Philly "c"elebrity teachers welcome Tony Danza
by Samuel Reed III on Sep 14 2009 Posted in Class notes
Philly teachers have some suggestions on how Tony Danza can start the school year off on the right foot.
There are critics who say that cameras will disrupt the education of students in Northeast High School, where Tony Danza, a former talk show host and sitcom star will co–teach with a certified Philadelphia School District teacher.
This post is not going to argue the merits of having cameras in the classroom. Maybe the resigning School Reform Commissioner, Heidi A. Ramirez , could do a better job than me arguing against it; she was the only commissioner who voted not to approve the filming of the reality show.
Mr. Danza presumably made it through his first week without resigning. He is blogging on his Web site Daily Danza, during the production of 13 episodes for the Arts and Entertainment Cable network reality show “Teach.”
During my first week, I typically share a friendly letter of introduction with tips for my 6th grade students at Beeber Middle School and I have my students compose a friendly letter responding to my letter. In this blog I am sending a friendly letter to Mr Danza, representing small “c” celebrity teachers. You can find a composite of some of these celebrity teachers in the book Teaching For Hope, reviewed by my fellow blog mate, Molly Thacker.
“c”elebrity Teachers
c/o Schools Across Philadelphia
Any Neighborhood, Philadelphia
September 14, 2009
Dear Mr Danza:
Welcome to the profession! We understand you were nervous and a bit scared during your first week of teaching. We know you must be wondering how your celebrity status will help or hurt you as a new teacher. Many of us do not have the same celebrity status as you. But we hold our own.
In your blog you referred to some of us as warriors. Some of us are pacifist and would resist the notion of being warriors. We are not “white knights in shining armor” either.
Teaching, as you may find out, is simply a job for many of us. It is super-challenging, and most of us don’t have the luxury to “audition” our students. We do get the “best” children that parents send to our classrooms.
For many of our students, we are their constant role models. This makes us celebrities in our own rights. Teaching is a difficult job, but it is also rewarding. For some of us, teaching is one of our greatest joys; our job allows us to impact children’s lives in countless ways. We coach, counsel, cajole, and help young people discover their vast potential.
But we caution you this is not a job for the faint-hearted.
Teaching can be hazardous for your love life. Zac Chase, a teacher at the Science Leadership Academy, and one of the 150 contributors to the book Teaching Hope, shared at the book reading at Borders Book Store how teaching can make you undateable.
Teaching is heart-wrenching. Michael Galbraith, a teacher at Grover Washington Middle School, and one of the earlier Freedom Writer teachers, gets his students to share their stories of violence and pain. Often our students’ pain becomes our pain, if not through our empathy, then by the turmoil students' pain can cause in our classes. Hurt people hurt people.
Teaching can also be a very isolating profession. Some of us close our doors and may not have any adult contact until the end of the day. It’s great you that you will have the benefit of co-teaching with a partner. You also have the benefit of cameras on you and your students. Hopefully, “Student John Doe” will not be able to misrepresent you and your intentions when you try to keep him on task.
We are hoping that your show “Teach” isn’t the standard “un-reality” (highly scripted and edited), TV show. If your show is successful, we could even do a follow-up show, providing an unedited look into the classrooms of some of the everyday small “c” celebrity teachers. But honestly, we are not sure what impact cameras would have in our classrooms.
We look forward to hearing about your struggles and successes in the classroom. If you need other teaching tips or ideas, feel free to visit the Philadelphia Public School Notebook blog. It offers some interesting coverage of Philadelphia public education issues.
We will visit your blog and look forward to seeing your show when it is aired. Be warned if the show doesn’t reflect our realities, we will kindly let you know.
Sincerely,
“c”elebrity Teachers
Comments (4)
Submitted by Lisa Kelly (not verified) on Tue, 09/15/2009 - 05:31.
What an interesting comment this is on America's attitude toward teaching and learning. I'm sure Tony Danza would say he is trying to bring national attention to the work of teachers, but this reality show will relate to reality about as much as school breakfast does to healthy food.
I do think the filming of the show might negatively affect the traditional subject learning of the students involved, although it may be a great learning experience in other ways. I also think seeing Mr. Danza's work in the classroom as 'teaching' is disrespectful to people who are alone in the classroom daily with too few resources and too many students, some of whom have very serious needs which are not met. But basically, I question this being turned into entertainment. The photo above says it all. I assume it is connected in some way, and not just a stock photo of Danza. Why is that woman half-naked? How inappropriate is that? What are we teaching our students when we replicate the same old story of the front-and-center male figure and the adoring and subservient, half-dressed woman? And how is whatever is going on there related to the serious work of preparing Philadelphia kids for life? Tony Danza could have done some relevant, eye-opening work if he were serious about it, but he just wants to drop in briefly, take the money and run.
Submitted by Samuel Reed (not verified) on Tue, 09/15/2009 - 09:11.
I take responsibility for the picture. It was stock picture I found on fliker. The picture, was what I considered a light depiction of Mr Danza starting on the right foot this school year. I apologize if anyone was offended by the lady in the picture.
Submitted by Oddjob (not verified) on Tue, 09/15/2009 - 19:56.
Why would anybody be offended by that shot? Danza is hosting the benefit for the FOP Fallen Heroes so let's give him some credit for that. As for teaching anybody who gets to pick their class isn't really a teacher. Put them in cold and if they're still standing in June you got yourself a teacher!
Submitted by jacke (not verified) on Thu, 09/17/2009 - 22:37.
As a teacher meeting Tony about 10 years ago, I would like to share with you that Tony is serious about education. He is a great role model for students showing that in 'real life' we need to keep learning. As you may already know he started with lunch lessons on tap dancing during Taxi and since then has taken piano lessons, trumpet, voice .... and more that I can't remember right now! All of this makes his audience/fans continue to seek him out to share the latest adventure. I think he will have a strong positive impact on his students as he shares his story with them so they can see for themselves how much hard work goes into realizing a dream. We always hope our students will learn how to persevere in any endeavor (even homework) and you have someone in your midst who has the ability to be truly inspiring. Enjoy!
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