On the eve of teaching, I find myself sitting here wondering, "what was I thinking?" Well, not actually the eve, I still have 2 days until my students walk into my classroom. Believe me I have done many things in my life, but nothing like this. I am scared, but so are most of the other teachers I have met. By the way, I decorated my room with all kinds of encouraging slogans and educational displays. There's also a sign that says," no moaning, no groaning." You got to set a tone. I think you can tell how very excited I am about the chance to fulfill a dream of mine. I actually wanted to be a teacher, but for me, that noble profession became," the road not taken." So it is a challenge of the highest order and a great gift. I mean I got the chance to re-read, "To Kill A Mockingbird." It was much better this time.
I have spent the last month or so in teacher training and orientation. I've spent the last week at my school, meeting the other teachers and getting used to the place. It is huge. And here are my overall impressions; the job of a teacher is reminiscent of the famous scene from, "I Love Lucy", where Lucy and Ethel work on candy a conveyor belt. The more and better they do the faster the conveyor belt goes. They end up eating much of the candy. Teaching is somewhat similar. The teacher faces an ever-growing list of demands, and a mountain of paper work. There are countless meetings and requirements that are time consuming and sometimes very frustrating. And all this before a single kid walks into the school.
The other overwhelming impression is that the teaching profession is filled with many hard working and committed warriors. That's right, "warriors." Trying their best to give each and every kid a quality education and a real chance for a future. The only chance many of these children have. They do this for not much money and pretty much no respect. One teacher told me she always thinks about quitting because people will ask her why she's a teacher? They ask her why isn't she a lawyer or a doctor? The old saw that says, "those who can, do, and those who can't, teach" is something she hears way too often and it hurts. Another incredibly committed teacher told me that when she hears "our schools are failing", she takes it personally.
Those of us, of a certain age, who went to public school, have no conception of what public school is like today. The movement of most of the affluent students to private school has skimmed the veritable crème off the top. Not only good students, but also their parents. The ones that expect and make sure that their kids read and excel. That is not to say that the parents of some students in the public schools are not just as committed. But I was interested to learn in a literacy professional development presentation that the number one indicator of student success is the academic success of the mother in the home. Add to that a culture that in no way celebrates academic achievement and it makes for a tough situation for educators.
Still they are there though. In spite of it all they will be there at the doors of their classrooms to welcome their students. Ready to use what they've learned in the P.Ds. The many "professional development" presentations. All the techniques that the upper level research recommends. From "rubrics", to "co-operative learning" and "graphic organizers." From "modeling", to how to teach "informational texts", textbooks to you. "With-it-ness", "momentum" and "smoothness". These are all tools teachers, all over the country, will employ starting Tuesday, as they set out to do what they love to do. Have a chance to change a kid's life.
So here's to them all. Teachers. In every city in America. I wish us a great year and above all, students who want to learn.
T
Tony--I too am a career changer...took a half cut in pay and started teaching in an urban high school 19 years ago. I have cherished every moment. You will soon realize the impact on student lives. Many times, you will be the most "steady" part of their lives.
Teaching is truly a caring and challenging profession where you will have eternal impact. I will be attending the NCAC conference in Philly next week and look forward to hearing your message.
All students and adults (parent and colleagues) all want the same things...to be valued and loved. You choice to enter education as a profession is a blessing for your students, school and community.
Sincerely,
Chris
Congratulations on your new endeavor! As an educator, I look forward to seeing you and hopefully meeing you at the NCAC Conference, in Philadelphia, where you will be the featured speaker!
Tony,
As a latent entry to the teaching profession (42 when I finished my BSE), I fully understand the whole array of questions we ask ourselves as we enter the classroom unattended! But...that positive, so-very-sure that this is IT feeling really does count for something! It makes us seasoned yet innocent...traits that allow us to build on and create the learning environment that tells our kids we really DO care for them. As a teacher who began my career at 42, I can honestly say I get where you are coming from...or as a friend once said, "I smell the stink you are sending!" I look forward to meeting you Sunday (with luck).
Karen Wickiser
Lincoln South 9th Grade Academy
Des Moines, Iowa
Hi Tony,
i will be at the NCAC conference as a participant and presentor. i look forward to meeting you. i went to Malverne HS for just 2 years (1970-71) and knew your brother. i have been a teacher and administrator at Palm Beach Gardens HS in FLA for 29 years. i hope we will have time to talk about your experiences teaching in Philadelphia.
Hi dear Tony!
I'm sure you are doing great as a teacher and boy! I wish I could be your student! those students don't know how lucky they are. I know it takes a great deal of energy to teach and to make sure students have got your point, but what is more important than the academic lessons, is the life experiences of a teacher that can be of great help to all students at any age in facing the life and real problems after school days.
I wish you luck :D
Hi Tony. I have been a fan of your since Taxi. "DEADLY WHISPERS" IS my favorite you acted in. Your a very very talented actor. On the Tony Danza talk show (2004-2006) you exhibited great compassion, humor, intelligent patter, and charisma, and the frequent visits to schools to do makeovers to improve broken down conditions was truly touching. It is obvious you will be a great teacher. As a fan I wish you all the best! If you can continue making movies I will enjoy you because you are a great actor! Best Regards Mr. DANZA.
Tony,
Good Luck to you and what channel will you be on
Cathy
yea to many cam in the school
Hi Tony:
I have enjoyed watching Taxis with my 14 year old niece.
She loves the show and your character in it.
Good Luck at Northeast.
I am enjoying this blog...
Mr.Danza,
I'm so proud to be a fellow-teacher with a wonderful person as yourself!I've admired you since I was just a little kid obsessed with "Who's The Boss" on Tuesday nights!You're right,teachers are greatly underappreciated.I teach 1st grade and I often get discouraged by the disrespectfulness coming from both students and parents.In spite of the rough days, I take comfort in the great days when I see the learning happen right before my eyes!
God bless you on this new adventure!May it be a wonderful experience!
love,Omaida Valentin Davis
Ft.Lauderdale,FL
what a great opportunity for you!! wouln't mind teaching myself, but alas..no teaching certificate--only 2 years of college and some radiology certificates. I am a true fan, Tony--once wrote to Mitch Albom and told him to sign u for "One more day"--u would have made it a hit! Good luck and Godspeed!!-mkay
Tony, I am amazed at your great energy,your deep concern for others,and the continual joy you display in learning, living and life. Don't stop.You inspire me to be more positive and thoughtful. I even seem to smile a little more because of you...Thanks
Tony,you bring such hope and admiration by showing respect for your students and staff and the ideal of teaching.But, know your "warriors" are hurting. The morale of the teachers is worse than low, it is subterranean.The lack of respect shown teachers is massively cruel.Our efforts to repeatedly help, support, and nurture our students , our needs, our ideas, are pushed aside and ignored in favor of political maneuvers. If you were to continue to teach, you would feel the anguish and insult that many teachers at NEHS are feeling.We are treated as robots.Many (maybe 30) new, young, teachers were given their own classrooms this year, while the majority of veteran "warriors" must float to 2,3,4 different rooms, often repeatedly up and down the massive staircases,struggling against almost 4,000 noisy, swarming students..often floating to opposite ends of the building..if their lucky an instructor can catch the elevator(which is only on one side of the building)..and all must be done within the alloted 3 minutes for passing. The physical endurance and stamina needed is back-breaking.You are teaching in an isolated, contrived classroom..while around you is a steaming cesspool of pain, disrespect and physical abuse of the educators you admire.You don't want to iknowq. You dont want to see. It's not why you are there But, it is.
Welcome to the teaching. I love teaching so muchthat I still teach,even though I am retired from The Philadelphia School District. Marsha
I think it is great that you have joined all of us as a teacher. I have taught for 29 years. I retired from The Philadelphia School District in 2003. I am now a Learning Therapist with The Cooper Learning Cooper. I work with children who have learning disabilities in Reading. Recently I received an E-Mail from a mother who said that her child chosereading a book than eating ice cream. I knew that I made a difference in that student's life. I know that you will make a difference in your students future. WELCOME TO TEACHING PROFESSION! Marsha
Hi Tony,
I started teaching at a University in the UK some 19years ago and loved every minute of the teaching, the paperwork, well thats another story. You will have fantastic successes and wonderful failures, just keep going and enjoy every moment of it. I retired some 9 years ago now and now live in Spain with my partner but still have really fond memories of my time as a Lecturer.
Just listen out for that one sentence that was not there before or the one piece of knowledge that comes back at you, or the best of the lot an enquiring mind that wasn't there before. Good luck and keep up the hard work, it will pay off!!
Mike in Spain
Tony I think you will be great at teaching.A lot of these kids need a good male role model and with the love of teaching they will go far.My grandson for the first time has a male teacher for 4th grade and he is doing really well this time.His parents are divorced and the father never comes to see them..So they need you to look up to.I know it's big shoes to fill but you have a big heart.That will be a definite success
Hi Tony,
You are doing something that I should be doing.
I was going to be a teacher for the deaf and went to college to become a teacher, but for some reason,
my counselor told me to switch to computer science as the job is much better paying. Stupid me and I listen to her and now after working 27 years in the computer room at HUP, I should have stay with my dream instead of computer science. Hope you enjoy the school year and wish I was 15 again so I could be one of your student.
Best Wishes,
Tom
hey mr danza i go to northeast high n i love what u r doin with us...i hope to see me n my cuzzo tene burley in the sow cuz we love u ...n we are so hype n appreciative bout u jus walkin our halls...catch us on the cam...
love u
bye
advisory room 7&10
7-ondraya
10-tene
Mr Danza;
I posted a welcome letter to you on my latest blog post.
I encourage you to visit the blog and leave a comment and view the comments of other teachers that visit the site.
http://www.thenotebook.org/blog/091662/philadelphia-c-elebrity-teachers-welcome-tony-danza
Samuel Reed III
Teacher
Blogger Philadelphia Public School Notebook
hey tony! i saw you at new teacher induction! good luck! I am excited to hear more about your adventures at northeast!
i love the whole idea. see you in school.
Hi Tony. Your blog is interesting to read. It will be interesting to follow them through the semester to see how they change. I was a teacher in Phila. for 34 years and have been retired for 5 years. You are so brave to embark on such an adventure. But I don't think that it is real because your students have been hand-picked for your class.What will happen if a student acts out in class? Will they be removed from the show? No other teacher can choose their students. They have to teach whoever crosses the threshold of their classroom. I understand that reality TV shows always audition people before they get onto the show. But I think that doing it on a show about teaching doesn't give the public a real view of what school is like every day for students and teachers alike. Your students know they're being filmed. How will the public know what really happened and what editing takes place in the show?
I think what you are doing is terrific. I am originally from East Germantown and was educated in the public schools in Philadelphia myself. I think I got a pretty good education there, though they weren't always the safest place to be when I was growing up. One of my teachers actually got shot and killed, in the early 1970's, at my junior high school. There were some great teachers and great kids there, though. One of my classmates and friends at the time was Kevin Eubanks. He looks hardly any different now than he looked 40 years ago!
As you guessed, I have no idea how bad things have gotten now. I used to get the crap beat out of me on a regular basis back then, but I still managed somehow to learn what I needed to and to retain much of the knowledge. My teachers for the most part were outstanding, and my parents wouldn't let me slack off.
DEAR TONY
HI
just want to wish you luck with your teaching experiment.
What made you decide to try this?
What cable channel will it be on? Ithink it is a very unique concept.
I sincerely wish you the best of luck never give up! I like that you wanted to try something new and has nothing to do with showbiz
very challenging but I feel will be much more rewarding then say doing another talk show ( which we dont need anyway)
TAKE IT ONE DAY AT A TIME!
SINCERELY
RONNIE
Good morning, Mister Danza!
Once more I would like to wish you great success in your new job!
I hope that you had only pleasant experience on the first day of school!
Still nervous ? Will sure subside soon !
Well, the whole bumph! And than we also must organize a first meeting for parents of our classe....and every afternoon we must go in conferenz to discuss about trouble of the day....and so on ....and so on......
It's always so in my school on start of a new school year.
That's sometimes nuisance, isn't it ?
But we " warriors of school" - in USA and in Germany too - we never give up !
Elisabeth
Tony,
Have fun. I graduated from NE in 1968. During my time there, Frederick Weisman (sp?), filmed a documentary called "High School". It received some recognition and was shown on PBS several times. Look it up. You can see how it was forty years ago when the school was new. It was big then too.
Mark
Hey Tony,
I just want to say good luck. I am a Northeast graduate,Class of 2009. I actually sang for you last year when you were looking at schools! Things aren't always easy, but it's probably one of the better run schools in the district. After the students settle into a routine so will you. Hail Northeast! and see you at Homecoming!
-Jessica
Good Luck Tony! You will be great!
GOD Bless you, Crystal
Advice for Tony
Mr. Danza, I wish you well;
Teaching English is no easy sell.
Keep the faith and persevere;
From those around you, lend an ear.
Patience, hope, and determination;
These will help in your new station.
A sense of humor smooths the day;
Helps draw attention to what you say.
Know your stuff, and be prepared;
Kids can sense the minute you're scared.
Know when to bend or stay resistent;
You'll manage better if you stay consistent.
I admire your courage, and just stay gripped;
When it comes to kids, there is no script.
And for added success when you hear that bell;
Bring Alyssa Milano for show and tell.
Good luck!
Hey Tony,
I greatly admire and respect your dedication to reaching your teaching goal. You got your degree as a history teacher many years ago before your boxing and acting careers, and yet you still retain what you learned then. Yes, teaching has become more difficult, especially in inner cities where the students are primarily of minority groups and the lower income groups. Working in an upper middle-class township in NJ as a public librarian, I witness the dedication that parents have towards their childrens' education. We are lucky to have wonderful teachers, but there are always kids who just don't want to learn. That's what makes the job of being a teacher the most difficult. How to motivate these kids?
I have such faith in you to succeed in anything that you set your mind to do. You will make a difference in the lives of these English students this year. Hoping to see you in A.C. on 10/10. Enjoy your teaching experience!!!
Yo Tony! Congratulations on achieving a goal.
It's funny you call the teachers "Warriors." I'm a product of the Parochial School System in Philadelphia in the 50's - you should have seen the "Warrior Nuns" if you want incentive to learn. Ha! We had more than 50 students per class and the high school I went to had 3,000 girls ONLY. The nuns were like Marine Drill Sargeants - we even had inspection every Monday morning. No make up, no jewelry, no perfume, no teased hair, no knees showing below the uniform, no sweater over the uniform - pretty much NO anything, but especially NO BOYS. Each nun felt it was her duty to make sure you had 3 hours of homework every night and more on weekends because you had extra time. We had no computers, no new teaching methods - we "rented" our textbooks to be passed to the class behind us so there were not even highlighters or notes in the margins!
As to those who ask "why not be a lawyer" and imply it is because those who can't do it teach it -- well, if that's the case, why would you want to go to law school to learn how to be a lawyer from someone who can't BE a lawyer so teaches it? In other words, it's a stupid statement!
In any case, good luck to you and to your students.
Dear Colleague! Dear Tony !
First I have to ask for apology : I know that my English is more than terrible - I'm a German.
I would just wish you good luck for your new job as a teacher !
You're already for a long time my absolute favorite actor , but suddenly now we're even colleague! I'm so proud !
49 years ago - on the 1th of September in 1960 - I stood at first time in a small town of Germany at school in front of a door of a classroom and waited for my students.I was a young girl, very timid and awful on edge : At that day started one of the greatest adventures of my life : I was a teacher now !
Since then most of the days I have wonderful times at school : I love the children - I love teaching.
But unfortunately sometimes it's also a very, very hard work here in Germany - a real horror job
However most of teachers are also warrios - we have to be the boss in our classroom ! And the students have to be the winners. The must learning - otherwise we all could nevertheless stay at home .
Dear Tony! Now you're not longer just the actor T.D. - of today you're the teacher MISTER DANZA .
The students will love you and respect you, because you are not only an optimistic and cheerful man but also an energetic person. You will be a good teacher - I know it !
Warm greetings from a OLD COLLEAGUE from Germany !
Elisabeth
Tony, Where are you teaching? how long? and why? Is this part of a reality show? What are you teaching? I hope it is English, as you are most articulate.
tony this is how much we, your fans and chatters on dd, believe in u and ur venture in 2 teaching! check the site out 2 learn just how much! my name should b link 2 the site.
Tony,
I think you are probably more anxious than nervous. I went through something similar when I was ask to give the commencement speech at Rowan University earlier this year. But instead of a class of 25 everyday it was 10,000 people for 7 minutes. Not sure which one is more stressful. LOL. Check it out: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7gRXUcmNc3Y
I would love to meet up with you being that I am in the Philly area. Maybe if you are not too busy during the school year you would want to host the Hero Awards Gala on November 21. Let me know.
www.wishuponaherofoundation.org.
Dear Tony,
It's only natural that you're scared as you get closer to the actual date when you begin to reach the mind of at least one student. My niece only entered this profession last year, and she reminds herself that if she's not in it for the money. She's in it for the love of teaching. Its something she has wanted since she was a little girl. And her attitude toward her profession is this. "If I can make a real difference in just one of my student's life, then I will feel the greatest reward in my chosen field". Of course, she would love to make a difference in the lives of all her students, but thats not always possible. You do your best with these kids, and you hope and pray that you're reaching them. At the end of the day, you find some satisfaction in knowing that you've given them even an ounce of knowledge that will help them in their futures. Like every generation, you're faced with those who don't want to learn, but so much more that do! The challenge is reaching the ones that don't. And I know that you can reach those kids the most. You have a unique way of going about anything you do that has people sitting up and taking note! I have a feeling that you're going to reach more of these kids then you imagine!! -Sharon