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My wife and I joined the New York City Teaching Fellows—a NYC-based spinoff of TFA—in 2006 at the tender age of 22. I taught in the New York City public school
by stevekinney 13y ago
My wife and I joined the New York City Teaching Fellows—a NYC-based spinoff of TFA—in 2006 at the tender age of 22. I taught in the New York City public school system for seven years and earned my masters in special education and a school building leader license along the way. Much of the article jives with my experience.
Not only is there little to no support for teachers, but it sometimes feels like because there are a few bad teachers floating around in the system, that everyone needs to be punished and inconvenienced. I like job security as much as the next person, but I was a huge advocate for getting rid of tenure as a result.
I'm still incredibly passionate about education, but suspect that being a teacher is the best way to create change. Even in my short tenure, the amount of bureaucracy had increased exponentially. When asked for advice on becoming a teacher by a college student recently, I recommended against it—which broke my own heart, because I believe that it's an incredibly important profession—just not one I would give my twenties to again knowing what I know now.