Yay, Tony Danza!

I always liked Tony Danza on "Taxi."   Now, I think of him as a "hero" for public school teachers.

Tony actually did what we teachers perennially wished that the critics of teachers and public education would do.

He spent a year of his life teaching in a Philadelphia high school.   And, he wrote a book about his experiences:  I'd Like to Apologize to Every Teacher I Ever Had. 

Yesterday,  while sitting down to nibble on my daily chunk of cheddar cheese,  I turned on the TV in time to catch the tail end of an interview with Tony. 

Every sentence he uttered made me want to quit chewing on that cheese and yell, "YES!"

To say that Tony gained empathy for the challenges that public school teachers face every single day as they try to entice students to learn in the midst of continued distractions and in the ever-changing bureaucratic requirements would be an understatement. 

I can't wait to get to a bookstore to purchase his book.  

 Its www.amazon.com description:    

I’d Like to Apologize to Every Teacher I Ever Had is television, screen and stage star Tony Danza’s absorbing account of a year spent teaching tenth-grade English at Northeast High -- Philadelphia’s largest high school with 3600 students. 

Entering Northeast’s crowded halls in September of 2009, Tony found his way to a classroom filled with twenty-six students who were determined not to cut him any slack.  They cared nothing about “Mr. Danza’s” showbiz credentials, and they immediately put him on the hot seat. 

Featuring indelible portraits of students and teachers alike, I’d Like to Apologize to Every Teacher I Ever Had reveals just how hard it is to keep today’s technologically savvy – and often alienated -- students engaged, how impressively committed most teachers are, and the outsized role counseling plays in a teacher’s day, given the psychological burdens many students carry.  

The book also makes vivid how a modern high school works, showing Tony in a myriad of roles – from lecturing on To Kill a Mockingbird to “coaching” the football team to organizing a talent show to leading far-flung field trips to hosting teacher gripe sessions.

A surprisingly poignant account, I’d Like to Apologize to Every Teacher I Ever Had is sometimes laugh-out-loud funny but is mostly filled with hard-won wisdom and feel-good tears.

As the author of my own book about teaching experiences in a rural setting----most of them as a tenth-grade English teacher---I instantly identified with Tony.

And, the apologies, I could really identify with those.  Sometimes students remember their adolescent indiscretions with teachers as major events in their personal history. 

Sometimes teachers don't even remember those indiscretions; sometimes they remain vivid in a teacher's mind forever.   

I've listened to a few apologies from mature adults who sat in my classes, only to accept them graciously and then search my brain for any remnant of the reported sin. 

Other times I've remembered every detail of said sins. 

In my book, I included a snippet about an apology uttered to me 25 years after the fact.   And, yes, I did remember the fact but had put aside all differences soon after this student left the high school.

One thing teaching does----with experience---is to teach us educators that, for the most part, these kids DO grow up.   Generally,  those black marks on their "permanent records" in our minds should be erased with signs of their maturity.

With this particular student, I had long since forgiven the bad behavior and moved on, but the individual had not forgiven herself.  

So, a poignant moment occurred as she tearfully told me she was sorry, that her behavior was inexcusable and that she had dreaded meeting me on the street for years because of the guilt she felt.

Astounded to think that she had held on to this for so long, I tried to reassure her that everything was okay.  Time had passed.  People grow up, I said.

Still, she had never resolved the problem in her own heart.  Our meeting provided her that opportunity.  It also proved to be one of the most meaningful moments I had ever experienced as a educator. 

Now, to see a book written by a celebrity who took the time to learn about teachers and teaching, I'm feeling another exhilarating moment.

With the ongoing willingness for the public to bash teachers with little or no evidence, I say "Hurrah" to Tony Danza for his very public adventure into a public school classroom and his current campaign to enlighten ill-informed critics. 

My colleagues and I always suggested that one week spent in a classroom would open a lot of eyes and silence a lot of critical tongues. 

I hope more "experts" on public education will follow Tony Danza's lead.  They would surely be amazed with what those teachers accomplish in spite of the challenges.