Black Lives Matter, Teach for America, and Racial Justice in Education

[ellenrr]

Open Letter to DeRay Mckesson on TFA and Racial Justice in Education,
from the Philadelphia Federation of Teachers. (DeRay Mckesson is an activist in Black Lives Matter and former teacher with Teach For America. He is in Philadelphia to speak alongside Teach for America)

The Caucus of Working Educators is committed to racial justice in our schools and society, and we stand in solidarity with the #BlackLivesMatter movement.

We see Teach for America as working in opposition to the goals of publicly funded education for all students in Philadelphia and to the goal of increasing the number of teachers of color and teachers who are committed to building relationships with communities over the long term, which we see as an integral component of culturally responsive teaching.

We do not believe that the white billionaires that bankroll Teach for America and the corporate education “reform” movement are any more interested in the education of poor and working class Black and Latino children than we believe they are interested in ending police violence in Black and Brown communities.

http://www.workingeducators.org/open_letter_to_deray_mckesson

[msrizzo]

1. Fantastic Letter

So many people I know have a hard time understanding when I say the Teach for America is a fail. This letter lays it out really well. Thanks for sharing it.

[Erich Bloodaxe BSN]

2. I understand that TfA participants are sincere in their wish to help children.

But I sure as heck wish they weren't knocking real teachers out of classrooms, and instead were working on reforming the FUNDING mechanisms of public education, such that crumbling schools got the money they need to do repairs and expansions, and hire real teachers, paid reasonable salaries, in such numbers as to not be overworked into exhaustion.

I respect DeRay's work as an activist, and his desire to help children. But I don't think I'd list TfA on any resume.