As a child of the '80s, I well remember Tony Danza of Who's the Boss? fame, and can even cop to watching more than a few episodes when they were on the first time. I'm not exactly up on my pop culture, though, and couldn't have told you that a few years ago he spent a year teaching in a Philadelphia high school had my life depended on it. His memoir, I'd Like to Apologize to Every Teacher I Ever Had, is an ode to teaching as much as the re-telling of his single year in the classroom.
If Danza's teaching career can't entirely be categorized as a lark, it is the case that he undertook it as part of a reality show, though he eloquently expresses his misgivings about this aspect of the work early in the book. (I also learned that his college degree is in education, and he did intend to become a teacher before boxing and later acting derailed his plans.) In any case, it's clear that Danza's heart is in the right place, and I came away impressed not only by how hard he worked and how creative his assignments often were, but inspired by his portrayal of teaching in the very hardest circumstances. In that sense, it's clear that this gig was anything but a lark.
Years ago, back when I was myself a fresh-eyed college grad, I read Wendy Kopp's One Day, All Children about the Teach for America movement. I wasn't sold, perhaps because I even had a couple of friends who did the TFA thing. Neither the efforts nor the results were anywhere near what Danza appears to have achieved in 2009-10.
At a time when education, and too often teachers, is so regularly under attack, the profession can use whatever support it can get, whether from an actor whose heyday was three decades ago or otherwise. I'd Like to Apologize... is also a good gut check for anyone who has ever wondered if they're in the right profession, if their work is meaningful, or if it's too late to switch careers.
Four stars.
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