Dmmetler Posted September 24 Share Posted September 24 L is applying for Teach for America, and applied in the first round-and got an interview! It's quite a process (very involved application, and the interview is several hours and includes teaching a lesson and presenting an action plan for an issue you see in public education). L plans to teach a lesson on adaptations in animals (focusing on venom and poison) and to present an action plan on equity in gifted programming, particularly for 2e BIPOC students. It's been really weird to be outside the application process this time... 21 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ScoutTN Posted September 24 Share Posted September 24 If she had her choice, what level/grade would she teach? Is she thinking of staying in her college city or coming back home or is she up for an all new place? (Come to Music City, L! Our schools need you!) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dmmetler Posted September 25 Author Share Posted September 25 Atlanta is the first choice, because of friends there who aren't graduating this Spring (or already have, but are still in the area). I'm pushing hard for "You can live at home, save money, and not have to deal with managing meals, etc while teaching and working on a masters", but I don't think I'm likely to win. By applying in the first round, the chance of getting your first choice is a lot higher. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roadrunner Posted September 25 Share Posted September 25 She will be amazing at whatever she does! I can’t wrap my head that she is already finishing up college. A little surprised she isn’t applying for PHD programs in her field. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dmmetler Posted September 26 Author Share Posted September 26 On 9/24/2024 at 11:21 PM, Roadrunner said: She will be amazing at whatever she does! I can’t wrap my head that she is already finishing up college. A little surprised she isn’t applying for PHD programs in her field. Can't decide what to specialize in (even herpetology gets sliced and diced) and also wants to "undo" the grade skips and start grad school at least legally able to go to a bar, given the amount of networking that seems to happen there. L sees this more as a "gap year" or two, or like going on a mission for a couple of years than as a permanent career path (which is part of TFA's goal-that if there's going to be high teacher mobility anyway, let's get people out there in different professions who actually understand public education from the inside). L's aim is middle school STEM-they have enough credits to qualify as highly qualified in Bio, Chem, or Math (or psychology, but that's not a middle school subject). L feels that there wouldn't be enough of an age gap with high schoolers to be seen as an authority. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roadrunner Posted September 26 Share Posted September 26 46 minutes ago, Dmmetler said: Can't decide what to specialize in (even herpetology gets sliced and diced) and also wants to "undo" the grade skips and start grad school at least legally able to go to a bar, given the amount of networking that seems to happen there. L sees this more as a "gap year" or two, or like going on a mission for a couple of years than as a permanent career path (which is part of TFA's goal-that if there's going to be high teacher mobility anyway, let's get people out there in different professions who actually understand public education from the inside). L's aim is middle school STEM-they have enough credits to qualify as highly qualified in Bio, Chem, or Math (or psychology, but that's not a middle school subject). L feels that there wouldn't be enough of an age gap with high schoolers to be seen as an authority. Makes sense. she will do great things in life. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dmmetler Posted September 30 Author Share Posted September 30 Please keep L in your thoughts tomorrow-between the Hurricane and two days of campus shut down, the chemical fire today that is causing headaches and dizziness (Agnes is out of the evacuation zone, but is definitely affected) and the elevator being broken (not good with hypermobile joints), it's definitely becoming a challenging situation! 6 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ScoutTN Posted September 30 Share Posted September 30 (edited) 4 hours ago, Dmmetler said: Please keep L in your thoughts tomorrow-between the Hurricane and two days of campus shut down, the chemical fire today that is causing headaches and dizziness (Agnes is out of the evacuation zone, but is definitely affected) and the elevator being broken (not good with hypermobile joints), it's definitely becoming a challenging situation! Ugh. Sounds miserable. Praying for L, and for conditions to improve quickly. Are they still having classes? Can she Zoom? Edited September 30 by ScoutTN Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dmmetler Posted October 1 Author Share Posted October 1 Interview starts in about 10 minutes 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dmmetler Posted October 1 Author Share Posted October 1 L thinks it went well. Listing Atlanta, Piedmont Triad in NC and Memphis as top 3 choices, and middle school general science and high school biology as top choices (with middle school math, middle school general Ed, and older elementary as other options). L also qualified on the Spanish assessment for Bilingual Ed. 8 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Drama Llama Posted October 3 Share Posted October 3 This is wonderful! TFA is very selective. I hope she gets a wonderful placement. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nart Posted October 7 Share Posted October 7 Good luck to L, and If accepted into TFA I really hope L has a good placement because so much will depend on the admin running the school. I would caution that TFA is often looked upon negatively by many in public education and it has a high "churn and burn" rate. Add to that post-Pandemic teaching in general has become even more demanding to due phone addiction, apathy, and extremely challenging behavior. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dmmetler Posted October 7 Author Share Posted October 7 7 hours ago, Nart said: Good luck to L, and If accepted into TFA I really hope L has a good placement because so much will depend on the admin running the school. I would caution that TFA is often looked upon negatively by many in public education and it has a high "churn and burn" rate. Add to that post-Pandemic teaching in general has become even more demanding to due phone addiction, apathy, and extremely challenging behavior. Oh, I know....(former urban school teacher and education school faculty). But sometimes, kids have to do it their own way, and L's got more teaching experience than most. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Malam Posted October 8 Share Posted October 8 Just curious, why did she choose TFA over applying as a teacher via an alternative pathway (e.g https://www.atlantapublicschools.us/page/44645 ) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dmmetler Posted October 8 Author Share Posted October 8 6 hours ago, Malam said: Just curious, why did she choose TFA over applying as a teacher via an alternative pathway (e.g https://www.atlantapublicschools.us/page/44645 ) TFA has the earliest application deadline and the lowest acceptance rate, so there's time to apply in other ways if this doesn't work. The idea of knowing by November that there's a job after graduation has a LOT of appeal. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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