I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but Teach for America is not all that it's cracked up to be.

A commenter on Assistants in France writes:

I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but Teach for America is not all that it's cracked up to be. Whenever you see speakers at college they always rave about how wonderful the program is. However, these are the people that excelled and survived the program. There are many people that quit, and once you quit they blacklist you...forget any letter of recommendation.

One of my best friends from college is teaching elementary school in Texas through Teach for America, if you'd like I can give you her email/phone number so that you can talk this over with her. It's her second year on the job, so she will be able to give you valuable advice. I know that she has encountered many challenges with the local administration. For instance, it took them one month to inform her of who had learning disabilities in her classroom. They blame her for the lower than par exam scores in her class, as if it's her fault that her students came into 4th grade with 2nd grade reading levels?!!
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