philip-browning127 Review of American Teacher

American Teacher (2011)

leaves many questions hanging except paying teachers more

[2/10 · 7 April 2013]

Studies teachers who are dedicated because they put in a lot of hours. One teacher gets divorced and the idea is that he was working so hard as a teacher he lost his family and found out his house was in foreclosure. Problem is they never show if his wife was working or how much he was actually paying in payments for his house and a new or newer car etc... They keep pointing out his small starting salary of $27,000 plus coaching stipend. Showing that lots of teachers have second jobs and work long hours. Military members will not earn $27,000 as enlisted personnel for a lot of years and they are putting their lives on the line and undergoing forced separation from their families for months if not a year at a time. Yet the divorced teachers wife said his working two jobs made her feel like a single mother. Like I said no idea if she worked or what their total costs were. The foreclosed house was big so did they overextend? No answer. Merit pay was never really discussed and no parents were given much of a voice. After fighting a lot with schools I can tell you there a lot of teachers who need to be fired but instead are given tenure. Nothing is ever discussed about the chance of teachers who should not be there except for one small comment. A teacher says that the teachers she knows all work until after 5pm and some nights, then she adds the quip well the ones I respect or at least care for or something like that. There are bad teachers. This film never even acknowledges them. You have to speak about them or you have revealed yourself not to be a documentary but a propaganda piece. A lot of teachers are good and dedicated to their jobs and kids. So are a lot of parents. Some of the time the teachers speak about kids needing help at home. But no one went to the home of the kid to find out if there was a reason. One person advocating higher pay in all his other writings and speeches asks for merit pay. Why does he sound like he is doing something else? Something is wrong. I'd say the whole thing.