Duval’s five million dollar question.

It is not, what does it matter if we spend five million a year to bring in just 200 Teach for America hobbyists if local business leaders are paying for it.

The question is, why would business leaders insist on funding these novices in the first place.

Do you think our grocer in chief, Gary Chartrand if he needed help in his grocery business would hire a recent philosophy grad, put them through a five-week grocery store course and then have them run a division? No, if he is a good businessman, he would want the up and comer from the competitor or an all-star recent grad. But for some reason he thinks it’s okay to put these hobbyists (and at an exorbitant cost too) in the classrooms of our most neediest students or the exact opposite of what we know to be best practices.

Somebody needs to ask him why beating the bushes looking for the best of the best is a terrible plan but putting non-education majors with barely any training in our neediest classrooms, where there will be an ever-revolving door (because they only stay for two years) is.

They can't answer that question which means for some reason it would be bad for their businesses but it is AOK for poor and mostly minority children.

Are there great TFA teachers and people who have al the training and desire who made the wrong choice? Sure but playing the odds the latter is going to do much better and I can’t imagine any parent picking a TFAer over a professional teacher. Can you?