The Green Berets of Excellence
Teaching Alongside TFA Special Forces
By Johnny BravoMy story starts some years back, on my first day on the job as a public school teacher. (After twenty years of private industry work and collegiate teaching experience, I shifted gears relatively recently and became a teacher). Having expected to encounter a balanced mix of experienced-to-new teachers, I was surprised at what seemed to be an extremely large number of very young recruits at our orientation. Although they weren’t introduced to us as being part of Teach for America, it didn’t take long to find out. While we all wore the same uniform, so to speak, there was something different about them.
And now it’s time for my joke
How can you tell which guest at a party is a TFA corps member?
Answer: Don’t worry. They’ll tell you.
How can you tell which guest at a party is a TFA corps member?
Answer: Don’t worry. They’ll tell you.
There’s a part two to my joke that I like to call “the conversation.”
Me: “So Jenny—where are you from?”
“Wisconsin.”
Me: “Wow—Wisconsin. What brings you all the way out here?”
“I put in for this assignment. I’ve always wanted to see this place.”
Me: “This place???” feeling a bit like a Sri Lankan rice farmer.
Me: “So Jenny—where are you from?”
“Wisconsin.”
Me: “Wow—Wisconsin. What brings you all the way out here?”
“I put in for this assignment. I’ve always wanted to see this place.”
Me: “This place???” feeling a bit like a Sri Lankan rice farmer.
Special forces
We’ve now been through several rounds of TFA coworkers at my school and I’ve had many conversations just like this one. They tend to end quickly because the TFA recruit on the other end rarely inquires about me in return. In fact, these one-sided exchanges are typical of the relationship between the traditional teachers and the TFA recruits at my The Green Berets of Excellence | EduShyster:
We’ve now been through several rounds of TFA coworkers at my school and I’ve had many conversations just like this one. They tend to end quickly because the TFA recruit on the other end rarely inquires about me in return. In fact, these one-sided exchanges are typical of the relationship between the traditional teachers and the TFA recruits at my The Green Berets of Excellence | EduShyster: