A Cranky Review of "Teach"
There was lots of conversation--pre-hype--about the doc/movie Teach on CBS last night. I tried to avoid "judging before watching" syndrome, and kept in mind that people do change their minds, based on evidence (see: Diane Ravitch).
So--I watched Teach last night. And yes, like many in the Twitterverse, felt my heartstrings yanked. I saw and warm-bathed in all the soft-focus messages of four earnest young teachers who are totally in it "for the kids."
Really. I believed 'em. They're concerned and determined to do their best. They believe they can make a difference. Go for it, guys. We all like a good teacher success story--they're a classic storyline, here in up-by-your-bootstraps America. Teach helpfully included several fictional-teacher clips, from Sidney Poitier to Robin Williams, to prime our emotional pump, in case the real teachers weren't enough.
Then, you could see the pre-crafted story arc emerging:
• Troubled schools. Poor but deserving kids. Teachers working so very, very hard, caring so very, very much. They're heroes! (And they actually are--so we're hooked into the narrative. We like these young teachers.)
• But...bad news: Test scores down! Way down! Plus: Some of these kids aren't sure if they
