NYC Teaching Fellows reviews about "class"

The teaching fellows are undertrained over achievers who are thrown into some of the worst schools in New York City. Pre-service training is a terrible ordeal. You will be placed in a summer school with students who have failed the academic year and no prior training to deal with the types of problems these children may have. Be prepared to work 12-hour days, have prep work to complete once you get home and run on 2-3 hours of sleep per night. Your weekends will be consumed by work trying to prepare for the coming week. While you are actually at the training site, you will be treated without dignity and as if you are a prisoner. You will not be able to leave the campus for any reason; for food coffee, or even to make copies if the printer happens to be broken as it often was. One trainer was a decent person, the rest were sadistic and looking for excuses to give teachers low evaluations and kick them out. They give very little actionable feedback, yet expect you to hit their unrealistic standards - prepare to be judged, not coached. Don't ask for help because you won’t get and it will be seen as a sign of weakness. My trainer was late everyday and missed important meeting with her fellows. However, if you are a fellow they will throw you out for the same behavior. Two times late and it counts as an absence, and after two absences they throw you out. Some fellows had to commute across the city up to two hours yet there are training centers throughout all the boroughs. Many fellows drop out. On the last day they tell all those remaining that they have "made it" only to have some receive an email several weeks later informing them that they have been dropped from the program for "not meeting expectations." Some fellows have it easier with small groups of quiet students. Others have classes of 30 or more. Either way, you will be held up to the same expectations and viewed as responsible for whatever behavioral problems these students may have. Think very carefully before placing your career in the hands of incompetent individuals and a flawed program. Look into other alternative teaching programs or a traditional route into teaching.

- The Teaching Fellows office is almost never helpful in solving the many problems you may face as a student and as a teacher. (E.G. you may face harassment and they will not help you). - The master's classes are not taken seriously and are also rarely straight forward and realistic given your position as a new teacher. - It may be difficult to find a school that is the right fit for you. This is very important since the job itself will be difficult not matter where you are. - The summer training will not prepare you for the year to come.

*Balancing the demands of full time teaching and completing a masters program *Onsite training (on the job training with a class) for PST is demanding- you have to lose yourself and be whatever the coach wants you to be (ADVICE: Do whatever it takes to pass.Once you complete PST you chose the school that fits you and allows you to develop your teacher self) *The stipend is low during training

- extremely demanding - irrelevant grad classes and lessons - you don't get to choose the grad school - you may have to pay out of pocket for additional grad-school classes - a possibility of expulsion if strict guidelines are not followed - poorly organized structure - masters degree is not fully paid for; you still have to pay around $10,000