not trying at all, or relying on government to solve the problem. TFA has shown that it's not afraid to make course corrections when they discover a practice that isn't working. We've been teaching our students the in same way since the Industrial Revolution, it seems to me what we desperately need in education reform are more people willing to try new things, not less. Is that gambling with kid's lives? Again, if the alternative is the status quo, I think it's a gamble worth taking.
April 3, 2012
Overall it was very interesting, but something bothered me for most of the book, even though I couldn't quite put my finger on what for a long time. It finally crystallized when I hit this bit, which is on page 211 of the copy I read:
"But the powerful teachers union, the UTLA, protected tenured teachers regardless of their classroom performance. There was a process in LAUSD to either get rid of bad teachers or make them better--but it required administrators to jump through hoops. Under the rules of the union contract, supervisors were bound to conduct and document repeated rounds of observations and evaluations carried out along a very specific time line, and to offer interventions and remediation through professional development where needed. Even when a convincing case had been built against a teacher, a missed deadline could derail the whole process." (last sentence included just for the sake of completeness)
When I read that bit, two things came to mind:
1) That's a feature, not a bug. It's designed that way to prevent teachers from being fired without cause.
2) (and this question is general, not solely about Wells and his situation because Locke clearly had other issues during the time covered in this book) Why does it seem like so few people are interested in improving the teachers who are already in place? They may not be perfect, but once you start teaching you learn a lot that a training course can never give you. School reformers in general seem hyperfocused on replacing everyone who can't get their students to perform on standardized tests instead of retraining or helping the ones who are there. Is it solely because new teachers are cheaper, or are there other, less depressing factors at play here too? I'm not even going to touch the question of whether standardized tests as they are now are really the best way to measure student progress.
I'm not trashing TFA here because I think what they do is important. It's so much harder to get teachers to stay in schools like Locke when there are more luxurious schools available, and TFA does help to provide better teachers than the school might otherwise be able to get. But I question some of the assumptions that the author makes, and I was really unhappy to the see the anti-union bias here. Sometimes unions conflict with other entities and sometimes they're in the wrong, but they are, in general, just trying to protect their workers. Just like a good teacher always keeps their kids' best interests at heart, a union's job is to focus on the best interests of the workers it serves.
"But the powerful teachers union, the UTLA, protected tenured teachers regardless of their classroom performance. There was a process in LAUSD to either get rid of bad teachers or make them better--but it required administrators to jump through hoops. Under the rules of the union contract, supervisors were bound to conduct and document repeated rounds of observations and evaluations carried out along a very specific time line, and to offer interventions and remediation through professional development where needed. Even when a convincing case had been built against a teacher, a missed deadline could derail the whole process." (last sentence included just for the sake of completeness)
When I read that bit, two things came to mind:
1) That's a feature, not a bug. It's designed that way to prevent teachers from being fired without cause.
2) (and this question is general, not solely about Wells and his situation because Locke clearly had other issues during the time covered in this book) Why does it seem like so few people are interested in improving the teachers who are already in place? They may not be perfect, but once you start teaching you learn a lot that a training course can never give you. School reformers in general seem hyperfocused on replacing everyone who can't get their students to perform on standardized tests instead of retraining or helping the ones who are there. Is it solely because new teachers are cheaper, or are there other, less depressing factors at play here too? I'm not even going to touch the question of whether standardized tests as they are now are really the best way to measure student progress.
I'm not trashing TFA here because I think what they do is important. It's so much harder to get teachers to stay in schools like Locke when there are more luxurious schools available, and TFA does help to provide better teachers than the school might otherwise be able to get. But I question some of the assumptions that the author makes, and I was really unhappy to the see the anti-union bias here. Sometimes unions conflict with other entities and sometimes they're in the wrong, but they are, in general, just trying to protect their workers. Just like a good teacher always keeps their kids' best interests at heart, a union's job is to focus on the best interests of the workers it serves.
April 19, 2008
Teaching for America in Crips Territory
By DIANA WAGMAN
Reading Relentless Pursuit: A Year in the Trenches with Teach for America is inspiring, frustrating, exhilarating and exhausting. Inspiring because of the students who learn and grow and graduate despite violence, unwanted pregnancy and poverty. Frustrating because the Los Angeles Unified School District and the federal government want to make learning secondary to testing. Exhilarating because the four young teachers profiled in the book struggle, succeed and find joy in the hardest job there is. And exhausting because there is so much to absorb, so many acronyms and dates and names and histories to understand. In fact, reading this book is just like teaching in the LAUSD.
Teach for America began in 1990 as the brainchild of Wendy Kopp. As a straight-A senior in Princeton University’s Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs, she recognized the country’s desperate need to close the achievement gap between the wealthiest and the poorest students. Kopp saw the statistics: A poor student who makes it to high school has only a 50 percent chance of graduating. If he does graduate, he will likely leave school with the skills of an eighth-grader. Kopp came up with TFA as a way to solve this dilemma. Her idea was to create a teaching corps, not unlike the Peace Corps, where the participants were culled from the best colleges in the country. They did not have to be education majors or interested in teaching as a career. She would offer TFA as a stepping stone to their “real” life pursuits, as a two-year term of service that would make them even more attractive to law schools, businesses and industry titans. The program would give the millennial generation a chance to give back while enhancing their résumés.
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By DIANA WAGMAN
Reading Relentless Pursuit: A Year in the Trenches with Teach for America is inspiring, frustrating, exhilarating and exhausting. Inspiring because of the students who learn and grow and graduate despite violence, unwanted pregnancy and poverty. Frustrating because the Los Angeles Unified School District and the federal government want to make learning secondary to testing. Exhilarating because the four young teachers profiled in the book struggle, succeed and find joy in the hardest job there is. And exhausting because there is so much to absorb, so many acronyms and dates and names and histories to understand. In fact, reading this book is just like teaching in the LAUSD.
Teach for America began in 1990 as the brainchild of Wendy Kopp. As a straight-A senior in Princeton University’s Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs, she recognized the country’s desperate need to close the achievement gap between the wealthiest and the poorest students. Kopp saw the statistics: A poor student who makes it to high school has only a 50 percent chance of graduating. If he does graduate, he will likely leave school with the skills of an eighth-grader. Kopp came up with TFA as a way to solve this dilemma. Her idea was to create a teaching corps, not unlike the Peace Corps, where the participants were culled from the best colleges in the country. They did not have to be education majors or interested in teaching as a career. She would offer TFA as a stepping stone to their “real” life pursuits, as a two-year term of service that would make them even more attractive to law schools, businesses and industry titans. The program would give the millennial generation a chance to give back while enhancing their résumés.
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November 6, 2009
This interesting book follows four members of the Teach for America class of 2005. Teach for America recruits college students near graduation that have shown leadership, perseverance, and ability to motivate. They put the recruits through a five week education "boot camp" to teach them classroom management, lesson planning, assessment techniques among other skills that are supposed to prepare them to teach. Then they are placed in some of the worst schools in the country (in this case Locke High School in Watts) to teach for two years, while they attend night classes to work toward their masters degree in education. Teach for America's goal is to close the achievement gap between the poor and middle class students.
The author, Donna Foote, weaves the history of Teach for America through the story of this diverse group of young teachers' struggles and successes at a challenging school. She includes the changes TFA has made in recruiting, training, supporting, fund raising and assessment of both the new teachers and their students. Foote also includes the controversial nature of TFA--where opposition comes from and why.
I like the fact that TFA acknowledges that they are not going to going to close the achievement gap quickly, even in the schools where they are working, but they are also taking the long view that their teaching alums will have a transformative experience. And that, even if they do not stay in the education field, they will be working wherever they are to improve education.
I also think that when a system is falling apart as many poor, inner-city schools are, that the fresh view point that these young corps members bring to the job may find some solutions.
The book does not have an index. That would have been very helpful to me. The background is woven in with the story of the four teachers and it would have been nice to able to quickly find pieces of the fragmented history.
The author, Donna Foote, weaves the history of Teach for America through the story of this diverse group of young teachers' struggles and successes at a challenging school. She includes the changes TFA has made in recruiting, training, supporting, fund raising and assessment of both the new teachers and their students. Foote also includes the controversial nature of TFA--where opposition comes from and why.
I like the fact that TFA acknowledges that they are not going to going to close the achievement gap quickly, even in the schools where they are working, but they are also taking the long view that their teaching alums will have a transformative experience. And that, even if they do not stay in the education field, they will be working wherever they are to improve education.
I also think that when a system is falling apart as many poor, inner-city schools are, that the fresh view point that these young corps members bring to the job may find some solutions.
The book does not have an index. That would have been very helpful to me. The background is woven in with the story of the four teachers and it would have been nice to able to quickly find pieces of the fragmented history.
May 14, 2009
My sister, Krysten, asked that I read this book. She is a Teach for America (TFA) alum and thought I would gain a better perspective of her experience by reading Foote's book.
The author takes five 2005 corps members who are assigned to Locke HS in LA and follows them throughout their first year teaching with TFA. She intersperses the history, mission, and philosophy of TFA within the anectdotal sections of the book. I think those parts were the most difficult to read - TFA is as bad as the military when it comes to acronyms and data and so I found myself bogged down in the details of those chapters - just keep plugging away - those sections really are worth reading. The anecdotal sections, however, were gripping and fascinating. I appreciated the fact that Foote included the point of view of fellow teachers, supervisors, principals, and students within the framework of the book and seemed to be able to avoid being sucked into the melodrama of TFA life.
If you are aware of the terrible state of public education in some parts of this country, then this book will only add fuel to your fire. If you are a reader who is less informed, please pick up this book as well. It is eye opening and inspiring - that people who are barely past being children themselves are willing to give completely of themselves for two years to close the achievement gap in education.....gives me goosebumps. Of course I might be a bit partial since I am related to a TFA alum.....The only thing missing from this book that I gained from hearing Krysten's stories is a sense of humor about the situation. The book is extremely serious and I know there was more levity in the teachers' experiences than the author allows in her telling of their stories.
The author takes five 2005 corps members who are assigned to Locke HS in LA and follows them throughout their first year teaching with TFA. She intersperses the history, mission, and philosophy of TFA within the anectdotal sections of the book. I think those parts were the most difficult to read - TFA is as bad as the military when it comes to acronyms and data and so I found myself bogged down in the details of those chapters - just keep plugging away - those sections really are worth reading. The anecdotal sections, however, were gripping and fascinating. I appreciated the fact that Foote included the point of view of fellow teachers, supervisors, principals, and students within the framework of the book and seemed to be able to avoid being sucked into the melodrama of TFA life.
If you are aware of the terrible state of public education in some parts of this country, then this book will only add fuel to your fire. If you are a reader who is less informed, please pick up this book as well. It is eye opening and inspiring - that people who are barely past being children themselves are willing to give completely of themselves for two years to close the achievement gap in education.....gives me goosebumps. Of course I might be a bit partial since I am related to a TFA alum.....The only thing missing from this book that I gained from hearing Krysten's stories is a sense of humor about the situation. The book is extremely serious and I know there was more levity in the teachers' experiences than the author allows in her telling of their stories.
August 30, 2009
I almost went from a small urban school district to the larger bureaucratic bloat of Los Angeles Unified School District. Three years ago I was offered a position to teach English and work with TFA teachers at Locke High. I didn't because of the divide among the staff and upheaval of Green Dot possibly taking over this beleaguered school. Sorry if this review is enmeshed with my soapboxing. LAUSD is too top heavy; if you go to the district office in downtown L.A., you visibly see more tax dollars paying for administrative staff than going directly to the classrooms. This systemic problem coupled with a segment of society plagued by damaging unemployment is the rude awakening and heartbreak of corp members of Teach for America. Foote's documentary works points out, "Teach for America's mission from the start had been to recruit and train the best and brightest to teach in America's lowest-performing schools. The organization never promised to figure out a way to retain them. In fact, it fully expected the majority of its corps members to leave the classroom after their two-year stint. TFA took the long view, guessing that TFA alums would assume positions of power in public life and ultimately figure out the retention piece as part of the larger solution to the achievement gap." Maybe. Green Dot has taken over Locke, and it will be interesting to see if a charter organization truly transforms teaching in a poor community. I recommend this read with Douglas McGray's Dept. of Education, “The Instigator,” The New Yorker, May 11, 2009, p. 66. You can also read "Why I Oppose Teach For America" by an education professor in The New York Times: http://roomfordebate.blogs.nytimes.co...
February 12, 2011
A fascinating read not simply in recounting the challenges of 4 first-year TFA teachers but of the growth of TFA. It has successfully and very deliberating seeded a new generation of educational leaders not wedded to the status quo -- why are schools of ed not similarly seeking to encourage teachers to be visionary leaders, to ask questions and press for change in circumstances in which the needs of children are clearly not a priority? (And an M.Ed in educational leadership isn't this.) TFA's use of data is extraordinary -- I'm not aware of any other educational organization so committed to functioning as a learning organization, one that consistently examines its practices to determine what is functioning well and what isn't, either by flaw in design or implementation. Very different from the Assoc. Dean of a school of ed who told me it's simply impossible to measure the effectiveness of a teacher -- great way to avoid being held accountable for teaching future teachers well. Don't mean to suggest that TFA is a silver bullet, it's not, but it sure would be nice if schools of ed, school districts and state ed agencies were willing to learn from what TFA does well. There's not an easy answer to the challenge of ensuring there's a good teacher in every classroom but wasting time and energy attacking each other for differences in approach is useless when it's evident there's still so much we don't know about preparing and supporting teachers effectively.
September 16, 2008
This book follows the immensely popular yet controversial Teach for America (TFA) organization. TFA is an organization trying to close the achievement gap by putting educated 'teachers' into under performing schools for a couple of years. The recruits work on a masters and view the experience as an intense post-grad program.
The book specifically focuses on 4 teachers placed in Locke HS in Watts, CA (a very bad neighborhood and school) and their experiences. I loved learning about their struggles and the challenges they faced. It was also enlightening to learn more about the education system in general.
The author also reveals the reason why TFA works and why it doesn't, with the statistics to prove it. The facts/figures got a little overwhelming but the author tries to split them up between chapters. I still found myself glossing over those parts because it was just too much.
Overall an interesting book with an important message that at least some people are trying to make education more standardized throughout the country. And after learning about their recruits, all I can say is if you meet someone with TFA on their resume, HIRE THEM!
The book specifically focuses on 4 teachers placed in Locke HS in Watts, CA (a very bad neighborhood and school) and their experiences. I loved learning about their struggles and the challenges they faced. It was also enlightening to learn more about the education system in general.
The author also reveals the reason why TFA works and why it doesn't, with the statistics to prove it. The facts/figures got a little overwhelming but the author tries to split them up between chapters. I still found myself glossing over those parts because it was just too much.
Overall an interesting book with an important message that at least some people are trying to make education more standardized throughout the country. And after learning about their recruits, all I can say is if you meet someone with TFA on their resume, HIRE THEM!
Read
May 13, 2009I admit it. I considered Teach for America. I suppose you could say it was a “Plan B” for me. But after reading this book I realize as a “Plan B”er I never would have made it. Never mind the rigorous admissions process involving rounds of interviews and calculated formulas, the duties bestowed upon TFA corps members demand nothing less than amazing tenacity and voracious devotion. Foote’s book weaves stories of four young teachers at a South Central Los Angeles high school with historical accounts of the birth and growth of the organization which, since its 1990 founding, has taken on the monumental task of closing the U.S. educational achievement gap. These corps members represent a select few of the many thrown into the most desperate classrooms after only one summer of intense training. This is a book that informs as much as it challenges, addressing criticisms and spotlighting the problems that face so many of America’s young and disadvantaged. A humbling read not just for this former TFA enthusiast but also for those interested in learning more about Teach for America and the discrepancies within our country’s public education system.
June 22, 2010
Teach For America is one of the most well known non-profits in the United States. The program draws accomplished college graduates from some of the best colleges in the US. It is an elite program that is not without controversy. How good of an idea is it to put new college graduates through intense training and expect them to do well teaching in adverse situations? How much of a return on investment can the program expect when TFA teachers are only committed to two years? Are the students helped or hurt by having teachers that come from this program? Foote explores all of these issues with fairly equal treatment.
The book covers both the inception and maintenance of the program and also the experiences of several TFA teachers' first years at an inner city school in Los Angeles.
It's a great read!
The book covers both the inception and maintenance of the program and also the experiences of several TFA teachers' first years at an inner city school in Los Angeles.
It's a great read!
January 16, 2009
This book follows several first year Teach for America members teaching at Locke High School in Los Angelos during the 2005-2006 school year. In addition to covering the experiences of the teachers, the it delves deep into the history and ethos of Teach for America. I'm a sucker for books about education to underprivileged students, so I ate this book right up. I also found the information on Teach for America to be interesting as I know realize I didn't know that much about the organization other than that people signed up for 2 year stints to teach in underprivileged schools. I read several blogs written by Teach for America members, so it gives me a much better perspective on what they are doing. The book also does a good job of presenting the arguments for and against the Teach for America program. If you like books by Jonothan Kozol I highly recommend this one.
April 2, 2009
As I expected, this book made me feel proud of the organization I work for. I loved reading about how the corps members handled their classes, changed their perceptions and actually taught some "left behind" children how to pull ahead. The book doesn't always paint a rosy picture of the "touchy-feely-ness" of the organization, and that is something that I have recognized since day one. They are a very data-driven, scientific organization that doesn't put much stock in emotions or gut-feelings. While I don't always agree with that approach, I don't think it has done anything to harm the mission, and ultimately the organization proves effectiveness by virtue of the results of the children we serve.
I have more thoughts on this book (lots of them) and our org in general, which I'll have to try to put into writing at some point...
I have more thoughts on this book (lots of them) and our org in general, which I'll have to try to put into writing at some point...
November 13, 2008
I have been working this fall as a tutor for kids who cover literally the entire expanse of the LA Schools spectrum, from premier private prep schools to failing LAUSD monstrosities. I have been reading a great deal about LA schools, trying to learn more abouthe mysterious ways of this city. This was an interesting accoung of 4 teachers from TFA who worked in one of the worst public high schools in South Central (that has since been taken over by a charter school organization). While it was not terribly well put together, the material and the concept were very interesting and the stories were gripping. It was an interesting inside look at an organization that has long captivated me and many of my peers.
April 15, 2010
The best window I've found into the troubles and travails of a TFAer. Foote definitely buys into the image of the TFA teacher as a "shining light" in the educational system -- but she gives great insight into the work and dedication it takes live up to that name. The most interesting part of the book, for me, was the struggle the teachers faced in dedicating their lives to the cause. As one of them puts it, "I care about the cause, yes. I care about these kids, I want them to succeed. But I don't want to martyr myself to the cause." True words, and a struggle that every TFAer must contend with. As an aspiring TFAer myself, it confirmed everything I thought about the organization: it's going to be tough, the odds are not with you, but god damn it if it is not worth it. Recommended.
July 11, 2011
I was disappointed with this book. While I enjoy reading books about education, making connections, and applying the things I read to my own education experiences, this book left much to be desired. I am not convinced that Teach for American is the answer for education reform, though I do agree that there are benefits to the program. It was interesting to follow six TFA teachers, but I am not convinced that creating "good" teachers and having them teach for only two years is the answer. I know that after two years of teaching there are so many things I can improve, and I am not numbers driven when it comes to education, to me it is about the kids. I don't think I would recommend this book, unfortunately.
July 23, 2008
My mom just finished this and claims it was like everything she's heard me say all year compiled into a book.
edit: finished this today. I'm not giving it five stars because it would be exceptionally toolish of me. Plus there were some parts that were a bit questionable. Overall though, it was scarily accurate and detailed. Scary because a lot of it did indeed sound exactly like things I've written (and thought) myself about the experience, and detailed because it gave perspectives from several different levels- organization wide, program directors, corps members, administrators- and I found out some things even I didn't know.
edit: finished this today. I'm not giving it five stars because it would be exceptionally toolish of me. Plus there were some parts that were a bit questionable. Overall though, it was scarily accurate and detailed. Scary because a lot of it did indeed sound exactly like things I've written (and thought) myself about the experience, and detailed because it gave perspectives from several different levels- organization wide, program directors, corps members, administrators- and I found out some things even I didn't know.
January 10, 2010
I like a good year-in-the-life-of-a-profession book, but I was slightly biased towards liking this one because my sister is a Teach for America corps member. The experiences of the four teachers profiled in this book, teachers at a failing and downright dangerous Los Angeles high school, gave me some insight into her job, but more into the origins of TFA and how it operates within the existing school system despite having its own metrics for success and occasionally conflicting goals. If those details don't interest you, this book will probably bore you in several chapters, but I appreciated it.
October 7, 2008
I found this book fascinating. Foote did a great job of making the lives of the four teachers she followed sooo realistic that I could imagine being in the classroom with them. (I wish Fergus had done so well in One Thousand White Women.) The methods TFA uses to monitor teachers are so different from what I was used to that I wanted to know more. Who thinks up these approaches and why does TFA not borrow more from other established programs?
I finished the book being very impressed with the young people who attempt TFA, yet I'd still be very hesitant in recommending the program to college grads.
I finished the book being very impressed with the young people who attempt TFA, yet I'd still be very hesitant in recommending the program to college grads.
August 6, 2008
It was a great view into Teach For America in 2005, but there have been a lot of changes to the organization, the way that we measure student achievement, and the professional development that we provide our corps members. I enjoyed reading it however, because I attended the LA Institute in 2005 and taught at Locke High School and remembered a lot of the stories and events that were portrayed. It's a good read for anyone that is interested in learning more about a year in the life of a first year corps member,
September 8, 2008
This book definitely gives you the reasoning behind why Teach For America exists and how it operates - particularly from an outsider's perspective. I'm beginning my 3rd year with Teach For America and while there are areas for improvement within the system - this book explains in detail the little reasons why I continue to work for Teach For America and how the organization has shaped my view on the public school system in America and the mindset changes that must occur for our nation to have a system of education that answers to students and their potential to achieve.
November 25, 2009
I read this book because I'm applying for Teach for America and it offers a really good glimpse of the good, bad, and ugly of being a corps member. But I'd recommend this book to anyone interested in education reform and the obstacles facing educators and students working in underprivileged schools. It will make you cry, make you angry, make you hopeful,and maybe even make you laugh at the sometimes cult-like mentality of TFA. It scared me in many ways, made me feel like I was signing up to join the military. But I'm that much more eager to get into the program.
September 21, 2008
contains everything you need to have a thorough overview of TFA. there is a lot of materail and iti s nonfiction so I can't fault the author but sometimes I wish there were about 5 chapters for every one. Too many ideas/concepts squeezed into a single chapter. made it feel like a chore to read sometimes... I did not even make it to the end which I regret but I have had it on my bedside table for 6 weeks so time to move on!
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