Synopsis
Grounded in the belief that hope comes from a place of reality, not necessarily popular ideology, this book explores the gap between designated and actual narratives within Teach For America. TFA founder Wendy Kopp stated that there is “nothing elusive” about successful teaching; people simply need to “work hard” and be “disciplined.” Taking an inquiry stance, Sarah Matsui surveyed and interviewed 26 of her fellow corps members in the Greater Philadelphia region. Their counternarratives collectively problematize this standard reform rhetoric. Many are working hard, yet their stories and challenges are complex, elusive, and commonly self described with the words “shame,” “failure,” and “isolating.” Corps members reported experiencing new levels of fatigue, alcohol dependency, depression, and trauma during their two-year service commitment with TFA. Learning from Counternarratives in Teach For America utilizes multiple frameworks to analyze the depth and range of corps members’ experiences. Relevant to helping professionals and people working to address constructed systems of inequity, this book ultimately advocates for a more honest, contextualized, and egalitarian approach to reform—one that openly addresses both individual and systemic realities.
Table of Contents
Chapter 1. Counternarratives and the Complexity of a Fuller Truth
Chapter 2. Examining the “TFA Script” explores the oversimplification of complex, structurally-rooted challenges to what CMs called “the TFA Kool-Aid.” This chapter problematizes the designated “TFA script” and specific TFA slogans.
Chapter 3. Unexpected Life Changes Teaching in TFA: Counseling, Medical Prescriptions, Weight Changes, Increased Alcohol Consumption, Strained Relationships, Fatigue provides a thick description of negative changes CMs experienced while in TFA.
Chapter 4. The Reality of Trauma in TFA identifies CMs’ experiences with varying levels of trauma, secondary trauma, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), compassion fatigue, and vicarious traumatization. This chapter provides language to discuss trauma and explores CMs’ feelings of helplessness, isolation, their avoidance behaviors and tipping points, and the limited space and resource they had in TFA to process these experiences.
Chapter 5. TFA’s Culture of Guilt & Shame. CMs described interactions in which they felt attacked, guilty, or ashamed for ways they differed from TFA messaging, staff, and culture. This chapter delineates the differences between individual and systemic work, explores the limits of CMs’ agency, explores the negative effects of guilt and shame narratives, and raises questions about TFA’s responsibility for its narrative and for the wellbeing of its CMs.
Chapter 6. The Complex, Politicized Process of TFA and CM Identity Development outlines the nature of identity development as a complex, politicized process. This chapter explores both the general challenges of developing a professional teacher identity and the particular constraints CMs faced in TFA relating to complex racial, cultural, and political dynamics. Many CMs felt they lacked the language, time, and support to engage meaningfully in understanding their own identities in relationship to their students’ identities. CMs struggled to identify their social location or unpack their prejudices and privileges, and they struggled with TFA’s instructions to teach their students to be “racially aware.”
Chapter 7. TFA Idealism and the Hero Teacher Narrative. Many CMs entered TFA as idealists and had their idealism reinforced in TFA. This chapter identifies a gap between CMs’ designated idealistic hero narrative that they expected and the actual disillusioning reality that they experienced. The teacher hero narrative has individual and systemic repercussions. Idealism can cause harm where it intends to help, and idealism falls short in addressing complex, systemic challenges.
Chapter 8. Listening and Learning from Counternarratives: Moving Idealism Towards Hope provides a summary of key questions and findings.
Appendix A: Titles and Acronyms
Appendix B: Journal Reflection
Appendix C: Data Analysis
Appendix D: Recommendations to TFA Staff
Appendix E: Elle’s E-mail
Grounded in the belief that hope comes from a place of reality, not necessarily popular ideology, this book explores the gap between designated and actual narratives within Teach For America. TFA founder Wendy Kopp stated that there is “nothing elusive” about successful teaching; people simply need to “work hard” and be “disciplined.” Taking an inquiry stance, Sarah Matsui surveyed and interviewed 26 of her fellow corps members in the Greater Philadelphia region. Their counternarratives collectively problematize this standard reform rhetoric. Many are working hard, yet their stories and challenges are complex, elusive, and commonly self described with the words “shame,” “failure,” and “isolating.” Corps members reported experiencing new levels of fatigue, alcohol dependency, depression, and trauma during their two-year service commitment with TFA. Learning from Counternarratives in Teach For America utilizes multiple frameworks to analyze the depth and range of corps members’ experiences. Relevant to helping professionals and people working to address constructed systems of inequity, this book ultimately advocates for a more honest, contextualized, and egalitarian approach to reform—one that openly addresses both individual and systemic realities.
Table of Contents
Chapter 1. Counternarratives and the Complexity of a Fuller Truth
Chapter 2. Examining the “TFA Script” explores the oversimplification of complex, structurally-rooted challenges to what CMs called “the TFA Kool-Aid.” This chapter problematizes the designated “TFA script” and specific TFA slogans.
Chapter 3. Unexpected Life Changes Teaching in TFA: Counseling, Medical Prescriptions, Weight Changes, Increased Alcohol Consumption, Strained Relationships, Fatigue provides a thick description of negative changes CMs experienced while in TFA.
Chapter 4. The Reality of Trauma in TFA identifies CMs’ experiences with varying levels of trauma, secondary trauma, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), compassion fatigue, and vicarious traumatization. This chapter provides language to discuss trauma and explores CMs’ feelings of helplessness, isolation, their avoidance behaviors and tipping points, and the limited space and resource they had in TFA to process these experiences.
Chapter 5. TFA’s Culture of Guilt & Shame. CMs described interactions in which they felt attacked, guilty, or ashamed for ways they differed from TFA messaging, staff, and culture. This chapter delineates the differences between individual and systemic work, explores the limits of CMs’ agency, explores the negative effects of guilt and shame narratives, and raises questions about TFA’s responsibility for its narrative and for the wellbeing of its CMs.
Chapter 6. The Complex, Politicized Process of TFA and CM Identity Development outlines the nature of identity development as a complex, politicized process. This chapter explores both the general challenges of developing a professional teacher identity and the particular constraints CMs faced in TFA relating to complex racial, cultural, and political dynamics. Many CMs felt they lacked the language, time, and support to engage meaningfully in understanding their own identities in relationship to their students’ identities. CMs struggled to identify their social location or unpack their prejudices and privileges, and they struggled with TFA’s instructions to teach their students to be “racially aware.”
Chapter 7. TFA Idealism and the Hero Teacher Narrative. Many CMs entered TFA as idealists and had their idealism reinforced in TFA. This chapter identifies a gap between CMs’ designated idealistic hero narrative that they expected and the actual disillusioning reality that they experienced. The teacher hero narrative has individual and systemic repercussions. Idealism can cause harm where it intends to help, and idealism falls short in addressing complex, systemic challenges.
Chapter 8. Listening and Learning from Counternarratives: Moving Idealism Towards Hope provides a summary of key questions and findings.
Appendix A: Titles and Acronyms
Appendix B: Journal Reflection
Appendix C: Data Analysis
Appendix D: Recommendations to TFA Staff
Appendix E: Elle’s E-mail
