Teach for America

(Recommended by Larry)

"The history of TFA reveals the ironies of contemporary education reform. In its mission to deliver justice to underprivileged children, TFA and the liberal education reform movement have advanced an agenda that advances conservative attempts to undercut teacher’s unions. More broadly, TFA has been in the vanguard in forming a neoliberal consensus about the role of public education—and the role of public school teachers—in a deeply unequal society."

Read here: http://jacobinmag.com/2011/12/teach-for-america/

Original Article: Please Stop Using the Phrase 'Achievement Gap'

Here is Camika Royal's original article on the phrase "achievement gap".

ARTICLE: "Please Stop Using the Phrase 'Achievement Gap'

Here's the beginning of her piece...

Recently, I've been more and more troubled with the phrase "achievement gap." I was a 1999 Teach For America corps member and recently, in my occasional work with the organization, I've begun to share my concerns about what this concept suggests.

Because of America's racial history and legacy, the cross-racial comparison that holds up white student achievement as the universally standard goal is problematic. Further, the term "achievement gap" is inaccurate because it blames the historically marginalized, under-served victims of poor schooling and holds whiteness and wealth as models of excellence. And, as with all misnomers, the thinking that undergirds the achievement gap only speaks of academic outcomes, not the conditions that led to those outcomes, nor does it acknowledge that the outcomes are a consequence of those conditions.

I'm still mulling over what I think about her comments, but here's one quote that I thought was really powerful: "Words count because they indicate place, position, and power."