1) What grade/subject are you teaching? Rural/Inner city?
High school chemistry (grades 10-12), inner city.
2) What has your general experience been like? i.e. positive/negative, motivating/demotivating, etc.
Positive and motivating, but it depends on your school. I've had the experience of working for different schools my first and second year. My first year, I taught at a large school that had an inefficient administration. I had very little support from the administrators. There was low morale amongst the teachers, who felt that the admins were not doing a good job. Professional development consisted of b---- sessions. Classes were HUGE. Increases in class size make it exponentially harder to manage classes. Students do not learn well in classes that are not managed well. My largest class last year consisted of 47 students. In the end, students suffered.
I am currently teaching at a completely different school this year. It's been a completely different experience. People here care about the school. Administrators are very supportive and all teachers here try their best to do well. There are also a ton of resources here. Plus, second year is generally easier and I'm teaching an easier curriculum.
Unfortunately, most schools where TFAeres are found lack efficient administrators or sufficient supplies, or both. TFA does not place corps members in schools that are above a certain API (700 or so). Student test scores are usually too high for TFA to place in schools that have good admin AND money.
3) Has your school had adequate materials to teach in a manner you believe is effective? If not, are the resources you need coverable out of your own pocket? My first year, no. Second year, yes.
Your experience will depend on your school. There are always free resources and grants, especially if you plan on teaching science. You just have to look for them.
4) Have you been able to find motivated teachers and students?
Always! Sadly, there are also many demotivated teachers as well. Just don't hang out with them. They give bad advice. One of the veteran teachers at my old school told me to have my students trace science comics strips.
5) Do you feel your salary was enough to live on comfortably or does it cut it very close?
It's a good salary. I live in the city, pay 1k a month for rent, a few thousand for tuition, and I still have money leftover. For those of you going straight from college to TFA, where you're used to NOT spending, it'll be more than enough money.
6) Do you feel you made a difference? Would you do it again?
I think so. And yes, I would.
Just as a WARNING:
It's hard. All you do your first year is work work work work work, and when you're not working, you're thinking or dreaming about work. It's not an 8-5 job. You teaching from 8-3 or so, then go home and make phone calls, lesson plan, grade, etc. There's ALWAYS more you can do to make your classroom better.
Not all corps members make significant gains. It's easier to a make these gains when you're in elementary school, but it's more difficult at the upper grades. If you are a science major (likely), you'll be asked to teach secondary science (middle or high school science), one of the most difficult subjects to teach and coincidentally one of the most needed (we have to import science teachers from other countries to fill all the spots).
Don't do it to make your med school apps or your resume look better. If you do, you'll end up dreading school every day and wondering why you didn't do something easier. TFA is a good extracurricular but unlike what the website advertises, it won't make you a shoo in for med schools. I know many corps members that were fantastic teachers, yet did not get into an MD school. In the end, if that's all you're doing it for, all TFA is is a time-consuming extracurricular, a job.
PM me if you want to know more info.
