Who’s the Teacher?
Okay, so I am very very careful about promoting things on this blog. And when it comes to how teacher’s are represented, one could call me flat-out cautious. Like Grandma- cautious. But, I heard about this new reality TV show. It is called TEACH TONY DANZA. Get this. Tony Danza is going to try and teach English to inner city kids in Philadelphia. Which, I guess, has always been his dream.
Apparently he cries at least four time in the pilot — which really isn’t a big suprise. Teaching is freaking hard and Tony strikes me as kind of a cry-er to begin with.
I really hope he is not teaching about Twilight in that picture. I take hope with the “Shakespeare Project” written behind him on the blackboard. But only a little.
When I got the promo info, I was skeptical. I generally hate shows about teachers. Mostly because the portrayal is so far off from reality. For instance, on one episode of Boston Public, one of the teachers — this History teacher, I believe, says to a colleague after she was held at gun point by a disgruntled student, “It’s all part of the job – it is what I signed up for!” Uh…. whah????? I taught for 8 years and I did not sign up for being help at gun point. Or being yelled at by parenst because their son has an A- in my class. Or having to kick a kid out of my class for using the F-Bomb in reference to me and my character… and … yeah you get the point. So, I have yet to see a TV show that actually portrays what it means to be a teacher. What it means to really like teenagers. What it means to love your subject matter. What it means to creatively present the most boringest play in the world — that would be Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar — in a way that kids actually connect with. The same kids who text and play Wii and watch TV and who live in a world that doesn’t relish or promote critical thinking. A show that portrays what it means to take home your student’s problems with you and stand in the shower and rack your brain (cliche intended) to try and reach the kid who is on the edge and hates you and your subject. And then to smile at your CORE when your students succeed. To embrace that you are teaching someone else’s child — someone’s most precious gift and to therefore act with compassion, humor, and dedication. To know that being good at your job comes with stakes higher than selling coffee, making cars, mowing the lawn, or hitting a homerun.
So, we’ll see how Mr. Tony Danza does.
The show airs tonight on A&E.
I will be watching.
Let me know what you think.
