  Although it is not without its warts, I greatly respect Teach For America, so I was thrilled to see the Washington Post's Jay Matthews give it a urlLink somewhat complimentary write-up in yesterday's Washington Post.
[Full disclosure - I'm an alumnus of Teach For America's 2001 Mississippi Delta corps] I was especially pleased that, unlike many columnists who have written about TFA, Matthews emphasized that while it's a good program, it can't even come close to solving the gross injustice that is the education gap between advantaged and disadvantaged socio-economic and racial groups in our country. He's right about that. Expecting TFA and similar programs to erase the education gap would be like expecting the urlLink Abraham Lincoln Brigade to win World War Two, and suggesting otherwise understates the crisis in urban and rural education.
He was also right to refrain from effusively praising Teach For America teachers' real but modest success, which was focus of a urlLink recent study . He went too far when he said that their "gain was similar to my batting average in the Old Folks League going from .067 to .073.
" Even if his math added up, the comparison trivializes teachers' efforts. Still, his jist that Teach For America is a worthwhile organization that doesn't move mountains is right on. For sake of balance and positivity, check out this urlLink short bit of anecdotal evidence on what Teach For America corps members sometimes accomplish. To ignore the stars within TFA while discussing the program's impact would show disregard for their efforts, and I don't want to do that. 
