FAQs
Why Teach For India? We at Teach For India believe that one day all children will attain an excellent education. Access to an excellent education is the most effective means of ensuring equal opportunities for everyone. There is potential that each child is holding within and it is our responsibility towards unleashing that potential. Educational opportunities should not be determined by family s income or the neighborhood in which you live. Teach For India is building a movement of leaders who will eliminate educational inequity in India. These leaders start their path as Fellows, helping students in high-need communities for two years. Deeply affected by their teaching experience, our Alumni continue to advocate for students and build lasting change in many roles across different sectors. The Fellowship offers you the opportunity to become a part of the solution and serve as a change-agent in the society. The Teach For India Fellowship is a two-year paid commitment during which Fellows are placed as full-time teachers in under-resourced and low-income schools. By joining Teach For India, you have the opportunity to develop yourself as a leader, transform the lives of students and join hundreds of individuals committed to creating a better future for all children, families, and communities. page 2
When did Teach For India begin? Teach For India started in 2009 with 87 Fellows, teaching in 34 schools and impacting 2731 students across Pune and Mumbai. Over these past 8 years, Teach For India has expanded significantly. We are now in 7 cities, including Mumbai, Pune, New Delhi, Hyderabad, Chennai, Ahmedabad, and Bengaluru. At the start of the 2016-2017 year, we had a total of 1,100 Fellows, in 400 schools and impacting over 40,000 students. What are the profiles of Teach For India s Fellows? We believe that it takes a wide variety of talented and committed people to bring us closer to our goal of an excellent education for all. Currently, about half of our Fellows have worked prior to joining us in various companies such as Goldman Sachs, Infosys, Google, Accenture, Amazon. The remaining Fellows come from diverse set of colleges and universities such as IIT, IIM, St. Xavier s College, Christ University and international universities including Brown and NYU. What are the application prerequisites? Students and professionals must have a bachelor s degree from a college or university before the first day of Institute train-ing. Applicants need to be either Indian Citizens or hold a PIO/OCI card. page 3
Why does the Fellowship last two years? Can I teach just for one year if I choose? The two-year commitment is necessary to make the impact we wish to have on student achievement. In the first year, Fellows will refine their teaching skills and will start to establish respect and trust among various stakeholders within the school community and the students. This work will allow Fellows to achieve significant academic gains for students to implement their community/school project in the second year. During the two years, you will strive to: 1. Transform the Student An excellent Fellow can make a huge difference to the lives of 40 students because he/she is in their classrooms and their lives for two full years. Transformation does not only mean improved academic performance, but also changes in characteristics and mindsets. These include confidence, leadership skills, responsibility, teamwork, respect and the ability to think and question. 2. Transform as a Leader 3. Transform the School and Community The experience of teaching in extremely difficult circumstances enables you to develop strong leadership skills. The intensity of the two-year experience is critical for you to understand the complexities of educational inequity and be a life-long advocate. We believe that this can have a much deeper impact on a systemc level as compared with the piecemeal value added by volunteering on a part-time basis. Build strong and meaningful relationships as you partner with the school and community to ensure that all children receive an excellent education. Throughout the two years, Fellows are provided ongoing support and guidance to become transformational teachers and leaders. page 4
Who do we look for? We look for individuals who show leadership potential. Your potential as a Fellow can shine through whether you ve achieved academic honours, managed a complex project at work, led a group on campus, or have rallied support for a cause that s important to you. And those are just a few of the countless experiences our most successful Fellows bring to the table. Based on our research of Fellows who have helped their students achieve the most, there are primarily eight characteristics that often lead to success in the classroom: A deep belief in the potential of all children and a commitment to do whatever it takes to expand opportunities for students. Demonstrated leadership ability and strong interpersonal skills to motivate others. Strong achievement in academic, professional, extracurricular, and/or volunteer settings. Perseverance in the face of challenges, ability to adapt to changing environments, and a strong desire to do whatever it takes to improve and develop. Excellent critical thinking skills. A drive to continuously learn and develop their skills. Superior organisational ability, including planning well and managing responsibilities effectively. Respect for individuals diverse experiences and the ability to work effectively with people from a variety of backgrounds. page 5
Will I be trained adequately before I start teaching? Teach For India will work relentlessly to ensure that all Fellows have the knowledge and skills necessary to lead their students towards achievement. The Teach For India Fellowship begins with a five-week residential training program in May & June of 2018. Here, Fellows are exposed to curriculum, lesson planning and classroom facilitation and student assessments among other keys to successful teaching. Additionally, each Fellow will have a Program Manager whose primary responsibility is to guide Fellows to become effective teachers and leaders. Fellows will also be provided with on-going technical trainings from in-house trainers and leaders. Is it possible to take up part-time work along with the Fellowship? The Fellowship is a two year full-time commitment. It is extremely rigorous, challenging and intensive. We have found that it is extremely difficult to handle another set of responsibilities and it will therefore require all your dedication and attention. Hence, parttime work is not possible. What are the expectations of Teach For India from it s Fellows? The expectations from Fellows traverse a wide gamut: getting to know their students in and out of the classroom; creating instructional plans to match the whole class and individual student s needs; delivering instruction in an engaging manner; working with other teachers, administrators and community members to build skills and obtain resources for the classroom; and administering and analyzing assessments to ensure that students are progressing towards their academic goals. On joining, Fellows will be given a Fellow Handbook where instruction planning and delivery, classroom management and culture, norms, dos and don ts etc. will be covered extensively. We expect that Fellows will deepen their understanding of educational equity and are committed to attaining it in their classroom. page 6
Which standard will I be teaching and what will be the medium of instruction? Teach For India Fellows are placed in 2nd to 10th standard classrooms where they teach all major subjects including English, Mathematics, History and Science, with the exception of regional languages. English is the medium of instruction in all Teach For India classrooms and Fellows are not expected to know their students mother tongues. Where will I be teaching? Teach For India Fellows will be placed in government schools or low-income private school in Mumbai, Pune, New Delhi, Hyderabad, Chennai, Ahmedabad and Bengaluru. All Fellows will be required to reside in one of these cities between May 2018 and April 2020. If you are unable to do so, please note that we will expand into more cities in the upcoming years, and hope to be in ten cities and their surrounding rural areas within the next five years. Is Teach For India present in rural areas? While Teach For India is currently only actively present in urban areas, Teach For India is present in rural India but through our Alumni. India has over 4 million classrooms. Since it is not practical for us to place 4 million Fellows, we rely on our Theory of Change to reach out to as many students as possible. Currently, we have Alumni working in several rural areas beginning to place Fellows in semi urban areas and even naxal affected areas. Some of our cities are also beginning to place Fellows in semi urban areas (example: Pimpir-Chinchwad in Pune). page 7
How much will I be paid during the Fellowship? Teach For India Fellows will be paid a salary of Rs. 17,500 per month. If required to relocate from their home city, Fellows will be given a housing allowance ranging from Rs 5,300-10,000, depending on the city in which they will stay. In addition, Fellows will receive an allowance for school supplies. How does Teach For India approach to teaching differ from traditional approaches? At Teach for India, we believe that Teaching is Leadership. For our Fellows and Students to be leaders, we focus on building skills and mindsets through our Leadership Development Journey (LDJ). The LDJ takes Fellows through 8 milestones in which they explore where their classroom is on the Student Vision Scale, where they are on the Fellow Commitments Scale, what Competencies they need to work on and which Opportunities they can avail of to work on those. This is a cycle to build reflective practice throughout the journey. The Student Vision Scale defines what level of Academic Achievement, Values and Mindsets and; Exposure and Access our students require to have path-changing learning and make them student leaders. The Fellow Commitments Scale defines the three commitments: to Personal Transformation, to Collective Action and to Education Equity that all of us in the movement need to be leaders who will go on to eliminate educational inequity in the country. page 8
What happens after the Fellowship? Teach For India strongly believes that excellent teachers employ the Teach For India s mission is to create a movement of leaders who the classroom will help the Fellows develop leadership skills such as will eliminate educational inequity in India. In order for that mission organization, communication, problem-solving in an unstructured to be realised, Teach For India Alumni need to excel in multiple environment, people management and resourcefulness that are sectors and collaborate towards a multi-pronged solution to the valuable in any sector. Teach For India will select Fellows who have complex problem of education in India. demonstrated excellence in the past and will work with same skills as excellent leaders in any fields. Spending two years in them throughout the two-year Fellowship to ensure that they Teach For India supports its Fellows to pursue their career interests take advantage of the experience to become extraordinary by training and mentoring them and striving to build relationships future leaders. with top schools, universities, NGOs, and corporates throughout the country. Teach For India Alumni are spread all over the country and the When and how can I apply? abroad in sectors ranging from banking, consulting, education Teach For India only accepts online applications which can be startups, policy research; and as students in top universities such accessed on the website www. as IIT Bombay, Columbia, ISB, Harvard, London School of Economics, and TISS. The deadlines for the 2018-20 Teach For India Fellowship Program are: 03rd Sep 2017 29th Oct 2017 10th Dec 2017 04th Feb 2018 Please visit the website www. for more details. Please email apply@ for more information. page 9