Rivas, R. (2013, October 10). Teach for america boosts diversity. St.
Louis American
Teach for America is a program that has a profound effect on children
nationwide. In the article written by Rebecca S. Rivas called “Teach for
America boosts diversity”, she goes on to talk about the impact the workers can
have on an individual and how the diversity of those individuals can influences
learning.
Teach For America (TFA) is an organization that trains their
professionals to teach in low-income communities throughout the world. TFA
“aspires to be a model of diversity and inclusiveness for the nation”. This is
a great aspiration to have in this type of program. There will be children from
different ethnic groups and races, and it may help them to see people who are
similar to them. Although that may not be the reason their education is
greater, it could help with the comfort in the classroom. Chris Leatherwood is
part of the TFA team and decided to join because of his interest in teaching,
and his first-hand experience of how unprepared some students are before
entering college. He is now
teaching in a seventh grade classroom at Gateway middle school. His goals are
to educate children and ensure that they are better prepared for when they
enter college.
There are 6,000 teachers part of Teach for America throughout the
world, who are trying to provide children in low-income communities a chance to
receive an excellent education. Currently 39% of their staff are people of
color, and 14% are African American. As this may not sound like a large portion
now, it has come a long way since the past. Brittany Packnett, who is executive
director of Teach for America St. Louis states “Continuing to diversify our
corps to reflect the students and communities with whom we partner is a major
priority for us”. Again, this is important so the students do not feel as
though “outisders” are always coming in to their school, trying to make
change. Sometimes the pure fact
that the child shares some type of similarities, whether it be race or
ethnicity, it can have an impact on that student. It may boost confidence, they
may become more comfortable in the classroom, or they may open up more to that
teacher.
Leatherwood is aware of the impact he has on his students, and makes
sure to be a role model for them daily. He understands that it is important to
mentally and emotionally prepare them for the next stage in their life, as he
did not feel prepared himself.
Packnett says that TFA has been able to become more diverse from a
program called Strength Through Awareness and Inclusion (STAI) funded by Chanel
Harris Hampton. She showed off the community these recruits would work and
highlighted the strengths Teach For America has to offer. Chanel Harris asked herself
“What are we going to do to hone in on talented teachers of color?’ before
creating the STAI program. She figured out what she wanted, which was more
diversity in the staff, and she asked how she could make it happen. She
successfully increased the amount of diversity in St. Louis by creating the
program. Chanel Harris Hampton devised a plan and got recruiters out to St.
Louis to show off all its great features.
Mr. Leatherwood is doing something that is sorely needed in our society. Young, black American males have many, many issues that they face in their daily life, one of which being the lack of positives role models. Mr. Leatherwood is aware that he can potentially fill this void, and he clearly takes inspiration in doing so. He is an impressive individual. Really nice to see progress being made, and let's hope TFA can keep up their minority recruiting practices.
ReplyDeleteI haven't heard of this organization before. It sounds like it could really help our youth. These students will reap many benefits from having these role models and teachers who want to make a difference.
ReplyDeleteI think TFA is a very admirable program that is very much needed in today's world, as Dan said. I actually have experience working with teachers from this program. One weakness of it is that teachers from the program never had formal educational training with a Bachelor's degree in order to teach. It is strictly a training program formulated to help prepare people to be teaching professionals who will be mainly teaching urban youth. Some TFA teachers I've talked to have said they didn't feel fully ready to take on their own classroom because of the cumbersome baggage that many of their children bring to school with them daily. If TFA can better train their teachers to handle these pressures, it will be an even more admirable program. I think it is astounding that diversity is a focal point in the recruitment process because I do think it's important for children to be able to relate to their teachers and being the same race may be beneficial. I have definitely seen diversity in the TFA staff I've encountered and hope to see even more diversity in the future.
ReplyDeleteOn one hand, I believe people with experience outside of the classroom can be wonderful teachers. On the other hand, the paperwork and procedures teachers have to deal with are unbelievable. I know people who have gone through certification programs like this and their feelings tend to be mixed. It's strange . . . I sometimes wonder if we need to change our approach to educating the educators. However, making diversity a priority is a good starting point. Perhaps students will listen more to teachers who've been there, done that.
ReplyDeleteThis sounds like an incredible program. Although Leatherwood said that he was not emotionally or mentally prepared while he was in school, that did not stop him from progressing and having the want to help others so that they don't have to be in the same situation. With the word out since this article's publication, hopefully TFA will receive many more diverse applicants.
ReplyDelete