Yes. I should be grading papers right now, why do you ask?
This episode was all about over-extending yourself. The show opens with Tony singing the national anthem at the Phillies game. He's not too bad, actually. Another teacher then talks to Tony about being the guest speaker at senior pin night.Tony says it's hard to say no, but thinks he might be spreading himself kind of thin. He is falling into the first year trap of saying yes to everything, probably exacerbated by the fact that he is who he is. In addition, apparently he could not get out of a contracted event in Atlantic City for the coming weekend and is a little worried about it. Meanwhile, back in the classroom, Tony is having trouble with Algernon (odd name, but there have been odder ones in my classroom). Tony asks the kids to turn in their homework but Algernon won't turn it in. Al doesn't understand why Tony keeps getting on him. David Cohn says not to push him too hard, he's the type of kid you have to earn his respect. That's true. There are kids that you have to nudge and kids you have to push, and kids you learn to just leave alone on some days. The math teacher Crystal Green comes to talk to Tony, says that Al participates in math class and she doesn't know why he is being so resistant in Tony's class....well duh, she's a pretty young teacher. Sometimes you just hit a kid the wrong way and you just can't get them back. It's frustrating, especially when you trealize that a kid is a brilliant kid, but just not doing things in YOUR class. It makes you feel like MORE of a failure. Tony gets a message that the mayor of Philadelphia, Mayor Nutter (speaking of odd names....that is interesting....). the Mayor wants Tony to do an emcee performance for his wife's foundation at the end of the week, and is able to talk him into it somehow. More work that Tony should have said no to.
Tony meets with the drill team, the band instructor, the break dancers, and the choir director about getting involved in the show for the mayor. He brings Walter Painter, his choreographer (?) to organize the kids, which is chaotic to say the least. The kids don't think Walter knows anything about dance and are a little judgmental, but then they change their minds when they find out he has choreographed grammy shows and so on, although they think he is nagging on them. Rehearsal is completely insane and the kids are screwing around. Tony meets with the scary assistant principal, Ms. DeNaples, to ask for her help and she reluctantly agrees to coordinate things. Back in class, Tony again asks for homework to be passed in, Al doesn't turn in his homework, and Tony gives him "strike 2." Nakiya does not like the fact that Tony treats Al differently and Al says he doens't worry about the strikes because he knows they don't mean anything.
Chuck Carr, geometry teacher, comes to check on Tony, Tony wishes he was a better teacher, Chuck says it takes a while and asks if he is acting the teacher or being the teacher. Good question, Chuck. At the rehearsal stage that night, Tony is struggling with the dancing and says he is tired and gets up at 4:30 every morning, is involved in football, the mayor, and Atlantic City, and the musicians look bored while Tony talks about how busy he is. Back in class, Tony discusses image anad asks Al for an image. Al refuses, and Tony says he is not getting though to him, and decides to call Al's mom. He wonders what the outcome of a call home will be - a beating, a lecture, you never know what is going to happen if you call home, especially if the kid's parents don't speak English and come from a culture where there is no communication between school and home unless it is negative. Al's mom says Al gets bored and should tell the teacher what he wants to do. (Really? That is not the way it works in the real world, but thanks for giving your kid the belief that they don't have to do anything they don't want to do. Talk about the Age of Entitlement!) After school, Assistant principal DeNaples comes in to help Tony cooordinate the 150 kids participating in the mayor's show. Tony is still coaching football and practicing for the mayor's show at nights, as well as teaching and everything else. Kids are starting to think he is looking tired. David Cohn says Tony looks physically exhausted and is back to where he was at the beginning of the year.
Al gets kicked out of the PSAT with the hot teacher, and we find out later it is because he called her a b***h and then claimed he didn't. Tony goes to In School Suspension facility and talks to Al about cleaning up his act. Saturday morning, Tony goes to get a haircut, then to the football game. Meanwhile at Loews Theatre, the kids are practicing for the night show with the mayor, but are really worried that Tony is skipping out on them when he isn't there for the rehearsals during the day. Tony finally arrives at Loews at 4:30, and the kids feel better until the theatre starts filling up and then get really nervous. The show goes great, and the kids are kind of amazed that the audiences likes them so much. At the after party.....Oh Ms DeNaples, we saw you dancing....and you kissed Tony!! Then Tony goes to Atlantic City and does the show there.
The next week at school Tony talks to the coach and decides to step down as the assistant coach - a wise decision, since he admits that he doesn't really know what he's doing and says that he needs to focus on being a teacher first. since that's what he's here to do. Tony talks to Al, asks if he would be willing to present to the class, says he's a pretty good writer. Al says no, but seems to respond to Tony better than before. Al thinks that Tony cares more than other teachers, that other teachers just kick him out of class and Tony never does that.
We didn't see nearly enough of my favorite principal, Principal Carroll, this time, and there was only one shot of Monte, with NO WORDS. But this episode brought up a couple of things I would like to address. First of all, it is easy to get over booked when you are a teacher. Between lesson planning, grading, and actually being in the classroom teaching, your time goes away quickly and then you add in after school tutoring, faculty meetings, paperwork, IEPs, and all the other things that are just a part of life and you find yourself with no time. If you try and add things like being a club advisor or coaching, you will find yourself stretched pretty thin. When I taught in Texas, some coaches actually slept at the school some nights.
The second thing I want to address is the issue with Al. A kid like that is incredibly frustrating to have in classs. They are bright, but refuse to take AP classes because they have to actually work in them, but then they claim to be bored in regular classes and that is why they act out. That is a load of bull honkey. In my opinion, this kid has figured out how to manipulate Tony into trying too hard to please the student instead of just showing him that sometimes there are negative consequences to your decisions and you have to deal with those.
I was not as into this episode, simply because this one was so much about what was happening outside of school, but I will still continue to post reviews.
Showing posts with label show review. Show all posts
Showing posts with label show review. Show all posts
Tuesday, October 19, 2010
Sunday, October 10, 2010
Teach Tony Danza - part 2 review
Part 2 - Tested
The show starts with Tony reading aloud to his students from Mice and Men and the kids look a little confused, although Monte says they should have read that book in 7th grade, not as sophomores. I have never read the book, so I don't know much about it, but Tony assigns homework - to read two chapters and there will be a quiz the next day. Most of the kids think they should have a couple of weeks before they have a quiz. Frankie talks to Tony about how he can't picture what's happening in the book, Tony tells him how to annotate, and that it will take practice. Frankie says he can't do it, he doesn't like to read, and Tony says it will happen with practice, and actually makes a pretty good analogy, I thought, between sports (which Frankie loves) and reading. David Cohn, the Instructional Coach, later tells Tony that Frankie is at the top of a list of "gifted" students, and Tony starts to suspect that Frankie is playing him. Monte is concerned with his grades again, and wants to be in the AP class so his GPA will be higher. Tony talks to Monte about his concerns, promises to increase difficulty as time goes on. Tony is very excited about his first quiz, but the kids are worried. Ileana, one of the special education students, asked to go to the resource room (along with two other girls), but Tony says no (BIG HUGE MISTAKE). Tony tells the kids he will count for neatness, spelling, and everything else, AND times the test...all things that mess up a special education kid fast. Tony is excited because the quiz will test how his students are doing but also how he is doing. The kids are frustrated, even Chloe, but Monte says it wasn't a test at all, and it only took him 10 minutes to complete. David Cohn is in Tony's classroom immediately after the bell rings, and tells Tony that he HAS to give special education kids with IEPs extra time if they ask. Tony really argues with David...thinks kids should try harder. Does he even understand what special education is? Again, when was the last time Tony took an education class? Tony just thinks that the problem is that the kids don't THINK they can do it. The SPED kids think that Tony thinks they are lazy and they are frustrated and they are worred about their grades in his class. Tony grades the tests that weekend and almost half the class fails.
Tony says he couldn't really sleep since he is so worried about the test. Monte thinks that the test was easy and Emmanuel questions if Tony really knows how to make a test, since he is a new teacher. Monte thinks everyone could have gotten an A without even reading the book (I am sort of disliking this kid....). Tony tells David Cohn that half the class failed, asks what to do. David wonders how many of them are reading the book, but are getting tripped up on the question, but also points out that some of them just are not reading the book. Tony wonders how much of the failure rate is his fault and David reassures him that this is something that every teacher struggles with (TRUE STORY). Tony tells the class he was disappointed, and asks the class to be honest about who is reading. Nakiya thinks the test wasn't fair and tears start welling up, and she puts her head inside her shirt collar. Frankie says he doesn't understand the book at all, he tried annotating and still doesn't understand, and other students say the same thing. Tony says the test doesn't show they are reading, and says he did the same thing in high school by listening during class and bluffing his way through. Nakiya starts crying, Tony asks what is wrong, but she won't tell him. Tony goes to talk to Paige about her low grade, she won't talk to him either. Laura is upset about a question that was half opinion and half fact, and doesn't think that she should have gotten it all wrong because she used the wrong fact. Tony talks to Nakiya, he says she needs to put more effort into it. Daniel says he could have done better if he read the book better. Chloe says she sort of deserved the grade, but also says if more than half the class failed it is the teacher's fault. Monte says it should have been harder, and goes to Tony and asks for more work to make the class more challenging.
Tony debates what to do with the two special education students that need (and asked for) extra time. He brings them to lunch and talks to them one on one. I think that he truly doesn't understand what a special education classification means and thinks that they simply need to put more effort in. David Cohn is concerned about the SPED issue and talks to Tony immediately after class again. David sends Tony to talk to the special education teacher, Sue, who tries to explain that sped students are not lazy, they simply have different needs. Tony talks over her. He simply does not get it and thinks that effort will overcome the learning disability. Sue gets frustrated, and Tony gets summoned to a meeting on accomodations and IEPs and the legal implications of not following them. Tbe presenter gives the situation, "if a student asks to go to the resource room during a test, waht should your answer be?" and Tony shakes his head no. The presenter then gives Tony a worksheet wtih upside down, backwards, and mixed up letters and says that this is how a kid with dyslexia sees words, and for the first time I think he starts to understand that it is not laziness or lack of effort. Tony then meets with the Principal regarding failures and special education kids, and this is when she says that great quote I referenced in my last review; "You are miultitalented and I would never think that I could stand beside you and do what you do. I expect that same respect for the art of education, you have to listen to what we say because we are experts." Tony backs off and I think he is finally starting to get it. The principal makes it very clear that you do not mess with the special education law, you need to trust the kids, and tells Tony my favorite quote of the show; "You don't get the tag of "teacher" until your students are learning." Seriously, she is my hero.
Tony talks to another (teacher?) named Rob about Paige, who has no interest in class, has been suspended, texts during class, and won't participate. Rob asks if Tony has called home to talk to Paige's mom, and Tony says no. Rob says you can't just be their friend. sometimes you have to do what is best for them. Paige's mom actually comes in to talk to Tony (HOLY COW) and says she needs a tough teacher. Paige feels that Tony went behind her back but also thinks her mom went behind her back too and has major attitude when Tony asks if she was reading. Tony tells her he needs to talk to her at the end of class, and tells her that he knows she can do better, and asks what he can do to help. She says "nothing," and he says "then what can you do?" so Paige asks to get a tissue and leaves when he goes to get the box. When Tony talks to David, David suggests stopping, taking a deep breath, and hanging in there. David then jokingly asks if Tony has cried yet today, Tony says he hasn't cried yet today, but then breaks into tears and leaves the room.
The other assistant principal, Sharon, comes to talk to Tony, who is having a serious meltdown in his classroom and wondering if he can do this job. He can't believe how emotional he is and she basically says dude, we've ALL been there. Meanwhile, Tianna tells Paige that Mr. Danza cares about her and that is why he asks her questions, Paige says that brushing her hair in class should be just fine and that Mr. Danza is just picking on her. (Sidebar here.....I HATE it when the kids do personal grooming during class, like putting on makeup, brushing their hair, flossing their teeth, putting on deodorant, they've done it all) Paige has become a project to Tony...we've all had those kids BELIEVE me...and tries to get her involved. He keeps asking her what's going on in the story, asks specific questions, kneels down by her desk, asks her more specific questions, and she finally gives him some answers. In a later interview outside of class, she finally comes around and agrees that he cares about her and that's why he "nags" her. On the next quiz, Tony tells the three SPED kids they can have extra time if they need it and he will go down and help them in the resource room.
My thoughts.....This special education thing is HUGE. It is a legal requirement to follow the IEPs (Individualized Education Plans) and not having the resources in your school is unfortunately not a legal excuse for not doing something on that plan. I have been struggling with this recently as well, and with the continued cuts in education, programs like special education get cut first. Some schools are better than others at special education support and information, but in the end it is the teacher's responsibility to do what the law requires. Tony's attitude is unfortunately all too common among many people, even in education, and it is the reason for some kids falling through the cracks. Regarding the specific show, it is still the Tony Show, but some interesting issues were addressed here, although I think that the way a special education student's brain works was not explained and the implication that "failure was simply for a lack of effort" was not truly addressed. On the other hand, a student like Paige (not special ed) is incredibly frustrating for so many reasons. There is nothing more frustrating to a teacher than a student who is brilliant and completely wasting their brains, and add to that the frustrations of the quiz that he saw as a reflection of his own failures and it is no wonder that he broke down. I applaud his willingness to tackle Paige head-on and get through to her.
This week I am leaning more to the positive on this show, there are a lot of things that you would only relate to if you are a teacher, however, like the issues with Monte, Frankie and Paige, which makes me wonder what someone who is NOT a teacher would think about this show.
The show starts with Tony reading aloud to his students from Mice and Men and the kids look a little confused, although Monte says they should have read that book in 7th grade, not as sophomores. I have never read the book, so I don't know much about it, but Tony assigns homework - to read two chapters and there will be a quiz the next day. Most of the kids think they should have a couple of weeks before they have a quiz. Frankie talks to Tony about how he can't picture what's happening in the book, Tony tells him how to annotate, and that it will take practice. Frankie says he can't do it, he doesn't like to read, and Tony says it will happen with practice, and actually makes a pretty good analogy, I thought, between sports (which Frankie loves) and reading. David Cohn, the Instructional Coach, later tells Tony that Frankie is at the top of a list of "gifted" students, and Tony starts to suspect that Frankie is playing him. Monte is concerned with his grades again, and wants to be in the AP class so his GPA will be higher. Tony talks to Monte about his concerns, promises to increase difficulty as time goes on. Tony is very excited about his first quiz, but the kids are worried. Ileana, one of the special education students, asked to go to the resource room (along with two other girls), but Tony says no (BIG HUGE MISTAKE). Tony tells the kids he will count for neatness, spelling, and everything else, AND times the test...all things that mess up a special education kid fast. Tony is excited because the quiz will test how his students are doing but also how he is doing. The kids are frustrated, even Chloe, but Monte says it wasn't a test at all, and it only took him 10 minutes to complete. David Cohn is in Tony's classroom immediately after the bell rings, and tells Tony that he HAS to give special education kids with IEPs extra time if they ask. Tony really argues with David...thinks kids should try harder. Does he even understand what special education is? Again, when was the last time Tony took an education class? Tony just thinks that the problem is that the kids don't THINK they can do it. The SPED kids think that Tony thinks they are lazy and they are frustrated and they are worred about their grades in his class. Tony grades the tests that weekend and almost half the class fails.
Tony says he couldn't really sleep since he is so worried about the test. Monte thinks that the test was easy and Emmanuel questions if Tony really knows how to make a test, since he is a new teacher. Monte thinks everyone could have gotten an A without even reading the book (I am sort of disliking this kid....). Tony tells David Cohn that half the class failed, asks what to do. David wonders how many of them are reading the book, but are getting tripped up on the question, but also points out that some of them just are not reading the book. Tony wonders how much of the failure rate is his fault and David reassures him that this is something that every teacher struggles with (TRUE STORY). Tony tells the class he was disappointed, and asks the class to be honest about who is reading. Nakiya thinks the test wasn't fair and tears start welling up, and she puts her head inside her shirt collar. Frankie says he doesn't understand the book at all, he tried annotating and still doesn't understand, and other students say the same thing. Tony says the test doesn't show they are reading, and says he did the same thing in high school by listening during class and bluffing his way through. Nakiya starts crying, Tony asks what is wrong, but she won't tell him. Tony goes to talk to Paige about her low grade, she won't talk to him either. Laura is upset about a question that was half opinion and half fact, and doesn't think that she should have gotten it all wrong because she used the wrong fact. Tony talks to Nakiya, he says she needs to put more effort into it. Daniel says he could have done better if he read the book better. Chloe says she sort of deserved the grade, but also says if more than half the class failed it is the teacher's fault. Monte says it should have been harder, and goes to Tony and asks for more work to make the class more challenging.
Tony debates what to do with the two special education students that need (and asked for) extra time. He brings them to lunch and talks to them one on one. I think that he truly doesn't understand what a special education classification means and thinks that they simply need to put more effort in. David Cohn is concerned about the SPED issue and talks to Tony immediately after class again. David sends Tony to talk to the special education teacher, Sue, who tries to explain that sped students are not lazy, they simply have different needs. Tony talks over her. He simply does not get it and thinks that effort will overcome the learning disability. Sue gets frustrated, and Tony gets summoned to a meeting on accomodations and IEPs and the legal implications of not following them. Tbe presenter gives the situation, "if a student asks to go to the resource room during a test, waht should your answer be?" and Tony shakes his head no. The presenter then gives Tony a worksheet wtih upside down, backwards, and mixed up letters and says that this is how a kid with dyslexia sees words, and for the first time I think he starts to understand that it is not laziness or lack of effort. Tony then meets with the Principal regarding failures and special education kids, and this is when she says that great quote I referenced in my last review; "You are miultitalented and I would never think that I could stand beside you and do what you do. I expect that same respect for the art of education, you have to listen to what we say because we are experts." Tony backs off and I think he is finally starting to get it. The principal makes it very clear that you do not mess with the special education law, you need to trust the kids, and tells Tony my favorite quote of the show; "You don't get the tag of "teacher" until your students are learning." Seriously, she is my hero.
Tony talks to another (teacher?) named Rob about Paige, who has no interest in class, has been suspended, texts during class, and won't participate. Rob asks if Tony has called home to talk to Paige's mom, and Tony says no. Rob says you can't just be their friend. sometimes you have to do what is best for them. Paige's mom actually comes in to talk to Tony (HOLY COW) and says she needs a tough teacher. Paige feels that Tony went behind her back but also thinks her mom went behind her back too and has major attitude when Tony asks if she was reading. Tony tells her he needs to talk to her at the end of class, and tells her that he knows she can do better, and asks what he can do to help. She says "nothing," and he says "then what can you do?" so Paige asks to get a tissue and leaves when he goes to get the box. When Tony talks to David, David suggests stopping, taking a deep breath, and hanging in there. David then jokingly asks if Tony has cried yet today, Tony says he hasn't cried yet today, but then breaks into tears and leaves the room.
The other assistant principal, Sharon, comes to talk to Tony, who is having a serious meltdown in his classroom and wondering if he can do this job. He can't believe how emotional he is and she basically says dude, we've ALL been there. Meanwhile, Tianna tells Paige that Mr. Danza cares about her and that is why he asks her questions, Paige says that brushing her hair in class should be just fine and that Mr. Danza is just picking on her. (Sidebar here.....I HATE it when the kids do personal grooming during class, like putting on makeup, brushing their hair, flossing their teeth, putting on deodorant, they've done it all) Paige has become a project to Tony...we've all had those kids BELIEVE me...and tries to get her involved. He keeps asking her what's going on in the story, asks specific questions, kneels down by her desk, asks her more specific questions, and she finally gives him some answers. In a later interview outside of class, she finally comes around and agrees that he cares about her and that's why he "nags" her. On the next quiz, Tony tells the three SPED kids they can have extra time if they need it and he will go down and help them in the resource room.
My thoughts.....This special education thing is HUGE. It is a legal requirement to follow the IEPs (Individualized Education Plans) and not having the resources in your school is unfortunately not a legal excuse for not doing something on that plan. I have been struggling with this recently as well, and with the continued cuts in education, programs like special education get cut first. Some schools are better than others at special education support and information, but in the end it is the teacher's responsibility to do what the law requires. Tony's attitude is unfortunately all too common among many people, even in education, and it is the reason for some kids falling through the cracks. Regarding the specific show, it is still the Tony Show, but some interesting issues were addressed here, although I think that the way a special education student's brain works was not explained and the implication that "failure was simply for a lack of effort" was not truly addressed. On the other hand, a student like Paige (not special ed) is incredibly frustrating for so many reasons. There is nothing more frustrating to a teacher than a student who is brilliant and completely wasting their brains, and add to that the frustrations of the quiz that he saw as a reflection of his own failures and it is no wonder that he broke down. I applaud his willingness to tackle Paige head-on and get through to her.
This week I am leaning more to the positive on this show, there are a lot of things that you would only relate to if you are a teacher, however, like the issues with Monte, Frankie and Paige, which makes me wonder what someone who is NOT a teacher would think about this show.
Sunday, October 3, 2010
Teach Tony Danza - Review
I started seeing some random commercials for a show by Tony Danza titled "Teach" earlier this summer and decided to watch it to see what kind of show it was. Recent shows like NBC's "Education Nation" and "Waiting for Superman" have made me a little nervous about any media attention focused on education, but I wanted to actually see it before I made judgments. This is a little stream-of-consciousness, as I was taking notes while watching.
Tony starts out showing Northeast High School in Philadelphia where he is going to be teaching sophomore English. It is a large school, with 3700 students, and I know from personal experience that it is very difficult to teach in a large school, but that those are typical numbers for an urban school in a major city, especially on the east coast, so I guess it is a good start. Tony attends teacher orientation, where the presenter starts by saying there are three groups of people in the US who are forced to be somewhere they don't want to be - prisoners, people in mental health facilities, and high school students. The orientation leader seems very typical, a little burned out, talking to teachers who are only halfway paying attention (someone is knitting). Tony talks about how his dad was a garbageman (repeatedly), how he became a boxer, and an actor, but his actual college degree is in teaching, although he has never actually taught anywhere. Tony is pretty emotional that night, questions whether he would want his own daughter in his English class and has serious doubts about whether or not he can do this. First day of school he's up at 4:20, and at school on time, but forgets to sign in and is yelled at (pretty disrespectfully, I thought) by an assistant principal on a serious power trip. She is clearly not impressed by him, probably voted against allowing this project, and in no way wants to be seen as being supportive of him. The students wonder who he was, they don't remember him from anything and one student named Monte wonders if he will learn anything at all.
Tony says he will get them working right away on the first day and talks about setting a tone. David Cohn is introduced as Tony's mentor teacher and will apparently be observing very frequently, if not daily. Tony starts day one by having the kids use hand sanitizer as they walk into class. The kids think it is a little over the top, and I agree, but I can see why he did it, I don't think it's a bad idea, I have hand sanitizer in the classroom and when I run out the kids ask for it. I do NOT have it next to the door on wallmounted dispensers, however. The kids are a little weirded out by how 'old' he is and having a celebrity as a teacher. I'm sure the cameras are a little distracting too. Tony seems super nervous...Been there! I was utterly terrified on my first day of teaching. Tony has five rules, be here, be on time, be prepared, be kind, and believe in yourself. He is taken quickly off track with the question, "are you a millionaire?" and you can see the quick debate on how to answer, but does answer honestly, which is good and bad. Jokes with the kids a little bit, but completely soaked with sweat, which a kid tries to use to throw him off as well, and is partially successful. Apparently he will be teaching sophomores...BEEN THERE. Monte again mentions being concerned about getting an education, a theme which continues throughout the show. Kids ask why he is at Northeast? Tony says the show is designed to show what's going on in urban education. Kids ask why are you doing this? Tony says he wanted to be a teacher, wanted a challenge, and had good teachers himself. David Cohn is watching from the back the room. Kids introduce themselves, seems like a similar mix of kids to what I teach, but wearing more expensive clothes than my kids do and there are quite a few more white kids than at my school. The bell rings, and Tony is surprised. He assigns homework after the bell rang....you've lost them at that point and there was nothing written down, which makes me wonder what the return rate on that homework will be. The kids think the class will be easy because he used to be an actor and he doens't know what he's doing. They also think he is going to flip out and don't think he knows what he's doing, which takes them all of two seconds to pick up on and use to their advantage. Monte thinks he is not qualified to be an English teacher and doesn't think he will pass.
After school is football practice, Tony has volounteered to be an assistant coach. Coach tells him to talk to the players, he's still nervous, and kids think he talks a lot. Needs to talk less. Also never tell kids a game will be a "piece of cake," coaches don't like that (and later he is proved very very wrong). Compares football stretches to various dances, repeatedly, including ballet and chorus lines. That will not go over well. Kids say he doesn't know any of the football stuff like plays, reasons for stretches, etc. Coach tells him to talk less, listen to the kids more, Tony thinks the coach was telling him he made a bad speech. Tony hangs out at a bar with his friend and former teacher Bobby, talks about the day, Bobby says "you're a motivator." Tony definitely has ideals and a little bit of a rosy glow about what he wants to accomplish, but in that way he is just like every other first year teacher. Bobby tries to bring him down to earth a little and Tony says he doesn't know if he's up to this. Next day at school Tony teaches about "omniscient." He is talking a lot, not asking questions, and the kids don't seem that involved in what is going on. They are totally silent until he starts asking questions finally, but I am totally lost about what he is asking (although that could be because I am not an English teacher). Monte corrects him (about 3rd person omniscient!!!), Tony looks lost, then admits kid is right. David Cohn confirms after class that Tony was wrong, Tony seems confused about the concept he was supposed to be teaching and I have no idea if the kids got it at all.
I believe this is the only class he is teaching, so he has about 35 students, and only one 48 minute class a day. His desk is disorganized, he can't find the papers he wanted them to use during class. The kids are a little frustrated with this. Asks for volunteers to read their story, no one volunteers. Asks specific kid to do it, he won't but allows Tony to read it instead. Kids say that he likes to hear himself talk. David Cohn talks to him about why he shsould let them read it. During class, Tony looks up a word Chloe misused and takes way too long to do it, and while using a dictionary is admirable, as an English teacher, you should know the definition (which he doesn't seem to), or make the kid look it up themselves to sharpen their dictionary skills. Tony does like to hear himself talk a lot. You HAVE to let the kids talk. Tony asks Brandi if she understands the concept he is explaining, and Brandi admits later that she didn't really understand what he was talking about but nodded and smiled hoping he would go away. Kids don't think they have learned anything...although I don't know how long of a time period the class is covering (later details indicate it was one week total for the first show). Tony agrees that he talks too much.
First football game. Tony watches coach talk but doesn't say anything. Pouring down rain, cameras are soaked, kids and coaches are soaked, Tony meets some parents in the stands, but talks too much and parents complain a little. One parent asks specific questions about what educational tools he is using, other parents asking questions that I get asked all the time; can you stay after school to give him extra help, can you email me if he doesn't turn in an assignment, my kid can't read 30 minutes a day because he has to take two buses to get home, and they give a lot of possibly unwanted advice like "the most important thing is to build relationships." At first Tony tries to defend himself, but by the end, mostly has a deer-in-the-headlights look. Welcome to my world. It seems that most of the parents were at the game, he talked to 7-8 parents from his class on camera, which is another sign that I think this school has more wealth than the one I am currently teaching at. As far as the parent comments go, he only has one class, imagine if you have 140 students instead of 35. Tony talks with the Principal after the game, she says give the kids a chance, stop performing, and don't talk so much. Tony reflects on finishing his first week of teaching with a Friday night football game in a serious rainstorm, seems symbolic. He wonders if he has made a mistake doing this, wonders if he can make it. He really likes his class, but doesn't want to let them down.
My opinions: Tony went into this with equal parts nervousness and bravura. He is finding it hard to stop performing and so far has yet to deal (on camera at least) with any even minor discipline issues. The school is big and there seems to be some resentment and some obvious reluctance to allow cameras into the school....makes sense considering the current political climate and teacher-bashing that has been going on. The district (or at least the school) seems to have a fairly active mentor teacher program as David Cohn has observed numerous classes with Tony. Tony seems to be like most other new teachers as far as what he expects, but perhaps less prepared for modern school issues. I wonder about "teachery" things like how far out he has lesson planned, when the last time he took a teacher education class was, and what it would be like to observe an actual class, since the show was 45 minutes (without commercials) and showed five 48 minute classes, football practice, a football game, teacher training, principal meetings, self-reflections, kid interviews, etc. So far, I am still neutral. The focus so far has been squarely on Tony and not so much on any of the major issues in a school, which makes sense, given the focus of the show, but it makes me think it is less about education and more about Tony Danza. If you go to the website, the tagline is "Find out what it's like to be in a classroom taught by Tony Danza," so that's another indicator right there.
Favorite quote was actually from the ads for the rest of the season. Tony is meeting with the Principal and she is talking about how some people think they can just decide to be an teacher but that not everyone can do it. She says, "You are multitalented and I would never think that I could get up there next to you and tap dance. I want that same respect for my profession." Preach it sister!
Next show...Friday, October 8, 10 pm (9 central) on A&E.
Tony starts out showing Northeast High School in Philadelphia where he is going to be teaching sophomore English. It is a large school, with 3700 students, and I know from personal experience that it is very difficult to teach in a large school, but that those are typical numbers for an urban school in a major city, especially on the east coast, so I guess it is a good start. Tony attends teacher orientation, where the presenter starts by saying there are three groups of people in the US who are forced to be somewhere they don't want to be - prisoners, people in mental health facilities, and high school students. The orientation leader seems very typical, a little burned out, talking to teachers who are only halfway paying attention (someone is knitting). Tony talks about how his dad was a garbageman (repeatedly), how he became a boxer, and an actor, but his actual college degree is in teaching, although he has never actually taught anywhere. Tony is pretty emotional that night, questions whether he would want his own daughter in his English class and has serious doubts about whether or not he can do this. First day of school he's up at 4:20, and at school on time, but forgets to sign in and is yelled at (pretty disrespectfully, I thought) by an assistant principal on a serious power trip. She is clearly not impressed by him, probably voted against allowing this project, and in no way wants to be seen as being supportive of him. The students wonder who he was, they don't remember him from anything and one student named Monte wonders if he will learn anything at all.
Tony says he will get them working right away on the first day and talks about setting a tone. David Cohn is introduced as Tony's mentor teacher and will apparently be observing very frequently, if not daily. Tony starts day one by having the kids use hand sanitizer as they walk into class. The kids think it is a little over the top, and I agree, but I can see why he did it, I don't think it's a bad idea, I have hand sanitizer in the classroom and when I run out the kids ask for it. I do NOT have it next to the door on wallmounted dispensers, however. The kids are a little weirded out by how 'old' he is and having a celebrity as a teacher. I'm sure the cameras are a little distracting too. Tony seems super nervous...Been there! I was utterly terrified on my first day of teaching. Tony has five rules, be here, be on time, be prepared, be kind, and believe in yourself. He is taken quickly off track with the question, "are you a millionaire?" and you can see the quick debate on how to answer, but does answer honestly, which is good and bad. Jokes with the kids a little bit, but completely soaked with sweat, which a kid tries to use to throw him off as well, and is partially successful. Apparently he will be teaching sophomores...BEEN THERE. Monte again mentions being concerned about getting an education, a theme which continues throughout the show. Kids ask why he is at Northeast? Tony says the show is designed to show what's going on in urban education. Kids ask why are you doing this? Tony says he wanted to be a teacher, wanted a challenge, and had good teachers himself. David Cohn is watching from the back the room. Kids introduce themselves, seems like a similar mix of kids to what I teach, but wearing more expensive clothes than my kids do and there are quite a few more white kids than at my school. The bell rings, and Tony is surprised. He assigns homework after the bell rang....you've lost them at that point and there was nothing written down, which makes me wonder what the return rate on that homework will be. The kids think the class will be easy because he used to be an actor and he doens't know what he's doing. They also think he is going to flip out and don't think he knows what he's doing, which takes them all of two seconds to pick up on and use to their advantage. Monte thinks he is not qualified to be an English teacher and doesn't think he will pass.
After school is football practice, Tony has volounteered to be an assistant coach. Coach tells him to talk to the players, he's still nervous, and kids think he talks a lot. Needs to talk less. Also never tell kids a game will be a "piece of cake," coaches don't like that (and later he is proved very very wrong). Compares football stretches to various dances, repeatedly, including ballet and chorus lines. That will not go over well. Kids say he doesn't know any of the football stuff like plays, reasons for stretches, etc. Coach tells him to talk less, listen to the kids more, Tony thinks the coach was telling him he made a bad speech. Tony hangs out at a bar with his friend and former teacher Bobby, talks about the day, Bobby says "you're a motivator." Tony definitely has ideals and a little bit of a rosy glow about what he wants to accomplish, but in that way he is just like every other first year teacher. Bobby tries to bring him down to earth a little and Tony says he doesn't know if he's up to this. Next day at school Tony teaches about "omniscient." He is talking a lot, not asking questions, and the kids don't seem that involved in what is going on. They are totally silent until he starts asking questions finally, but I am totally lost about what he is asking (although that could be because I am not an English teacher). Monte corrects him (about 3rd person omniscient!!!), Tony looks lost, then admits kid is right. David Cohn confirms after class that Tony was wrong, Tony seems confused about the concept he was supposed to be teaching and I have no idea if the kids got it at all.
I believe this is the only class he is teaching, so he has about 35 students, and only one 48 minute class a day. His desk is disorganized, he can't find the papers he wanted them to use during class. The kids are a little frustrated with this. Asks for volunteers to read their story, no one volunteers. Asks specific kid to do it, he won't but allows Tony to read it instead. Kids say that he likes to hear himself talk. David Cohn talks to him about why he shsould let them read it. During class, Tony looks up a word Chloe misused and takes way too long to do it, and while using a dictionary is admirable, as an English teacher, you should know the definition (which he doesn't seem to), or make the kid look it up themselves to sharpen their dictionary skills. Tony does like to hear himself talk a lot. You HAVE to let the kids talk. Tony asks Brandi if she understands the concept he is explaining, and Brandi admits later that she didn't really understand what he was talking about but nodded and smiled hoping he would go away. Kids don't think they have learned anything...although I don't know how long of a time period the class is covering (later details indicate it was one week total for the first show). Tony agrees that he talks too much.
First football game. Tony watches coach talk but doesn't say anything. Pouring down rain, cameras are soaked, kids and coaches are soaked, Tony meets some parents in the stands, but talks too much and parents complain a little. One parent asks specific questions about what educational tools he is using, other parents asking questions that I get asked all the time; can you stay after school to give him extra help, can you email me if he doesn't turn in an assignment, my kid can't read 30 minutes a day because he has to take two buses to get home, and they give a lot of possibly unwanted advice like "the most important thing is to build relationships." At first Tony tries to defend himself, but by the end, mostly has a deer-in-the-headlights look. Welcome to my world. It seems that most of the parents were at the game, he talked to 7-8 parents from his class on camera, which is another sign that I think this school has more wealth than the one I am currently teaching at. As far as the parent comments go, he only has one class, imagine if you have 140 students instead of 35. Tony talks with the Principal after the game, she says give the kids a chance, stop performing, and don't talk so much. Tony reflects on finishing his first week of teaching with a Friday night football game in a serious rainstorm, seems symbolic. He wonders if he has made a mistake doing this, wonders if he can make it. He really likes his class, but doesn't want to let them down.
My opinions: Tony went into this with equal parts nervousness and bravura. He is finding it hard to stop performing and so far has yet to deal (on camera at least) with any even minor discipline issues. The school is big and there seems to be some resentment and some obvious reluctance to allow cameras into the school....makes sense considering the current political climate and teacher-bashing that has been going on. The district (or at least the school) seems to have a fairly active mentor teacher program as David Cohn has observed numerous classes with Tony. Tony seems to be like most other new teachers as far as what he expects, but perhaps less prepared for modern school issues. I wonder about "teachery" things like how far out he has lesson planned, when the last time he took a teacher education class was, and what it would be like to observe an actual class, since the show was 45 minutes (without commercials) and showed five 48 minute classes, football practice, a football game, teacher training, principal meetings, self-reflections, kid interviews, etc. So far, I am still neutral. The focus so far has been squarely on Tony and not so much on any of the major issues in a school, which makes sense, given the focus of the show, but it makes me think it is less about education and more about Tony Danza. If you go to the website, the tagline is "Find out what it's like to be in a classroom taught by Tony Danza," so that's another indicator right there.
Favorite quote was actually from the ads for the rest of the season. Tony is meeting with the Principal and she is talking about how some people think they can just decide to be an teacher but that not everyone can do it. She says, "You are multitalented and I would never think that I could get up there next to you and tap dance. I want that same respect for my profession." Preach it sister!
Next show...Friday, October 8, 10 pm (9 central) on A&E.
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