Want a Trustworthy Word on Teach for America (TFA)? Listen to Former TFAer Gary Rubinstein
Below I have posted two youtube videos by Gary Rubinstein, who joined Teach for America (TFA) in 1991 and who made the decision to become a career teacher. Gary now writes extensively about the problems associated with the temporary teaching TFA promotes as the “solution” to the complex issues faced in contemporary America public education.
(If you want to read more about TFA founder Wendy Kopp, I wrote this post in January 2013 as part of my National Council on Teacher Quality (NCTQ) series.)
TFA recruits are not teachers. They are often bright, ideological recent college graduates who wish to remedy the ills of the American classroom before moving on to their “real” careers. Following their brief stints with TFA, a number will be placed in positions of educational leadership with an agenda that includes the now-usual reformer slate of evaluating teachers and schools via student test scores; closing community schools and opening under-regulated charters; promoting vouchers, and advocating for the Common Core State Standards (CCSS). A number of former TFAers will begin their own education companies or nonprofits, or open their own charter schools.
Make no mistake: The current goal of TFA is to annihilate traditional public education.
However, that is not Gary Rubinstein’s goal. Gary loves authentic learning. He realizes that TFAer zealousness cannot possibly “end” the challenges faced in the American
