Tony Danza

Tony Danza becomes a high school English teacher for a year and talks about it. Though, a few caveats to mention: He only taught one class of 26 students (compared to the 5 classes his fellow teachers taught), he had a television crew present for the first semester, and it seems he used his own wealth and connections to provide a few experiences to his students that others in the same school wouldn't have had.

I appreciated that he bragged on other teachers and showcased his own mistakes, but sometimes his mistakes seemed strange - as if he never attended any kind of orientation or read the school manual, because he didn't know simple things about his school's policies and procedures.

I wasn't crazy about how he seemed to be sacrificing his family relationships (that apparently were already rocky) for this television project. No matter how important education is, the reality is that he was away from his family for a show… Which is more important, really?

He mentioned the strain on his family multiple times, but then never concluded that part of the story in the end, which was so frustrating.

Also, he gave major spoilers for Of Mice and Men, Romeo and Juliet, and West Side Story. (Ironically, he tells a student, "Never give away the ending," and then spoils a story for the reader just a few pages later.)

It was obvious he likes to talk about himself a lot, and more of that should have been edited out. I could care less about his acting career - which is why I picked up this book on teaching.

Note: A small amount of profanity is used, generally in the dialogue of students.… (más)

3 1/2 stars
Tony Danza agreed to do a series for the A&E Network called Teach, complete with camera crew and the need for ratings drama which he never succumbs to, thankfully. Though the show itself did not do well in ratings (and A&E buried in a late night line up) Danza himself got a lot out of the experience, showing how teachers and students interact in the modern world, how much things have changed and just what kind of challenges everyone is up against (budget cuts, invisible parents, standardized testing, etc.).

Well worth the read.… (más)