Teacher Rhena Jasey with a student in a scene from the documentary American Teacher.
process. At times it's painful to watch such hardworking, idealistic, energetic individu- als become increasingly worn down as pres- sure mounts to raise student achievement while money dwindles to provide even the basics in many classrooms. While depress- ing, it's also uplifting to see these teachers do so much with so little as they meet chal- lenges that include pregnancy, raising chil- dren, and marital problems. The 81-minute film, directed by award-
winning filmmaker Vanessa Roth, was screened for media in New York and Los Angeles in September, and will soon be available for viewing in select theaters.
By Sherry Posnick-Goodwin MORE INFO
Copies of American Teacher will be available upon request for those who wish to schedule showings in community venues and school auditoriums via the website www.theteachersalaryproject.org.
Q&A
READ OUR Q&A WITH AMERICAN TEACHER PRODUCER AND WRITER NINIVE CALEGARI ON THE FOLLOWING PAGE.
October 2011 / www.cta.org 23 FACTS the total teachers
percent of teachers who have second jobs outside of the classroom
percent of teachers who spent their own money on their stu- dents or classrooms during the 2007–08 school year
62% 100 92.4%
80
60
40
20
0
percentage
