Teach for America Reviews

Pros

Teach for America provides young and entrepreneurial individuals the chance to not only test their skills in the most demanding of environments, but to do so in a way that truly benefits our society. The support from the staff and your advisers is unparalleled and gives you all the necessary tools to succeed in the classroom. Without such strong support and feedback, I shudder at the thought of where my classroom might be.

Cons

The insanely long hours (75 hrs + is not uncommon) often blur the line between your work and home identities. This can be especially hard in the first few months as you adjust to the often chaotic circumstances of the schools in which you are placed.

Advice to Senior Management

The leaders in place vary in their effectiveness according to region, but they really do have your best interest in mind. I would encourage more transparency in some decisions relating to the corp's interaction with their districts, but all else is on point.

Pros

Teach For America is is a company that both challenges and supports it's employees. It is a great place to start or grow a career.

Cons

This is getting better but TFA is still a company with a very young workforce and more turnover than many other companies (mainly because people who have been with TFA are very attractive candidates to other companies). This means that at certain times of year there are a lot of new people in departments and institutional knowledge is sometimes lost.

Pros

Honestly, it DOES look really good to do TFA. That's why everyone really does it, right? For the resume building? If someone actually knows what TFA is (which is maybe 35% of the people I talk to), then they are impressed.

Cons

Where to start. Totally insensitive to the needs of corps members. This is about greating a giant PR campaign about how awesome you are, but not necessarily about getting anything really good done. If you don't get with the program, they don't treat you very well. And with their kind of program, i just could never get with that.

Advice to Senior Management

Very misleading in how they present the organization.

Pros

Wonderful place to work and a great mission

Cons

The work never ends and can be consuming

Pros

Great way of getting an inside view into the educational system of the country. It also allows you to live somewhere you probably never even knew existed (for better or worse, depending on how adventurous you are). It's also refreshing to be around so many selfless and passionate corp members.

Cons

Teaching can become all-consuming, and it's hard to not become emotionally involved with your work. It's hard to not take everything personally; on the one hand it will keep you motivated to work harder, but it can also become very self-deprecating if not managed correctly. Some of my fellow corp members have also complained about the lack of feedback and support.

Advice to Senior Management

Have a better system for finding resources on TFAnet. With so many corp members across the country, it's hard to imagine that not all subjects have already been taught, but yet I feel like I'm always reinventing the wheel in terms of how to teach an objective. It would be much nicer if everything is well organized so that I can find lesson plans that I can tweak to fit how I want to teach an objective.

Pros

Great organization with a valuable mission, making a difference every day

Cons

Little/no freetime, inadequate training, little support once placed in region

Advice to Senior Management

Corps members need far more support once they are released in their regions-- Especially in regions that are not necessarily supportive of TFA being in their schools

Pros

If you are open-minded and committed, there are plenty of opportunities for professional development and training. There is also significant support for expanding careers beyond the classroom.

Cons

It can often feel overwhelming and impossible to live up to the high expectations of the organization. It is difficult to balance the demands of being a new teacher with TFA's obligations. It is very difficult to become an effective teacher in only 2 years.

Advice to Senior Management

Keep your eyes open for those teachers who are struggling and offer more support, less pressure.

Pros

TFA is an outstanding organization; it's well run, goal-oriented, demanding, and has a highly successful alumni base. I met great people working for them and was given ample leadership opportunities.

Cons

You will work more than the number of hours allowed. I guess it's the natural downside to believing in a movement and the work surrounding it.

Advice to Senior Management

Continue focusing on goals and numbers, however, let the RDs set goals at the individual college level. Our goal was not quite possible--by decentralizing, goals may be more accurate and achievable.

Pros

The mission and the culture of Teach for America is good.

Cons

The training program is just so so.

Advice to Senior Management

Extend the scale to other developing countries.

Pros

Great work/life balance. A lot of people work from home, so there isn't a focus on face time. Really passionate people.

Cons

People tend to move quickly in and out of roles. A lot of turnover. It's a non-profit, so there's aren't a lot of perks.

Advice to Senior Management

Help people understand the potential career path to management and tell people when there is no path for them. It's okay that not everyone will be a senior leader.