The Atlantic on TFA and What Makes A Great Teacher (According to TFA's Data)

The January/February issue of the The Atlantic features a three page electronic spread on Teach For America and teaching, in general. The story centers on twenty years of TFA's story and the coming release of its internal investigations on what characteristics makes a great teacher. For TFA, there are core traits, however--as the piece reveals--the process of discovering these aspects took TFA through winding courses of trial and error. For instance, earlier on, interviewees were asked nebulous questions such as "what is wind?" After reviewing the data, the TFA staff realized that past experiences in low income areas or presumed teacher qualifications (a master's degree in education, ivy league attendance, self-reflection, constant learning) did not determine an accomplished corps member. They boiled down their findings to several merits:

• Perseverance with attention to long-term goals that is labeled "grittiness," which is exactly how I like to describe myself (humor, folks, humor)
  
• Impressive or improved GPA in the last two years of college
• Measurable past performance in GPA, life goals, or leadership roles
  
• Life satisfaction

TFA interviewers quantify those indicators into thirty data points, then the information is forwarded to TFA's admissions center where a hiring recommendation, subject, placement are decided. As the article states, TFA received 35,000 applications in 2008/2009 and admitted 4,100. I can only presume that there will be a marked spike in the 2009/2010 submitted figures, although I believe the number of accepted will remain static or rise slightly.

There was plenty of hand-wringing in Denver and Rabat as I weighed my performance during the interview day, especially on the sample teach (the day's first activity) that establishes a tone. The article sheds light on the five minute sample teaching exercise and TFA's expectations. In contrast to a charismatic young man, the TFA representative praised a young woman that the author considered dull or formulaic with her lesson that was direct and lacked pizazz. Those elements, however, are the criteria TFA searches for in potential corps members. "What matters more, at least according to Teach for America’s research, is less flashy: Were you prepared? Did you achieve your objective in five minutes?" As a point of reference, I allocated a week for planning and testing of my five minutes on why the United States entered World War in 1917.

If you're considering TFA, the Atlantic piece is, simply put, revelatory and introduces you to the challenges corps members encounter from the moment when you submit your application until you finish.