Here at Wesleyan, we are not used to shying away from a healthy debate. Recently, many discussions have been taking place in regards to Teach for America and it’s value in our current socio-political landscape. There have recently been many articles discussing the recent TFA pushback, and one has come from our very own Zach Schonfeld ’13. In his article “Meet the Teach for America Resistance Movement That’s Growing from Within,” Schonfeld paints a nuanced portrait of the TFA debates rather than a one-sided approach. Through examining both the undefined goals of a TFA corps member and alumni summit to challenge TFA while also acknowledging those who criticize the summit for not being particularly productive or effective to improve conditions for corps members or students.

Wesleyan has historically contributed many graduates to Teach for America, and TFA recruits heavily on campus. Access to education is an issue important to Wesleyan and we congratulate alums who have gone on to pursue a career in education and have found TFA a successful way to do so. However we also would like to foster an open discussion on the best ways to tackle inequalities in education. Is TFA meeting its objectives? Despite its flaws, is it the best solution we can expect? Read the rest of Zach’s article here and sound off in the comments below! We would love to hear your thoughts on this complex issue.