Product Description

Winner of numerous awards including the prestigious Peabody, this powerful and moving film is a "must-see" for anyone who is, or has ever thought of becoming a parent or teacher. The film chronicles the first year of five young teachers as they fight the

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #36995 in DVD
• Brand: New Video
• Released on: 2004-04-27
• Rating: NR (Not Rated)
• Aspect ratio: 1.33:1
• Formats: Color, DVD, Full Screen, NTSC
• Original language: English
• Number of discs: 1
• Running time: 80 minutes

Amazon.com
A deceptively simple documentary, The First Year follows five teachers in California through the first year of their teaching careers. The teachers are a diverse lot, teaching different ages and classes at five different schools, but what remains consistent are the difficulties they face and the determination they bring to it. Though The First Year is partly a recruiting effort that hopes to persuade more people to pursue teaching, the movie doesn't avoid the problems teachers face, from bureaucratic stumbling blocks (one teacher can't get her own classroom; an ESL program faces being defunded) to the kids themselves, who can be as angry and frustrated as the teachers, often for reasons the teachers are helpless to change. At times, the passion and empathy these five teachers demonstrate is profoundly moving--not because they're performing great feats, but because of the simple, small acts of faith that so rarely get made. --Bret Fetzer

Customer Reviews

Required viewing for all
The First Year is a wonderful documentary that shows the daily struggles of public school teachers in the face of apathetic administrations, parents, and students. As a teacher in the state of California this film strengthened my own resolve to be the best educator I can. At the same time the film also illustrates the break down of the public school system. The notes with this disc states that The First Year was "created to recruit and retain the next generation of teachers."In some ways I think this film will scare teachers off because of the way some of the teachers are treated by the school's administration.In any case I think this should be required viewing by any school board members, teachers, and civil servants in national and state goverments.

Absolutely Wonderful Story of First Year Teachers
The real world--that is what this movie (documentary) is about. No special effects--just human beings selflessly giving themselves to children in LA--and somehow surviving on 18K per year. This is an especially wonderful movie for anyone who is thinking of becoming a teacher. The understated love that every one of the teachers has for their children and their profession is what one really takes away from this movie. In that sense, this truly is a love story. And one can only hope that there are enough wonderful teachers like the ones portrayed in this movie out there working. The future of the country depends on them.

very inspiring
I don't own this product (yet), but it was shown in one of my teacher certification classes. I was really inspired by how much the teachers were willing to sacrifice to make sure their students had at least the opportunity to succeed. However, I was saddened that they HAD to give so much because often the district/administration wasn't doing its part. The documentary showed teaching in a very realistic light rather than the "oh, well they get weekends and summers off" light that many people think of it as. This video was shown in a class of 23 potential teachers and I really think it strengthened our resolve to become teachers.