Second-year Curry student Hal Turner spoke Tuesday night at a Students for Education Reform event to discuss his time with the Teach for America program and address concerns many individuals have about the benefits of the program.
Turner worked in special education in a New Orleans KIPP School. Turner, who graduated with an Art History major from the College in 2005, said he never intended to go into teaching.
“I really had no interest in education as a definite coming out of college,” he said.
A Teach for America recruiter approached Turner, shared her experiences with him and inspired him to apply, he said.
The University is consistently one of the top 10 contributors to TFA, among schools with 10,000 or more students, according to a U.Va. Today article published in September. Forty-five members of the Class of 2013 entered the TFA corps, and nine percent of the class applied to the program.
Turner said he often felt unprepared for his job.
“I had no idea how [the students] were going to get through the education system with just me,” he said. “I was not qualified at all to be the sole individual responsible for these kids’ futures.”
Turner said a major problem facing the education system today is a lack of quality educators.
“There are never, never, enough good teachers,” he said.
Turner addressed the often dramatic affect a TFA corps member’s departure, after the completion of the two-year term, has on students, a common criticism of TFA. After Turner left, one of his students transferred, and eventually dropped out of school because of his departure.
“He refused to work with KIPP anymore because I wasn’t there,” Turner said.
His former student, now a 17-year-old, “now has a kid, and is selling drugs,” Turner said.
Turner described his helplessness to the situation.
“Now I’m just kind of waiting for that call that he’s either in jail or dead,” he said.
Turner said he experienced “a culture shock” upon returning to the University and entering the Education School. Teaching lends a certain perspective, he said, which many in education lack.
“You need to see firsthand what the challenges are for the students you are trying to change the policy for,” Turner said.
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