My Year of Psychological Abuse (and they couldn't care less about the kids)
Pros
You get a job that provides health insurance for a low cost with a low co-pay- a very good thing when you're constantly getting sick (see cons for more information)
Cons
Be prepared to work 70 to 80-hour workweeks during summer institute and 50-60 hours a week during the school year- there will not only be the classroom teaching but tons of workshops, many of which are pointless. It will be very taxing and even if you're generally healthy, brace yourself to get sick- a lot. It's impossible to stay healthy when you have no time for yourself. I was sick more often my year of TFA than the past several years combined. I also wish it was possible to give 0 stars for work/life balance. There is none. TFA practically makes you sell your soul to them. Be prepared to get castigated if you're caught doing anything non-TFA during summer institute- not that you have time to even breathe. Also, it's made very obvious that many people in the organization value becoming wealthy above the well-being of the students. For instance, my principal (a past CM and avid TFA supported) lumped all of my students into the low-level class for the following year- I had to fight on behalf of several of them to get them out of the low-level tracking. Students performing at "advanced proficient" level across the board in reading and "proficient" to "advanced proficient" in the various math sections of the final state benchmark test of the year should not be tossed into a class of low-performers. Finally and most disturbingly, TFA is very hostile to CMs who dare criticize them in any regard. If you say anything or make any suggestions, or try to explain that the reason you struggle to stay awake in workshops is you didn't sleep much, they will threaten you with expulsion. Question anything they do? Expulsion threats. Oh, by the way you're not permitted to exercise constitutional rights such as assembly and protest- they explicitly state in the contract that you will be expelled if they find out you've participated in a protest or similar activities. Make sure you read every part of the contract, because there is crucial information they won't verbally disclose (such as how you'll be forced to repay your grant if you quit during your first few months)
