GUEST BLOG: No TFA for me
By Melissa Katz
My name is Melissa Katz and I am 18 years old. I am a freshman at The College of New Jersey studying urban education. I cannot tell you how many times I’ve been asked, “Why do you want to go into education? Why do you want to be a teacher? Don’t you know how much more money you could be making in another profession?”
The answer to all of these questions is simple: I have an undeniable belief in and love for our public schools, because public education is the great equalizer among us.
As an urban education major, many people have asked me about my plans for joining Teach for America (TFA), and my answer is always the same – I will never join Teach for America because it is fundamentally flawed in its ideals. Imagine your teachers – those that have dedicated their lives to children, to the profession, and to educating the next generation of thinkers and creators –replaced by someone with only five weeks of training, and who is only obligated to stay for two years. Teach for America brings in some of the most inexperienced teachers and puts them into low-income schools and communities, the same places that need the most experienced and dedicated teachers.
They will never understand that these are the community’s schools, the livelihood of the community. Our schools are places that real learning happens. Our schools are places where students get involved in all different activities that they are interested