What School Movies and TFA Teach Us About Who Should Teach Urban Youth

Abstract

White teacher savior films (WTSFs) depict the teaching profession as one for which conventional credentialing is unnecessary. White teachers with little training and experience perform miracles in urban classrooms where trained, experienced teachers have failed. This same narrative is echoed in alternative credential programs such as Teach For America ( TFA). This article compares the WTSF and TFA narratives with the educational research and finds inconsistencies that unravel the myth. The author suggests that the WTSF and TFA narratives serve instead as public pedagogy, teaching movie-goers that urban schools need only well-meaning, less expensive, underqualified and inexperienced White teachers despite the research showing otherwise.