Books: Readings

Michael Shapiro has tracked the teaching careers of seven recent college graduates who enlisted in Teach For America, the maverick teaching program that places young graduates,often from exclusive private schools, in inner-city and rural public schools. In Who Will Teach for America?--the hard-text companion to a PBS documentary on the topic--he tells their story.

An author and Columbia University professor of journalism, Mr. Shapiro sees the strengths and shortcomings of the T.F.A. program reflected in the experiences of the individual teachers he chronicles. Excerpted below is part of his assessment:

[I]s Teach For America the answer? Yes, and no. The success of Teach For America is rooted, in good measure, upon its speed. It has quickly succeeded in making teaching so attractive a choice--if only for two years--that five college graduates who might not have considered teaching are applying for every place in the program. So, too, has Teach For America succeeded in getting those people into the classroom, filling a chronic shortage in the nation's most beleaguered schools. It has quickly learned from its early mistakes--and is now providing the kinds of support, through mentors and outside counselors, that the first group of corps members lacked. That people who have many career choices are, if only temporarily, choosing teaching, cannot help but enhance the...