November 14, 2014

Evans High School Cell-a-brates The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks: Wear Red to Honor Henrietta Lacks 2014

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9781400052189By Dana McCullough

Evans High School’s fourth annual, school-wide “Wear Red to Honor Henrietta Lacks” event, was held on Friday, October 3, 2014. This celebration was intended to honor Henrietta Lacks, the amazing afterlife of her cells, and the unique and valuable role they have played, and continue to play, in numerous medical breakthroughs. We are eager to share Henrietta’s story with as many people as possible, so we hope you will keep reading to learn more about The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks. We also hope you will join us in the future by wearing red and hosting a “Wear Red” event at your own school on or around October 4th. Included here are helpful tips and directions for hosting a “Wear Red” event at your school, plus additional online resources for more information on Henrietta Lacks, her family, and their place in medical history. (more…)

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August 27, 2013

Tony Danza’s Back to School Message for Teachers

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Tony Danza

Dear Teachers,

Here is my little note of encouragement as you are either returning to yet another school year or beginning your teaching career. I wish you all the best year of your students’ lives—I know that’s what you all wish for. The truth is, though, that this is a tough time for teachers and it’s gotten tougher since I taught for one year at Northeast High in Philadelphia in 2010. I’m back there often and I was just there for commencement where six hundred kids graduated. The day was electric! That’s the good news. The bad news is that, the night before, there was a retirement party for thirty-four of the school’s teachers. Their overriding reason for leaving was the contract they’d been offered by the district. Being a teacher was never about getting rich, but the continuing pay cuts and further givebacks proved to be a tipping point for them. It’s too bad that teachers, after years of service, are forced to decide when to leave based on any issue other than that they are ready to stop doing what they love. No reflection on a job and career done well, just a pragmatic decision about money. To many teachers, this is the final indignity. There were tears. (more…)

 

July 30, 2013

Teachers as Heroes? by George Bishop, Jr.

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NightoftheCometby George Bishop, author of The Night of the Comet: A Novel (Ballantine Books, July 2013)

In my new novel The Night of the Comet, the protagonist is a high school science teacher in a small Louisiana town, circa 1973.  Frustrated in his work, belittled by his family, mocked by his students, he hitches his aspirations to what he believes will be the astronomical event of the century: the coming of Comet Kohoutek.

For my portrayal of Alan Broussard, the teacher, I drew on my own experience in the classroom.  I’ve taught English for most of the last two decades—enough time, certainly, to give me a sense of the rigors and rewards of teaching, and also to raise my esteem of those who have been doing it even longer, and in more difficult circumstances, than I have.

I was also inspired, in my story of Alan, by movies I’ve seen that feature teachers as heroes—but not in the way you might expect.   (more…)

 

September 11, 2012

Actor Tony Danza Speaks Out to Educators in His New Book

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What does Tony Danza know about education?!

As an actor, Tony Danza had conquered nearly every entertainment realm—TV, the movies, even Broadway—when one day three years ago, he felt a powerful urge to chase a childhood dream and become a teacher. He’d been inspired by a documentary made by Teach for America, the organization that trains college graduates to teach in rural and urban public schools, and he wanted to give something back. After dazzling viewers of such hit TV shows as Taxi and Who’s the Boss? and delighting Broadway audiences, he figured that, even with his lack of teaching experience, he still stood a good chance of keeping a classroom of high school kids engaged. How hard could it be?

As he found out, really hard. Entering Philadelphia’s Northeast High School’s crowded halls in September 2009, Tony found his way to a tenth-grade classroom filled with twenty-six students who were determined not to cut him any slack.

In his new book, I’d Like to Apologize to Every Teacher I Ever Had: My Year as a Rookie Teacher at Northeast High,Tony shares experiences that ranged from the infuriating to the deeply rewarding as he relives the amazing story of what happened. In his tenure at Northeast High Tony did it all, teaching Shakespeare, working detention, assisting the music and drama departments, coaching football, and helping a special group of young people through some of the most daunting personal and emotional issues.

We invite you to watch Tony’s message to educators on his site, TonyDanza.com, where you can also find more information about the book and his upcoming events.

Click here to read a conversation with Tony Danza and Erin Gruwell, author of The Freedom Writers Diary.