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| Researcher, writer and former TFA corps member Catherine Michna. |
Catherine Michna’s passionate declaration that she’ll no longer write letters of recommendation for students applying to Teach for America set off a firestorm. But the Tulane University research fellow is not the ivory tower bomb thrower that her critics make her out to be.Michna’s critique of the organization of which she was once a part is deeply grounded in the city where she grew up and attended public schools: New Orleans. In the very first installment of a new series, The Frustrated Alum, EduShyster talks with Michna about her story and why she decided to speak out publicly against TFA.
EduShyster: You really touched a nerve with your recent announcement that you won’t write letters of recommendations for your students who want to apply to Teach for America. But you’ve actually been critical of the organization for a long time, correct?Michna: I became critical of TFA at a very early stage, back in 1998 when I started teaching in Oakland, CA as a corps member and got to know the veteran teachers who