Below you'll find a reprint of another article I wrote for the Tufts Observer, this time focusing on health care reform, focused on students and the political implications.
My own thoughts on reform are more complicated than might be revealed by the (hopefully impartial) news article. I'm genuinely happy that the bill passed, but it's just grossly inadequate. Doesn't do nearly enough. And I worry especially that this will allow Congress to ignore health care for many years into the future--when in reality, reform is still needed. That being said, enjoy the article.
Healthcare Cram Session: Ensuring You Know the Facts
Will Ehrenfeld
Minnesota Governor and potential 2012 presidential nominee Tim Pawlenty called it an “unprecedented overreach by the federal government.” Georgian Congressman Paul Broun called it “a war of Yankee aggression” (really). But Senator Tom Coburn from Oklahoma put it in terms everyone can understand: “To our seniors, I have a message for you: you’re going to die sooner.”
What are these Republicans responding to so angrily—and some might say outrageously? The recently passed health care bill, of course. Few pieces of legislation in recent memory have been so divisive, caused such national furor, or fueled so many protests and rallies on both sides of the political spectrum. Likewise, rarely has legislation brought with it such a dramatic change.
For all the discussion and debate regarding the health bill, knowledge of its key provisions is sorely lacking. The news media has focused on sound bites and all the outrageous rhetoric flowing from competing sides of the senate floor. For some, it has be difficult to find out how we may actually be affected by the bill, signed into law by President Obama on March 23.
Senior Andrea Lowe, president of the Tufts Democrats, highlighted the primary effect of the bill on college students nationwide—including, of course, the impact here at Tufts. Until age 26, young adults will be able to remain on their parent’s health insurance, which she said “will have a profound impact on young adults.” Previously, individual states regulated the age of maturity when children were no longer covered by their parents’ policies, generally age 18 or, in some cases, upon the completion of an undergraduate degree. Now, a universal cutoff age for health care coverage under family plans has been set, ensuring care for most undergraduates.
The reform’s impact on college students is enormous. While salvaging draining funds, undergrads will no longer need to worry about establishing an independent insurance plan apart from that of their parents until the ripe age of 26—a time when (hopefully) carefree college kids have transformed into responsible and financially secure adults. With the passing of the health care bill, a heavy burden has certainly been lifted across college campuses nationwide.
Beyond its effects on college students, the healthcare reform will help millions of other Americans. Insurance coverage will be extended to 32 million Americans who are currently uninsured. The bill also mandates that individuals cannot be denied coverage due to preexisting conditions, a provision that will be put into effect immediately for children and in 2014 for adults.
The response from Tufts’ Right, unsurprisingly, was less positive. “They are just reinforcing the status quo system of heavily regulated, private insurance,” according to senior Xander Zebrose, a member of the Tufts Republicans. The primary effect of the bill, he said, is “just forcing more people into a system that doesn’t work particularly well.”
Like the new ban on restricting coverage based on pre-existing conditions, many of the bill’s more audacious reforms will not be implemented until 2014. The individual mandate to enroll in an insurance plan—the lynchpin of Massachusetts’ health regime, which was in large part echoed in the federal program—will also be delayed until 2014, along with the ban on lifetime caps for insurance coverage. These caps, which limit the amount of money a patient can receive regardless of need, often leave families with huge debts after loved ones pass away.
A large point of contention surrounding the bill is how it will affect prices for consumers. The Congressional Budget Office (CBO), a nonpartisan body that reviews legislation for its financial impact, said that by 2016, it expects little if any increase in premiums for those with employer-sponsored plans. While individuals and families enrolled in unsponsored plans may see some rises in cost, according to the CBO, more than half of these people will qualify for federal subsidies—reducing costs by 60% on average.
Generally, these reforms will benefit middle-class families, while upper-class individuals and large corporations are likely to see increased costs and higher taxes in order to cover the cost of the new changes. Yet President Obama has taken pains to highlight the bill’s positive effects on small businesses: “This year, millions of small-business owners will be eligible for tax credits that will help them cover the cost of insurance for their employees,” he remarked in a speech in Iowa a few weeks ago.
Many commentators and pundits argue that the bill’s biggest impact will be seen in November, when mid-term elections roll around. What effect will healthcare reform have on the prospects for both parties in the 2010 elections?
The health reform bill “gives the Democrats a platform to run on,” in the words of sophomore Seth Rau, the Speakers Coordinator for the Tufts Democrats. “Once people start to know that they will be saving [money] from the bill, some more popular support will come about,” he predicts, forecasting that the Democratic Party will retain control of both chambers of Congress.
Xander Zebrose of the Tufts Republicans agreed. “I don’t think the Democrats are going to be any worse off because they passed it,” he said. The reason for this, he explained, is timing. “All the costs are delayed…the real effects will probably be farther down the road, once the bill has a real impact.”
No matter the political ramifications, it is clear that the passage of health care reform marks a dramatic shift in US social policy. It seems almost inevitable that this bill will indeed extend coverage to millions and make health insurance available and affordable to all Americans—a change that is long overdue. And, if anything, this healthcare reform will guarantee us Tufts students at least a couple more years of free insurance, courtesy of mom and dad.
Friday, April 16, 2010
Monday, April 12, 2010
Teach For America not all it's chalked up to be
This piece was originally written for the April 12 issue of the Tufts Observer magazine. It is published below in its unedited format, (edit) and here is the link: http://tuftsobserver.org/2010/04/teach-for-america-not-all-its-chalked-up-to-be/
Nobody wants to see a pop quiz outside of class, but bear with me: what program is more selective than Harvard Law School, more popular than the Peace Corps, and pays better than most entry level positions? The answer is Teach For America, and it’s taking college campuses by storm. TFA is one of the most popular programs for college graduates, particularly at Tufts: 8% of all seniors applied this year.
Teach For America is extremely selective, rejecting over 90% of applicants for the 2009-10 class of corps members, which is what TFA calls their teachers. But twenty or more current Tufts seniors will join over 4000 college graduates from around the country for five weeks of intensive summer training before becoming public school teachers in September. TFA places corps members for two-year terms in some of the roughest, most challenging schools in the country, typically in underserved urban and rural areas.
This year, over 46,000 applications were received for around 4000 positions. The program has grown immensely since its founding in 1990, and it continues to expand: next year, they plan to open sites in Rhode Island, Alabama and San Antonio. And just last year, TFA began working in the Boston region.
Welcome to Boston
Politically, the program’s rapid expansion has become quite contentious. 2009 saw the first group of corps members move into the Greater Boston region, which includes Chelsea, Cambridge, Revere and Boston. This September, 75 more new teachers will arrive in the region, 20 of whom are headed to Boston, which has been the flashpoint of a serious controversy.
Richard Stutman is the president of the Boston Teachers’ Union, and he has publicly lambasted both the district and TFA for adding corps members to Boston’s already swelled ranks of teachers. Indeed, in the fall many current teachers will not be returning to their classrooms, victims of layoffs as a result of budget cuts.
“We’ve had people with three years experience moved aside for Teach For America candidates,” Stutman said. “People from Harvard were moved out of their positions for TFA—why? Committed people with experience are being moved aside for people with no experience.
“Most people I represent feel it’s an insult,” Stutman continued. “I really can’t buy that somehow it’s better to have a 5-week program [than traditional certification]; I don’t even think the superintendent thinks it makes for a better teacher…how could it?”
Josh Biber, Executive Director of TFA in Boston, made a point to rebut Stutman: “our teachers apply for open vacancies and interview just like any other teacher candidate from anywhere else.” Elaborating on the benefit to the city TFA provides, he continued, “At the end of the day, the achievement gap is an enormous problem that unfairly holds too many kids back,” explaining that “our corps members, through their teaching, long-term leadership, and unflagging commitment to kids…can be one important piece of the solution.”
Elton Sykes (’09) began his teaching career in Tulsa, OK last September as a high school English teacher with TFA. Like Biber, he has strong feelings about what Stutman mentions above: “I do not agree with the criticism made by others,” he said, referring to Stutman’s public comments. “I feel like those criticisms are not solving the problem of educational inequality and closing the achievement gap.”
The comments from Biber and Sykes are indicative of a single-mindedness that extends throughout the organization: closing the achievement gap is their only concern. Yet, critics of TFA like Richard Stutman share this goal, as do others who are willing to criticize TFA, like freshman Laurel Starr and senior Adam Weldai.
Starr attended a K-8 school in Minneapolis where she was taught by corps members. “I remember liking these teachers on a personal level. Unfortunately, their classes were often out of control and quite frankly we didn’t learn much…they were a bit too idealistic and lacked the experience and training necessary to conduct a successful classroom.”
Weldai is a member of the Malden School Committee as well as an incoming graduate student in the Tufts M.A.T. program, and he worries about the program’s impact on young teachers and their students. “Quite frankly, you need more than two years to become a good teacher. Sending unprepared teachers into low performing districts is equally as harmful to the teacher as it is to the student, a student who needs a highly trained teacher with an education background to help them thrive.”
Robbie Havdala is a senior who will be joining TFA next year as an elementary school teacher in New York City. Not surprisingly, he disagrees with Weldai’s argument. “In my opinion, there is a certain unrecognized benefit, sometimes, of having fresh, new teachers. It adds creativity, new ideas, makes organizations more forward thinking and challenges the status quo.”
Smart people disagree on how best to train teachers and how to reform education. Yet everyone agrees on the need to address the achievement gap in schools. The question is how.
Is Teach For America Effective?
There are multiple ways to test a program’s effectiveness, but perhaps the best method is the testimony of a student. Laurel Starr spoke of mixed feelings many seem to share. “I definitely sympathize with the goals of TFA and am glad that they are working towards fixing the horrendous achievement gap….However, I feel that this program is a reflection of how public, inner city schools are severely marginalized in our society.
“Why should we give our poorest students the added disadvantage of being forced to accommodate these [inexperienced] teachers? I see it as completely unjust.” Starr’s unease with TFA’s methods extends into the academic community as well, and the organization has often been the subject of research intended to answer some of these questions.
Teach For America has been studied by various researchers, looking at different metrics and finding divergent results. Notably, the Urban Institute found in a 2008 study that “TFA teachers tend to have a positive effect on high school student test scores relative to non-TFA teachers.” On the other hand, another study found that students taught by TFA teachers performed worse on standardized tests than those taught by certified teachers (Berliner and Laczko-Kerr, 2002).
“I deeply believe the [achievement gap] is solvable, but it will take enormous commitment from people in all levels of education and in all sectors of society,” said Biber, TFA’s Boston chief. Through collaboration with other dedicated people, he said, TFA has an important role to play. With a problem as daunting as closing the achievement gap, more ideas and approaches will always be welcome, but it is important to realize that no program currently exists that can singlehandedly solve the problem—lest we forget, a staggering gap continues to exist between the school achievement of black and white and rich and poor students, and TFA is one of many approaches out there.
Nobody wants to see a pop quiz outside of class, but bear with me: what program is more selective than Harvard Law School, more popular than the Peace Corps, and pays better than most entry level positions? The answer is Teach For America, and it’s taking college campuses by storm. TFA is one of the most popular programs for college graduates, particularly at Tufts: 8% of all seniors applied this year.
Teach For America is extremely selective, rejecting over 90% of applicants for the 2009-10 class of corps members, which is what TFA calls their teachers. But twenty or more current Tufts seniors will join over 4000 college graduates from around the country for five weeks of intensive summer training before becoming public school teachers in September. TFA places corps members for two-year terms in some of the roughest, most challenging schools in the country, typically in underserved urban and rural areas.
This year, over 46,000 applications were received for around 4000 positions. The program has grown immensely since its founding in 1990, and it continues to expand: next year, they plan to open sites in Rhode Island, Alabama and San Antonio. And just last year, TFA began working in the Boston region.
Welcome to Boston
Politically, the program’s rapid expansion has become quite contentious. 2009 saw the first group of corps members move into the Greater Boston region, which includes Chelsea, Cambridge, Revere and Boston. This September, 75 more new teachers will arrive in the region, 20 of whom are headed to Boston, which has been the flashpoint of a serious controversy.
Richard Stutman is the president of the Boston Teachers’ Union, and he has publicly lambasted both the district and TFA for adding corps members to Boston’s already swelled ranks of teachers. Indeed, in the fall many current teachers will not be returning to their classrooms, victims of layoffs as a result of budget cuts.
“We’ve had people with three years experience moved aside for Teach For America candidates,” Stutman said. “People from Harvard were moved out of their positions for TFA—why? Committed people with experience are being moved aside for people with no experience.
“Most people I represent feel it’s an insult,” Stutman continued. “I really can’t buy that somehow it’s better to have a 5-week program [than traditional certification]; I don’t even think the superintendent thinks it makes for a better teacher…how could it?”
Josh Biber, Executive Director of TFA in Boston, made a point to rebut Stutman: “our teachers apply for open vacancies and interview just like any other teacher candidate from anywhere else.” Elaborating on the benefit to the city TFA provides, he continued, “At the end of the day, the achievement gap is an enormous problem that unfairly holds too many kids back,” explaining that “our corps members, through their teaching, long-term leadership, and unflagging commitment to kids…can be one important piece of the solution.”
Elton Sykes (’09) began his teaching career in Tulsa, OK last September as a high school English teacher with TFA. Like Biber, he has strong feelings about what Stutman mentions above: “I do not agree with the criticism made by others,” he said, referring to Stutman’s public comments. “I feel like those criticisms are not solving the problem of educational inequality and closing the achievement gap.”
The comments from Biber and Sykes are indicative of a single-mindedness that extends throughout the organization: closing the achievement gap is their only concern. Yet, critics of TFA like Richard Stutman share this goal, as do others who are willing to criticize TFA, like freshman Laurel Starr and senior Adam Weldai.
Starr attended a K-8 school in Minneapolis where she was taught by corps members. “I remember liking these teachers on a personal level. Unfortunately, their classes were often out of control and quite frankly we didn’t learn much…they were a bit too idealistic and lacked the experience and training necessary to conduct a successful classroom.”
Weldai is a member of the Malden School Committee as well as an incoming graduate student in the Tufts M.A.T. program, and he worries about the program’s impact on young teachers and their students. “Quite frankly, you need more than two years to become a good teacher. Sending unprepared teachers into low performing districts is equally as harmful to the teacher as it is to the student, a student who needs a highly trained teacher with an education background to help them thrive.”
Robbie Havdala is a senior who will be joining TFA next year as an elementary school teacher in New York City. Not surprisingly, he disagrees with Weldai’s argument. “In my opinion, there is a certain unrecognized benefit, sometimes, of having fresh, new teachers. It adds creativity, new ideas, makes organizations more forward thinking and challenges the status quo.”
Smart people disagree on how best to train teachers and how to reform education. Yet everyone agrees on the need to address the achievement gap in schools. The question is how.
Is Teach For America Effective?
There are multiple ways to test a program’s effectiveness, but perhaps the best method is the testimony of a student. Laurel Starr spoke of mixed feelings many seem to share. “I definitely sympathize with the goals of TFA and am glad that they are working towards fixing the horrendous achievement gap….However, I feel that this program is a reflection of how public, inner city schools are severely marginalized in our society.
“Why should we give our poorest students the added disadvantage of being forced to accommodate these [inexperienced] teachers? I see it as completely unjust.” Starr’s unease with TFA’s methods extends into the academic community as well, and the organization has often been the subject of research intended to answer some of these questions.
Teach For America has been studied by various researchers, looking at different metrics and finding divergent results. Notably, the Urban Institute found in a 2008 study that “TFA teachers tend to have a positive effect on high school student test scores relative to non-TFA teachers.” On the other hand, another study found that students taught by TFA teachers performed worse on standardized tests than those taught by certified teachers (Berliner and Laczko-Kerr, 2002).
“I deeply believe the [achievement gap] is solvable, but it will take enormous commitment from people in all levels of education and in all sectors of society,” said Biber, TFA’s Boston chief. Through collaboration with other dedicated people, he said, TFA has an important role to play. With a problem as daunting as closing the achievement gap, more ideas and approaches will always be welcome, but it is important to realize that no program currently exists that can singlehandedly solve the problem—lest we forget, a staggering gap continues to exist between the school achievement of black and white and rich and poor students, and TFA is one of many approaches out there.
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