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Plot Summary
As the debate over the state of America's public school system rages on, one thing everyone agrees on is the need for great teachers. Yet, while research proves that teachers are the most important school factor in a child's future success, America'steachers are so woefully underpaid that almost two thirds must divide their time between a second job in order to make a living.Chronicling the stories of four teachers in different areas of the country, American Teacher reveals the frustrating realities oftoday's educators, the difficulty of attracting talented new teachers, and why so many of our best teachers feel forced to leave theprofession altogether. Can we re-value teaching in the United States and turn it into a prestigious, financially attractive andcompetitive desirable profession? With almost half of American teachers leaving the field in the next ten years, now is the time tofind out.
Rotten Tomatoes Movie Reviews
TOMATOMETER
67%- Reviews Counted: 15
- Fresh: 10
- Rotten: 5
- Average Rating: 6.3/10
Top Critics' Reviews
Fresh: A heartfelt, bittersweet portrait of several teachers as they make the difficult decision of whether to stick with the profession.
Fresh: As we watch the individuals in "American Teacher" struggle with the burdens the system places on them, it's hard not to feel like crying, both for them specifically and for our national culture.
Rotten: Featuring a tedious procession of statistics, graphs and talking heads, American Teacher undercuts the forcefulness of its arguments with its underwhelming presentation.
Fresh: What's made powerfully clear is that we've reached a dire point of crisis that, while largely rooted in economics, is about so much more than dollars and cents.
Customer Reviews
Amazing!
I highly recommend this to everyone!! What an accurate portrayal of a teacher's life...
Why the bad hype?
I thought this was a pretty good movie, it had a nice twist and it was very educational.
I'm not sure why everyone is giving it such bad ratings.
There's only one other movie like it called "waiting for superman"
A real look at what teaching is, and where it's heading.
American Teacher is not a Waiting For Superman clone. It isn't loaded with commentary from armchair quarterbacks in the teaching world (see Michelle Rhee). Instead, it offers a very real view of what I, and so many other teachers face in our day to day lives. Yes, it's wordy. It doesn't feature a soundtrack loaded with fury or a star studded cast of political pundits and wealthy entrepreneurs. It is simply about teaching. Good teaching. It addresses real issues like the fact that many teachers paid big money to get a degree, and barely live above the poverty level doing a job they see as a calling. If we paid doctors or lawyers what we pay teachers, don't you think the quality we would receive from those professions wold drop? Of course. But we expect teachers to tough it out. This documentary is one of the most honest looks at teaching I've seen since Chalk. I highly recommend it.
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- $17.99
- Genre: Documentary
- Released: 2011
- 2011 The Teacher Salary Project Artwork © 2011 First Run Features