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Teachers being deployed to Louisiana
Published Sunday, June 1, 2008
BATON ROUGE (AP) — Teach For America, the national organization that recruits recent college graduates to teach in underserved public schools, will place 50 new teachers in south Louisiana this fall.
The 50 teachers are among the 3,700 Teach For America educators starting this fall at schools across the country.
The new crop of educators is the largest entering corps of teachers in the history of the 18-year-old organization, Teach For America spokesman Patrick Vassel said in a news release. The 3,700 teachers were chosen from an applicant pool of nearly 25,000, Vassel said.
The program does not require applicants to have teaching certification or degrees in education. The organization has expanded its pool of teachers in south Louisiana, with the 50 new teachers joining 45 others who are completing their service.
The 50 new educators will be assigned to schools in five parishes: East Baton Rouge, East Feliciana, St. Helena, Pointe Coupee and St. Landry. Among those returning to the classroom is Will Nash.
A Kentucky native and 2006 graduate of the University of Kentucky with a double major in political science and economics, Nash teaches math, speech and drama at Capitol Middle School in Baton Rouge.
He was recruited while at college for the two-year program and said he loves it so much he is going to work for the group as a recruiter when he finishes his service. Nash said he was attracted to the program because of the prospect of making a significant impact immediately after graduation.
‘‘It’s very eye-opening to see where a student is versus where they should be,’’ Nash said. ‘‘Some students don’t see education as an important step in their long-term plans and goals.’’
Former Teach For America educator Rebecca Rubins, a 2005 Harvard graduate with a degree in social studies and a Minneapolis native, was also attracted to the program for that reason. ‘‘You want to make a difference right away,’’ she said.
Rubins, an education program officer at the Baton Rouge Area Foundation, taught eighth-grade science at Glen Oaks Middle School for the 2005-2006 school year and sixth-grade science at Capitol Middle School in her second year.
‘‘Teaching was the hardest experience of my life. I definitely have empathy for teachers now,’’ Rubins said. ‘‘Did I make a difference? I hope I did.’’
Shan Davis, human resources director with the St. Helena Parish School system, said her district was able to fill seven teaching positions last year with Teach For America teachers and she hopes to get at least seven this year.
‘‘It’s been very positive for us, and the teachers are very enthusiastic,’’ said Davis, whose school district is ranked last in the state on school performance scores. ‘‘They come in here looking at the experience as a challenge, and I think they find it.’’
Elizabeth Duran Swinford, East Baton Rouge Parish associate superintendent for human resources, said Teach For America has been very positive for the more than five years the school system has been working with the group.
‘‘They send us qualified folks and they train them well,’’ Swinford said.
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On the Net:
Teach for America, http://www.teachforamerica.org
Comments
Posted by NtzMom55 (anonymous) on June 1, 2008 at 5:22 a.m. (Suggest removal)
It puzzles me to know that one can become a teacher under this organization without teacher certification or a degree in education. Could anyone with an interest in the medical field just volunteer to be a doctor for a year?
Posted by Incognito (anonymous) on June 1, 2008 at 8:10 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Well NtzMom55, I taught for three years and was extremely effective in the classroom and believe it or not, I didn't take not a single course in education. I also knew individuals part of TFA, and they were extremely talented from many different academic areas. For a couple of years, we had a CPA that taught business courses..
Posted by vidalia1 (anonymous) on June 2, 2008 at 1:29 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Seems strange to me that fully credentialed Louisiana teachers had to know someone to get a job in Baton Rouge or leave home just to work
as a teacher. Low test scores proved the friendship method was not effective. The ones with connections were not the brightest ......
Incognito, you are so right. It does first of all require good basic knowledge and a strong desire to get subject matter across.You obviously have the necessary talents to get the job done.I remember wanting to remain in the area where I grew up but was forced to leave like
many others with no connections.I had some connections but refused to take that route.
Posted by freedom42 (anonymous) on June 2, 2008 at 7:29 a.m. (Suggest removal)
A degree does not a teacher make. Some get the degree and never teach, some want to teach but for some reason cannot finish college. The desire, the connection with kids, the interest in subject matter is what really counts.
Posted by vidalia1 (anonymous) on June 3, 2008 at 8:16 a.m. (Suggest removal)
I am just thankful that I left the area and was able to do my work in another state.The test scores at my school are very high.
Posted by Teach4Peace (anonymous) on June 3, 2008 at 7:41 p.m. (Suggest removal)
I will have to agree, when I started out in college, I was a biology pre-dentistry major, now, I did not have one course in education or teaching. I started substituting in the Jackson Public School district, and took off! I enjoyed the kids, etc. I was going from school to school, the principals liked me, the kids liked me, although I was a stern educator, I did not have ONE piece of certification, but what I did have was a firm grasp of the subject matter, biology, and a strong willingness to be there for my kids and before I moved to Atlanta, they were begging me to stay and offering me teaching positions. You got to have the heart for it. We already know it can be a thankless job. We already know that the money isn't grand, but certification doesn't mean much when you could care less. All the veteran teachers would come to my class and ask, how do you keep your room in such order. It was heart.
It's not just Louisiana, since then, I have had friends in the education department, who have all left for Alabama to teach, because of the certification requirements in Mississippi, yet we have people who bad mouth the public school system daily. I personally know one who could not get her BS in education, had taken all of her course work, but couldn't gradute because she could not pass the NTE!!! How foolish is that? She wound up changing her major to library science, graduated withing a year, left and is now currently teaching in Alabama, making MORE money, and NO teacher certification. I am not saying any old fool should be allowed in the class room, but a piece of certification, is NOT a testament to when the heart is really in it.
Posted by vidalia1 (anonymous) on June 4, 2008 at 10:27 a.m. (Suggest removal)
I agree but why require certification and then make knowing someone more important than the requirement of certification? We all know persons who do not have the skills or the certification but are in a classroom.
Posted by Teach4Peace (anonymous) on June 4, 2008 at 1:42 p.m. (Suggest removal)
I would much rather someone in the class room, who CAN teach, KNOWS the subject matter and loves the kids, rather than someone who has a certificate, and could care less about any of the above.
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