Wendy Kopp: Opportunity to attain an excellent education and life

Its slogan is “One day all children in this nation will have the opportunity to attain an excellent education”.
In 2007, the programme expanded into Teach for All, which operates in over 30 countries around the world, including Thailand.
Wendy Kopp recently visited Bangkok and gave this special interview to The Nation.

Q: WHERE DID YOU GET THE IDEA FOR TEACH FOR AMERICA?
A: Twenty-five years ago when I was a senior at Princeton University, I had become very focused on the fact that my own country, which aspires to become a place of equal opportunity, is really far from that. Where kids are born predict the kind of education they would attain and eventually where they end up.
I was convinced that there were thousands of graduating seniors out there who would jump at the chance to be part of the effort to address that. So it led to the idea of a national teacher corp.
At that time, top graduates were aggressively recruited to commit two years to working in investment banks, so I thought why don’t we recruit as aggressively to teach in our highest poverty communities? I felt that would make an immediate impact for children and also would really shape up the priorities of a generation of leaders, and I thought that would make a fundamental change in our country.

Q: WHAT IS THE MAIN PROBLEM IN US EDUCATION THAT YOU WANT TO SOLVE?
A: Education inequity. It turns out to be a pervasive global problem. Socio-economic background predicts educational outcome. In the United States, if you are part of the 20 per cent of children who are born below the poverty line, you have about 10 per cent chance of getting a college degree versus if you are in the top quartile, you have 80 per cent chance. You most need a college degree if you live below the poverty line as a way of breaking the cycle of poverty.

Q: WHAT IS THE BIGGEST IMPACT THAT TEACH FOR AMERICA AND TEACH FOR ALL TEACHERS HAVE ON THE SCHOOLS THAT THEY TEACH?
A: What fuels my optimism is what I’ve seen in communities where we have been placing a steady stream of people in the past 20-25 years. If you take out people of Teach for America out of the equation, you would take out so much energy and leadership that has driven the change. Children in Washington, DC, under-perform children in Harlem by two years, and children in Harlem under-perform privileged children by another two to three years.
One of the very worst performing school systems in the country became one of the fastest-improving schools in the country. We are now channelling our country’s top talent towards this issue and they get so turned on by it and don’t leave. That’s what I am seeing evidence of all across the world.

Q: THERE ARE CRITICISMS THAT TEACH FOR AMERICA AND TEACH FOR ALL TEACHERS ARE TOO INEXPERIENCED AND THE TRAINING IS TOO SHORT. WHAT WOULD YOU SAY TO THAT?
A: I would say there’s a lot of misunderstanding. This programme, unlike most teacher-training programmes, is a two-year programme of pre-service and on-going professional development. Most research shows that teachers develop most once they start teaching, and what you really need is ongoing coaching and professional development, which is the way this programme allocates resources to. There is quite significant research on this model in the United States and the United Kingdom that shows our teachers are at least as effective, and in many cases, more effective than other teachers in their schools.
Q: IS A LACK OF TEACHERS A BIG ISSUE IN COUNTRIES AROUND THE WORLD?
A: It depends on the country. Virtually every country in the world struggles with channelling its most educated recent graduates towards this issue. All over the world we send our top talents into finance, technology, medicine, law, everywhere but towards expanding opportunities for the most marginalised children. This is what this organisation is working to address.

Q: WHAT IS YOUR PLAN FOR TEACH FOR THAILAND?
A: It’s exciting to see the progress that Teach for Thailand has made. I am just so impressed by the hearts and minds drawn to this work – the fellows, the college students who are now applying to the programme, the incredible governmental allies, the experienced educators who have committed to mentor the teachers, the incredible champions in the private sector. It’s exciting to see a programme so early on in its trajectory with so much commitment at every level. The future is very bright, but to fulfil its potential it needs to attain much greater scale.

Q: IT HAS BEEN 25 YEARS SINCE YOU FOUNDED TEACH FOR AMERICA. WHAT IS THE BIGGEST LESSON YOU’VE LEARNED?
A: The biggest lesson I’ve learned is that the education inequity is a solvable problem. I’ve seen so much evidence, at so many levels, in so many countries in the world now, that when we meet the most marginalised children with high expectations and provide them with extra support, they excel in an absolute scale. To see that everyday fuels my sense of urgency and my colleagues’ sense of urgency. If it’s possible, then we have a moral responsibility to make it happen and I believe that we can.