Teach for Canada. Langley Teachers Association. February tml:usw2009:leu#35

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1 Teach for Canada Langley Teachers Association February 2015 tml:usw2009:leu#35

2 Introducing Teach for Canada Founded in 2013 Co-founded by Adam Goldenberg (BA Harvard) ard) and Kyle Hill (PhD Oxford). Mission: i Together, we can make Canadian education more equal. l h d t d th di it i C d launched to reduce the disparity in Canada s education outcomes

3 TFC and the lack of educational expertise Hill and Goldenberg have an ambitious agenda but limited experience as educators: Goldenberg spent a summer as a volunteer teacher in Iqaluit, Nunavut (Bettencourt- McCarthy, 2012), and Hill volunteered to teach in Jamaica and the Ukraine (Suavé Scholars, n.d.). Hill previously worked as a strategy consultant and project leader for Boston Consulting Group (BCG), one of the largest private companies in the U.S. and one of the world s largest management consultancies. Goldenberg - Hill, with degrees from yale and Harvard - worked as a speech writer and political advisor for Canada s Liberal Party.

4 Recruits for Teach for Canada Teach For Canada (TFC) states they plan to: recruit and select exceptional B.Ed graduates and educators from across the country. These Teach For Canada teachers will join TFC the summer before they begin teaching for an intensive, community-focused preparation program, designed and led by education experts, master teachers, school and community leaders, and elders, All under the direction of TFC and imbued with their perception of community preparation.

5 TFC Focused Preparation for Recruits Teach For Canada says that their teachers will: study the histories and cultures of the communities in which they will serve, and they will learn decolonizing and anti-racist pedagogies that can be used din the classroom.

6 TFC Focused Preparation for Recruits Who designs and presents the TFC pedagogies? This is a primary concern for those concerned with another form of colonization of aboriginal peoples. Many teachers believe the BCTF should request that t the BC Ministry of Education undertake an thorough overview of the curriculum prepared by Teach for Canada as a preparation program before their TFC recruits start teaching in aboriginal communities in the province.

7 TF Canada is trying to separate itself from TF America TFC insists it is not just Teach for America in Canada. TFC s own focus is on rural and Aboriginal communities. (TFA focused on poor inner city schools, another disadvantaged group in their opinion) TFC notes its training program lasts an entire summer, compared to TFA s five weeks.

8 Teach for Canada compared to Teach for America However: The main thrust of TFC at its founding was the same as TFA sending inexperienced and inexpensive teachers into the toughest classrooms with the least ability to attract and retain teachers. In the USA there is a placement fee that funds TFA. TFC states there will be none here

9 Teach for Canada compared to Teach for America Their new vision is to identify B.Ed graduates who have the skills attitudes, and mindsets to succeed. From TFC: The twin challenges of teacher supply and attrition compound historical injustice and systemic inequities to produce educational inequality. Where teacher turnover is highest, student achievement is lowest?

10 TFC s desire to work in Aboriginal communities is of particular concern It s true that there are inequalities between education on reserves and in urban centres in Canada. The idea that the solution is to parachute inexperienced, primarily non-indigenous people into schools in these communities ignores the fact that Aboriginal communities have been leading the fight for decades to take their children s education into their own hands.

11 Aboriginal Concerns Governments have responded to Aboriginal people s demands for control over education with inertia and paternalism. Per-student funding for students on reserves remains lower than students in provincial schools, a gap which is increasing.

12 TFC Concerns from Educators (1) Teach For Canada plans to recruit newly credentialed teachers, and the aim is to place them in some of the most demanding classrooms across Canada. Teach For Canada s plan does not address the need for or value of locally-sourced, home-grown educators.

13 TFC Concerns from Educators (2) Teach For Canada s plan should not be mistaken as an attempt to improve the working conditions of teachers. Teach For Canada s plan to place new teachers into remote communities is analogous with teaching as tourism (Shaker, 2014), and may normalize (or aggravate) professional isolation among teachers in remote communities.

14 TFC Concerns from Educators (3) Bower (2013) concludes that Teach For Canada is at best unhelpful and at worst harmful because: it misidentifies the problem (teacher supply vs. teacher attrition) and employs solutions that ignore and exacerbate the factors that drive teacher turnover.

15 TFC Concerns from Educators (4) The idea that the solution is to parachute inexperienced, mostly non-indigenous people into schools in these communities: ignores the fact that Aboriginal communities have been leading the fight for decades to take their children s education into their own hands.

16 Economic Concerns: What are the costs to Recruit a TFC Teacher? TFC is a for profit business and, like it s American counterpart, will be receiving a payment for each recruit placed in a First Nations Community. How will the First Nations communities in remote areas of BC afford the fee payments?

17 Economic Concerns: What are the costs to Recruit a TFC Teacher? The financial cost to (US) society of 100 TFA recruits is $8.2 million over five years, compared with the $2.2 million for traditional teachers, according to 2014 Report from the University of Colorado-Boulder s Education and the Public Interest Center. There will probably be a similar fee structure for There will probably be a similar fee structure for TF Canada.

18 Laying the Foundations Hill and Goldenberg have relied on the support of corporate and private donors. TFC secured the support of Torys LLP - an international corporate law firm that focuses on mergers, acquisitions and corporate finance. TFC has enjoyed years of pro bono support from Torys LLP When TFC was officially launched in November of 2013, it was at Torys LLP s Toronto offices (Chiose, 2013).

19 Canadian Teachers Federation Concerns Canadian Teachers Federation (2014) argues: Teach For Canada: (i) rests on the presumption that well-meaning individuals from outside can come in to school systems and fix all that is not working ; (ii) fails to recognize the hard work already being done by governments, teachers, school boards and communities to improve educational experiences and outcomes for all students ;

20 Canadian Teachers Federation Concerns (2) (iii) makes fallacious presumptions about how to best serve Aboriginal communities ; and (i ) i t f l d th t i t (iv) is part of a larger agenda that aims to dismantle and privatize public services including public education.

21 Canadian Teachers Federation Concerns (3) Teach For Canada fails to treat teaching as a commitment to a profession. Fast-track teacher preparation programs devalue teacher professionalism. In other jurisdictions where this model has been established, it includes an offshoot branch that supports Teach For... alumni in running for public office to work against public services.

22 TFC Timeline for 2015 They are on the move: Deadline to apply: March 15, 2015 If you re in your final months of a B.Ed. or M.Ed. program, or a recent graduate of such a program, or an experienced educator and you re qualified to teach within grades JK-8. TEACHER SELECTION: APRIL 2015 In April 2015, our selection committee will interview and select the first cohort of Teach For Canada teachers. TEACHER PREPARATION: SUMMER 2015 In July-August 2015, Teach For Canada s teachers will attend a month-long Teacher Preparation Forum in northern Ontario.

23 TFC Topics for Teacher Preparation Program Topics include, but from whose point of view? The historical context of education: Context-setting on topics including Canadian history, residential schools, intergenerational trauma, federal policies on Indigenous education, and anti-racist and decolonizing pedagogies. Community context: Lessons on community values, governance, local traditions and knowledge, and local challenges.

24 TFC Topics for Teacher Preparation Program Teaching strategies for remote and Indigenous schools: Lessons on specific learning styles, community-focused pedagogy, curriculum guidelines, classroom management, assessment and instruction, and working with students and families. Personal support: Lessons on personal development, social-emotional support, self-care, and strategies for successful community engagement.

25 What isn t needed Slick marketing isn t what s needed to fix educational inequities in Canada..

26 What is needed? What is required is adequate funding for public education, a commitment to Aboriginal-led education on reserves, and addressing of systemic issues such as racism, poverty and inequality