The Real World of Teach for America

Series produced by Learning Matters

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What is it actually like for young Teach for America corps members, thrust into a classroom after eight weeks of training?

What motivates them to teach, and what will keep them in schools after their two-year commitment ends? And is, as a recent study asks, Teach for America accomplishing its goal of creating lifetime civil servants?

This series explores those questions.

Over the course of two years, Learning Matters producers followed 7 Teach for America recruits as they fulfilled their assignments in New Orleans.


5 Pieces

Order by: Newest First | Oldest First
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University of Tennessee graduate Kady Amundson’s days rarely end when school is over. At the start of her Teach for America assignment, her school ...

  • Added: Apr 22, 2010
  • Length: 06:16
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She graduated from Princeton. She enrolled in Teach for America, worked hard and really wanted to be a role model. So why didn’t this teacher get t...

  • Added: Apr 22, 2010
  • Length: 05:47
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Meet Lindsay Ordower from Mount Holyoke College. She came to Teach for America determined to succeed. But on any given school day, Lindsay’s classr...

  • Added: Apr 22, 2010
  • Length: 05:41
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Meet Yale graduate Daniel Hoffman. He entered Teach for America with high hopes, but one year later, Daniel was out of the classroom. Sometimes eve...

  • Added: Apr 22, 2010
  • Length: 06:14
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When Wendy Kopp was a college senior she had an idea: what if some of America’s top college students chose teaching over higher-paying professional...

  • Added: Apr 22, 2010
  • Length: 09:49