Education and Urban Society

Educationhttp://eus.sagepub.com/ and Urban Society

Book Review: Destination: Teach for America: Building leadership, mastering the application, acing the interviews , by Whitman, J Matthew A. M. Thomas Education and Urban Society published online 2 June 2014 DOI: 10.1177/0013124514536442 The online version of this article can be found at: http://eus.sagepub.com/content/early/2014/05/31/0013124514536442.citation

Published by: http://www.sagepublications.com

Additional services and information for Education and Urban Society can be found at: Email Alerts: http://eus.sagepub.com/cgi/alerts Subscriptions: http://eus.sagepub.com/subscriptions Reprints: http://www.sagepub.com/journalsReprints.nav Permissions: http://www.sagepub.com/journalsPermissions.nav

>> OnlineFirst Version of Record - Jun 2, 2014 What is This?

Downloaded from eus.sagepub.com at UNIV OF WISCONSIN LA CROSSE on June 10, 2014

536442 research-article2014

EUSXXX10.1177/0013124514536442Education and Urban SocietyBook Review

Book Review

Book Review

Education and Urban Society 1–3 © The Author(s) 2014 Reprints and permissions: sagepub.com/journalsPermissions.nav eus.sagepub.com

Whitman, J. (2012). Destination: Teach for America: Building leadership, mastering the application, acing the interviews. Philadelphia, PA: Pine Street Press. 196 pp. $29.95. ISBN: 9780988205208 Reviewed by: Matthew A. M. Thomas, University of Wisconsin–La Crosse, USA DOI: 10.1177/0013124514536442

In Destination: Teach for America, Whitman offers an insider look at the Teach for America (TFA) application process and provides valuable insights for would-be teachers who hope to join the ranks through this alternative recruitment program. The text is straightforward and earnest in that it delivers on its claims: Destination makes the often-shadowed process of applying for a competitive position—to be a TFA corps member in this case—more visible to those who may not be familiar with an organization’s internal procedures or hiring logic. TFA maintains both a strong core ideology and a highly rigorous recruitment process, so Whitman’s book fulfills a unique niche in the educational preparation literature in that it aims to provide a competitive advantage for applicants to TFA. The book is organized, informative, and likely very useful for future applicants who wish to apply to TFA. It begins with a brief introduction that includes a preparation timeline for candidates who may wish to chart out their pre-application activities up to 2 years in advance. It then takes the reader through two larger sections about TFA and its application processes. The first section discusses TFA as an organization and its mission; it also encourages readers to consider where and how they might fit within the stated goals and expectations of TFA. The second section pertains to the application process and includes information about its various stages, including the recruitment process, online application, phone interview, selection of regional and teaching preference, and final interview. In these sections, Whitman draws on his previous experiences as both a corps member and TFA recruiter to provide salient advice for applicants who wish to successfully move through the application stages and gain acceptance into the program. The text concludes with a two-page chapter concerning a


2

Education and Urban Society

successful applicant’s decision to accept a teacher position with TFA, or not, before appendices of supplemental information. The book has several notable strengths. First, Whitman does an excellent job of explicitly highlighting the characteristics, dispositions, and experiences that are valued by TFA. In this sense, he provides what few other application guides offer: direct coaching that demystifies the process and provides readers with an insider perspective of TFA logic. In fact, some of his application and interview preparation advice is so solid that it could and should be heeded by candidates applying for a variety of positions, not just in TFA. Second, and on a more educational note, Whitman encourages future TFA corps members (and potential long-term teachers) to consider whether TFA is “right” for them. He outlines the social justice and educational equity aims of TFA and asks readers whether they align themselves fully with these causes. Third, and perhaps most importantly, Whitman includes many powerful statements that reflect the complex and often misunderstood yet amazing aspects of teaching. For example, he exhorts future teachers to view the act of teaching as a constant process of discovery and self-reflection, one that is never perfected but does become easier with practice and experience. In these and other ways, the book makes a unique contribution to the growing body of literature concerning TFA and also helps prepare candidates for their future experiences in public schools. Despite these strengths, the book also raises several questions about how readers might envisage their future in TFA, and perhaps in teaching as a longterm profession. One question concerns the premise that the presence of strong leadership qualities serves as the best predictor of good teaching. Whitman’s assessment of this causal relationship is consistent with that of TFA as an organization, but some critics of TFA might challenge this core assumption. A second question relates to the contentious debate regarding TFA as a mechanism for introducing new teachers into the profession: Will readers, and perhaps especially future corps members placed in traditional public schools rather than charter schools, be prepared for potentially charged encounters with public school teachers and community members who may not view TFA in a positive light? Although Whitman briefly states that TFA has critics and does encourage readers to explore other literature, the text largely overlooks the highly contested educational policy debate concerning the presence of TFA in U.S. public education. To this end, a future corps could enter the teaching profession woefully unaware of debates concerning TFA if this is the primary preparatory text. Finally, careful readers could perceive a number of contradictions. One might notice a contradiction between Whitman’s assertion that TFA corps members are entering a profession in which they “have no relevant


Book Review

3

experience” (p. 46), and the overarching sentiment that leadership roles in co-curricular and vocational institutions serve as a proxy for educational training or prior experience in the field of education. One might also perceive a contradiction between a strong emphasis on what truly matters—teaching students and reducing educational inequity—and how working in lowincome communities is a means to achieving an end: gaining acceptance into TFA. Readers are encouraged, for example, to “get involved with underserved youth or communities in some capacity” (p. 4) up to 2 years before they apply to improve their application and candidacy. Moreover, once accepted and then finished with their teaching commitment, Whitman states many “alumni become doctors who understand low-income children” (pp. 7-8, emphasis added). While future teachers of all sorts should certainly familiarize themselves with the communities where they will work, one would hope they are motivated by an inherent desire to invest in a community for an end greater than their TFA application, and that they would view themselves as continual learners on a path to better understandings of children from low-income families. In conclusion, this text will provide strong guidance for individuals planning to apply for a position with TFA. It includes detailed advice about who TFA aims to recruit and how these applicants should describe their experiences, beliefs, and future life goals throughout the application process. Popular critics of TFA may voice distaste of the text, TFA staff and its future recruits may welcome the effort to increase competition among applicants, and scholars may perceive many of its teaching truths to be valid, but other perspectives to be somewhat uncritical. In general, however, the text is a valuable addition to vocational preparation literature, of which there is little in the field of education. Furthermore, it largely achieves its purpose of informing future applicants about the TFA application process. Author Biography Matthew A. M. Thomas is an Assistant Professor of Educational Studies at the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse, where he teaches and coordinates educational foundations courses for graduate and undergraduate students. His scholarship focuses on teachers, educational policies, pedagogical practice, and the roles of colleges of education in domestic and international contexts. Matthew’s domestic research includes an ongoing exploration of Teach for America corps members’ experiences in traditional colleges of education and the construction of teacher identity amidst changing policy contexts.
