Tony Danza: From Actor to High School Teacher?
Taxi and Who’s the Boss Star May Appear in A&E Reality Series
Tony Danza, who is best known for starring in the sitcoms Taxi and Who’s The Boss? may soon be making a significant career change. If a school board approves a proposal for a new reality show, he’ll be co-teaching 10th grade English this fall at a Philadelphia high school. The show, called Teach, will apparently use Danza to chronicle the experiences that a real public school teacher in an urban neighborhood goes through.
Is Tony Danza Qualified to Teach High School?
Tony Danza’s first career was as a professional boxer from 1976 to 1979. He was discovered by a producer at a boxing gym in New York. Through this connection, he landed a role on the sitcom Taxi, which lasted from 1978 to 1983. In 1984, he starred as single father Tony Micelli on Who’s The Boss. Danza remained with the show until it ended in 1992.
Before his boxing and acting careers, Danza was a good student who apparently earned a near-perfect score on his SATs. He received a wrestling scholarship to the University of Dubuque, where he earned a bachelor’s degree in history education. Despite this certification, Danza will be teaching 10th grade English, rather than history, in Teach.
Potential Benefits of the Show
Philadelphia Mayor Michael Nutter urged school commissioners to approve Danza’s show because of the many benefits it will bring to the city. For instance, many students would be able to work as production interns. Furthermore, according to the mayor, “[t]here are too many negative images of our city's young people and schools on television… I believe that Teach represents a unique opportunity to highlight many of our city's dedicated teachers and administrators, and the talented students they serve.”
District spokesperson Fernando Gallard believes that the series would “put a spotlight on teaching in an urban environment.” Co-executive producer Donny Jackson told the Associated Press, “Our goal with Teach is to highlight and celebrate the rarely seen challenges and unsung achievements of one of the greatest resources our nation has to offer: the public school teacher.”
Mayor Nutter also believes that Teach may cause an increase in teacher recruitment. Overall, Danza believes that the show has enormous potential to benefit the students, the community, and society at large. In an interview with The Associated Press, he said, “If we can be really real about it and really honest about it and put the kids first and really show what a teacher goes through, it might be something that is a positive.”
Potential Disadvantages of the Show
Although it hasn’t yet been approved, the idea of bringing cameras into the classroom has already been met with resistance by some. For one, Philadelphia Daily News columnist Ronnie Polaneczky believes that students would become too distracted by cameras and microphones to focus on their academics. Others expressed concerns that the show would not realistically depict the public school system, and might give aspiring and new teachers false expectations.
Will the Show be Approved?
School officials are expected to vote on August 19th on whether or not the show will be approved, but producers are confident that the school board will vote in their favor. After all, the district would receive $3,500 per episode, plus expenses and legal fees, and the right to object to certain footage being used.
Danza has already attended the New Teacher Induction Institute for Improving Teacher Quality, a training program for first-year teachers. He has also familiarized himself with the district’s English curriculum, which includes “Of Mice and Men,” “Julius Caesar,” “To Kill a Mockingbird” and “Animal Farm.” He even rented an apartment in the city’s Northern Liberties section.
If approved by Philadelphia education officials, 'Teach' will run for 13 episodes this fall on the cable channel A&E.
UPDATE (8/19/09): Philadelphia education officials voted in favor of 'Teach,' which means that Danza will begin co-teaching English at Philadelphia's Northeast High School this fall.
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