I'd Like to Apologize to Every Teacher I Ever Had

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.

Autorentext

TONY DANZA, before he grew up and starred in such classic TV series as "Taxi" and "Who's the Boss?" as well as on Broadway, was a "discipline problem" at Long Island's Malverne High School, for which he is deeply apologetic. These days, he divides his time between New York City and Los Angeles.

Inhalt

Preface FIRST SEMESTER 1. You're Fired, Go Teach Teachers Lounge: Lesson Plans 2. Ignorance Is No Excuse Teachers Lounge: The Real Deal 3. Do Now Teachers Lounge: Everybody Cries 4. The Half-Sandwich Club Teachers Lounge: Bobby G 5. Making the Grade Teachers Lounge: No Fear Shakespeare 6. Never Smile Before Christmas Teachers Lounge: Northeast's Got Talent SECOND SEMESTER 7. Field Tripping Teachers Lounge: Gone Bowling 8. Poetic Justice Teachers Lounge: Happy Hour 9. Our Atticus Teachers Lounge: Adequate Yearly Progress 10. Spring Fever Teachers Lounge: Fight Night 11. Finals Teachers Lounge: The Sons of Happiness 12. If… Teachers Lounge: Saving Starfish EPILOGUE Acknowledgments