I’d Like to Apologize to Every Teacher I Ever Had is television, screen and stage star Tony Danza’s absorbing account of a year spent teaching tenth-grade English at Northeast High — Philadelphia’s largest high school with 3600 students. Entering Northeast’s crowded halls in September of 2009, Tony found his way to a classroom filled with twenty-six students who were determined not to cut him … determined not to cut him any slack. They cared nothing about “Mr. Danza’s” showbiz credentials, and they immediately put him on the hot seat.
Featuring indelible portraits of students and teachers alike, I’d Like to Apologize to Every Teacher I Ever Had reveals just how hard it is to keep today’s technologically savvy – and often alienated — students engaged, how impressively committed most teachers are, and the outsized role counseling plays in a teacher’s day, given the psychological burdens many students carry. The book also makes vivid how a modern high school works, showing Tony in a myriad of roles – from lecturing on To Kill a Mockingbird to “coaching” the football team to organizing a talent show to leading far-flung field trips to hosting teacher gripe sessions.
A surprisingly poignant account, I’d Like to Apologize to Every Teacher I Ever Had is sometimes laugh-out-loud funny but is mostly filled with hard-won wisdom and feel-good tears.
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I was surprised at how genuine Tony Danza was. He put his heart and soul into teaching.
Danza’s experiences teaching a high school English class for a year reveals the difficulty of maintaining order and conducting a class with no means of enforcing discipline. My daughter-in-law, a high school English teacher, assures me that Danza’s classroom situation was no exaggeration. To his credit, Danza was sincerely interested in his …
Light-hearted recounting of a one-year sojourn as a public school teacher, in an artificial situation so, albeit with good intentions, with little permanent impact on the system. Sad.
I was more than pleasantly surprised at how much I enjoyed this book.
A wonderful tribute to teachers.
Great book! The narrative arc is not surprising, but Danza’s voice is so fresh and full of heart that I felt that I was saying good-bye to friend(s) at the book’s end.
Tony Danza in a completely different role. Teaches at an inner city school for one year and gets totally involved with his job as well as “his kids”. A great view into the life of a dedicated teacher.
I was drawn to this book because I did my student teaching at Northeast HS in Philadelphia while at Penn State. Danza describes his students well. His experiences seem accurate for a first year teacher. I was very disappointed to learn that he agreed to filming the experience.
Loved this!
This tells about real everyday teaching! We don’t give our teachers enough credit or time or money.
V we y inspiring.
This is a completely different side of Tony Danzig that is a lovely side. He is kind and caring and shares his own personal issues some during this story of his teaching. His instincts with people are great and he did fabulous as a teacher in a difficult school
Really enjoyed this book, Tony Danza’s writing style was easy to read, interesting, good story.
Loved this I started and couldn’t pout it down! Makes you appreciate the teachers you had!
As a teacher for 37 years (now retired), I appreciated Tony’s honesty about his own experience — how hard it was to be constantly prepared for each class and also cope with the everchanging circumstances that arose. His recognition of how much many teachers care about their students and the effect this has on teachers’ lives both inside and …
As a retired educator, I really enjoyed this book. I give Tony Danza a lot of credit for going into the trenches.
I really enjoyed this book. This is a great story. Kudos to Mr. Danza for wading in to the school in the first place and then for telling us his story and the stories of the entrenched teachers and the students who are caught between their own self-destructive culture and the possibilities of the future.
The book is ,witty, and honest heart warming experiment–love title
Every teacher should read this. I loved it.
It goes to show celebrities are just like the rest of us. The emotions are real, the struggle to keep our emotions in check, compassion. A very good read.
Danza makes many insightful observations about public education. If only our government would heed them.