It may not be either perfect or a permanent solution but one does not need to be a brain surgeon to understand the value of, "...much better academic qualifications".

What a surprise: if you are better educated and have a much more thorough grip on the subject matter, you just might make a reasonably good teacher for others who want to learn what you know.

Given that these high achieving college graduates go into some of the worst schools in America and often generate superior results, the common sense of it is inescapable to anyone who does not have a self-serving agenda to pursue.

The fact that Teach For America is out of the control of educrats (administrators and bureaucrats in the world of education) and beyond the reach of teacher's unions tells us there is hope for those who are being robbed of a decent education by both of these abusive groups. In the ultimate bit of cruelty it is, of course, the poor who suffer the most at the hands to these two political interest power grubbers.

Part of the formula to save public education in America is to pry the greedy and ill directed fingers of educrats and teacher's unions from around the throats of our kids and our schools. That would go a long way in restoring academics to our senselessly politically correct system of public indoctrination (that is: education).

It is time to reinvent our failed public school systems with something that works. This story proves that it can, and should, be done.


Amazing Teacher Facts

This month 3,700 recent college grads will begin Teach for America's five-week boot camp, before heading off for two-year stints at the nation's worst public schools. These young men and women were chosen from almost 25,000 applicants, hailing from our most selective colleges. Eleven per cent of Yale's senior class, 9% of Harvard's and 10% of Georgetown's applied for a job whose salary ranges from $25,000 (in rural South Dakota) to $44,000 (in New York City).

Hang on a second.

Unions keep saying the best people won't go into teaching unless we pay them what doctors and lawyers and CEOs make. Not only are Teach for America salaries significantly lower than what J.P. Morgan might offer, but these individuals go to some very rough classrooms. What's going on?

It seems that Teach for America offers smart young people something even better than money – the chance to avoid the vast education bureaucracy. Participants need only pass academic muster and attend the summer training before entering a classroom. If they took the traditional route into teaching, they would have to endure years of "education" courses to be certified.

The American Federation of Teachers commonly derides Teach for America as a "band-aid." One of its arguments is that the program only lasts two years, barely enough time, they say, to get a handle on managing a classroom. However, it turns out that two-thirds of its grads stay in the education field, sometimes as teachers, but also as principals or policy makers.

More importantly, it doesn't matter that they are only in the classroom a short time, at least according to a recent Urban Institute study. Here's the gist: "On average, high school students taught by TFA corps members performed significantly better on state-required end-of-course exams, especially in math and science, than peers taught by far more experienced instructors. The TFA teachers' effect on student achievement in core classroom subjects was nearly three times the effect of teachers with three or more years of experience."

Jane Hannaway, one of the study's co-authors, says Teach for America participants may be more motivated than their traditional teacher peers.
Second, they may receive better support during their experience. But, above all, Teach for America volunteers tend to have much better academic qualifications.
They come from more competitive schools and they know more about the subjects they teach. Ms. Hannaway notes, "Students are better off being exposed to teachers with a high level of skill."

The strong performance in math and science seems to confirm that the more specialized the knowledge, the more important it is that teachers be well versed in it. (Imagine that.) No amount of time in front of a classroom will make you understand advanced algebra better.

Teach for America was pleased, but not exactly shocked, by these results. "We have always been a data-driven organization," says spokesman Amy Rabinowitz.
"We have a selection model we've refined over the years." The organization figures out which teachers have been most successful in improving student performance and then seeks applicants with similar qualities. "It's mostly a record of high academic achievement and leadership in extracurricular activities."

Sounds like the way the private sector hires. Don't tell the teachers unions.

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