Customer Reviews: Read 9 more reviews...
 A Pleasant Surprise August 25, 2008
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
I read a blurb about this book in Newsweek since Donna used to write for Newsweek. Thought it might be worth a shot. Was a whole lot better than I expected. It's a story of four teachers--Rachael, Phillip, Hrag, and Taylor. They teach at Locke High School in South L.A. It is mostly black and Latino kids and what they go through during their first year at the school. I have to tell you, I gained a whole lot more respect for teachers after reading this book. Why anybody would want to do this job, I don't know! It's a good read. You get into it right away. If you are a teacher or know a teacher, read this book, but I think anybody would enjoy this inside look at this remarkable school.
Relentless Pursuit August 19, 2008
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
I read an excerpt of this book on NPR's website, and it caught my attention. The book itself then caught the rest of me. Extremely well researched and written, I could hardly put it down. Capturing the human side of TFA and the vast challenges of our education system, this book - and its subject, the "Corps Members" of TFA - give me hope for the future.
This truly is a relentless pursuit August 15, 2008
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
I decided to read this book because I am currently in the process of applying to Teach for America and wanted to find out the truth about what it's like to teach in a challenging public school in America as a corps member. What I found out were those things and more. I didn't expect such a detailed account of what it takes to make TFA work as an organization nor did I expect to read stories from school administrators and especially not a corps member who quit. He believed that TFA "trumpeted the success of teachers making `significant gains,' and because the corps members are all psycho, and because they have always been told they can do anything they set their minds to, they chase this impossible goal, running themselves ragged to change the world."
I don't know what it's like to teach in a school like Locke, but I think Donna Foote tells it like it is. She reminded me how important the quality of a teacher is to a child's education and how dedicated corps members are to their cause no matter how overwhelming it might be. The four corps members depicted approached their teaching in different ways but each seemed to make a difference in their students' lives by the year's end. Reading this book made my heart sink and then rise again. Wendy Kopp's story alone is inspiring, but I felt like I actually knew the characters in this book while reading. I couldn't put it down.
This is a must read for anyone thinking about applying to Teach for America or anyone who has a negative view of teaching as a profession. For me, it reaffirmed my dedication to the cause of education reform and reassured me that TFA is a place I belong. For others it might do just the opposite.
 Excellent Observations July 30, 2008
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
Relentless Pursuit is a strong examination of one of the nation's most intriguing volunteer organizations. The struggles of the country's education system, particularly within impoverished urban communities, is nothing surprising to most people. But the extent to which Teach for America is involved in these struggles (and their methodology) is not common knowledge. By focusing her efforts on tracking a handful of teachers at a representative LA school and a few administrators they are involved with, Donna Foote goes a long way to illustrate the situation and some of the important questions brought up by the Teach for America phenomenon.
Good case study that could benefit from more analysis June 24, 2008
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
This is a good and valuable book. It has some limitations that prevent it from being a great book.
The book's strengths are its detailed depiction of the challenges and triumphs of 4 Teach for America teachers in a troubled high school in LA, Locke High School. The book gives a real feeling of the challenges these teachers face because of neighborhood gang problems, the poor academic preparation of many students, and issues with classroom discipline, educational bureaucracy, and the overall atmosphere of the school.
The book also gives a thumbnail depiction of the history and current operations of TFA. This includes a detailed view of how TFA selects "corps members", TFA's philosophy of "teaching as leadership", TFA's developing approach to assessment and curriculum, and TFA's expansion plans. There is also a detailed depiction of the work of the TFA program director who is overseeing the four TFA "CMs" at Locke.
This book would be useful in anyone wanting to understand some of the challenges in the very toughest urban high schools. The book would also be of interest in anyone wanting to understand TFA as an educational reform organization.
The limitation of the book is that it doesn't really explore the broader implications of TFA within American education. For example, the book mentions perceptions by the Locke high school principal, and some of the CMs, that much of the teaching at Locke High School is not good. However, none of this "bad teaching" is shown or explored. The focus is narrowly on the challenges and triumphs of the TFA teachers.
As another example, the book does not explore whether it is possible for TFA to really be the way to radically transform American education, and how. TFA currently selects relatively few applications from a highly select group of idealistic college students. It then does a unique boot camp kind of training. To what extent is any of this replicable on a broad scale? This is unclear, and is not adequately explored in the book. Perhaps TFA's most important future role in American education will be as a way of getting some highly talented people into education, where they can play a key role as educational leaders.
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