A conversation: Kopp, West, Smiley on Teach for America
Here’s a conversation that Wendy Kopp, Tavis Smiley and Cornel West had on Smiley’s and West's radio show (called “Smiley & West”) back in January about Teach for America, which Kopp founded and heads. Someone who found it infuriating just sent it to me, and though it took place months ago, it is still worth reading. Share your reaction in the comments. You can see the rest of the transcript here.
My colleague Jenna Johnson just wrote about the 2011 acceptance rate for Teach for America: 11 percent, down from 12 percent last year and nearly 15 percent in 2008. The organization recruits new college graduates to commit to teaching for two years in underserved urban and rural schools, gives them five weeks of summer training and then places them in classrooms. Teach for America’s critics say that five weeks of training, and a two-year commitment, is hardly enough to really help schools and the program is as much a resume builder as anything else. You can read Kopp’s defense of the program below.
