"(man) I'm just gonna start." "You're gonna say your name, and then I want you to tell me what comes to your mind with history, okay?" "And I'd like you to start." "Anything?" "Okay." "Well, that's why we're here." "[light orchestral music]" "♪ ♪" "[violin enters]" "[drums enter]" "(man) come on in." "Got a little history going on in here." "Good to meet you." "Hey." "Hello, miss armada." "Good to meet you." "So Mr. Stroope is my name." "History's my game." "No, that was really corny, wasn't it?" "[laughter]" "Could you imagine if I really used that?" "[whistle blows]" "Okay, everybody," "Welcome to the first day of school." "How are you feeling?" "Yeah, great." "Okay, come on." "Let's look alive." "All right, I'm coach Webb." "I know some of you." "Some of you are new faces to me." "I'm excited about this year." "I think this is gonna be a good year." "First thing I need to get out of the way... (Lowrey) in my class, you will always, always," "Always need paper." "So if you come to class without paper," "Then you won't be prepared." "And that's our first rule of our classroom rules," "Is to show up." "That's our first rule:" "To show up." "And our second rule is to be prepared." "I mean, I know that now that I'm an AP" "And I'm not a teacher anymore," "I know that I'm dealing with a lot more discipline issues" "Than I was before, of course," "But I'm really wondering..." "I just don't know" "Exactly what the appropriate recourse is" "For certain actions." "Right." "For instance, I had a student" "Tell me that I could kiss his white ass." "He told you that you could kiss his white ass?" "Yeah." "(Stroope) okay, when you guys are finished," "We'll get started." "Oh, we're done." "Continue." "More of that Summer camp pictures?" "Yeah, they are." "Great." "Why don't you give them here?" "Then I'll take a look at them and throw them away." "Get them after class." "All right, so like I said," "My name is Mr. Stroope." "A little bit about me... (all) fall!" "(Webb) okay, hello." "Trust in each other." "That's what this is about." "Okay, come on;" "Let's do it some more." "Eh, you guys, that's terrible." "Let's do this." "Okay, ready?" "A little forward." "Okay, really fall back." "Fall back." "Don't be scared." "Okay, but fall back more." "You're kind of going like that." "Because I don't trust him." "You don't trust him." "That's what we're learning here." "Okay, trust him." "[sighs]" "Right here I have it on the board: "history is."" "And just everybody, right now, with me," "Read... read with me, all right?" ""history is."" "That was pretty good." "Now everybody together:" "(all) "history is."" "Now, it is... (all) "society."" "(Lowrey) good." "(all) technology, economy, politics, culture." "(Lowrey) all right." "So when I... what do those words mean to you?" "Okay, that wasn't fair, because I didn't..." "Usually what I will do is," "When I give you a word for the first time," "I will define it" "So that you know what we're talking about." "And then as we move forward, then you'll be able to know," "So that if I say, um..." "Annie, what is culture?" "You will say..." "Well, I haven't given you the definition yet," "But what do you think culture is?" "Well, Cheryl, I'll tell you," "I always thought that when I got out of the classroom" "And got into administration..." "Yeah?" "You know, I wouldn't be taking things home at night." "I wouldn't be grading papers on the weekend," "And I don't." "I usually get here about 6:30 in the morning." "I leave around 8:00 in the evening." "I'm here on Saturday" "From about, oh, 7:00 until about 3:00." "Wow." "I don't come up on Sundays much." "Wow." "But what you're gonna find is that you have more paperwork," "More reports." "It's just like..." "it's kind of crazy." "When I was in the navy..." "A little story that goes with that..." "All right, who else?" "(girl) I got a job," "Finally." "Congratulations." "Where are you working at?" "Blazer laser." "I worked there over the Summer." "(Stroope) well, cool." "Thanks." "Congratulations." "Who else?" "Summer stories;" "Summer stories." "We have Summer love, Summer travel," "Summer work." "What's your name?" "Michael." "Michael, what did you do this Summer?" "I went to Mexico too." "Mexico, what part?" "Zacatecas." "Zacatecas." "Family down there?" "Yeah, my grandma's up there." "Cool." "I rode a horse." "I fell down." "You rode a horse;" "You fell down." "Man..." "[laughter]" "You laugh." "Man, you never ride horses," "You're like, "oh, that was fun,"" "The next day, you're like... [laughter]" "Yeah." "(girl) how long have you been a teacher?" "Just wondering." "I have taught in different capacities" "All my life," "But I just came from computer engineering," "And we are sort of..." "I've been in the workforce" "For many, many years," "Longer than you've probably been in school." "The immediate answer to you question is..." "I've been teaching about an hour and ten minutes." "[students chatting]" "(Lowrey) are you assigning homework on the first day?" "Oh, of course." "It's math." "Even to your freshman?" "Uh-huh." "(Stroope) math teachers do that." "(woman) they had the first 50 problems." "(Stroope) I had a hard time with math," "And I didn't like prime numbers." "(Webb) I did too;" "I'm with you." "And so I struggle with it." "I struggle with that." "(Lowrey) I was good at math, but I was very slow." "(Webb) oh, like, what is it?" "Not algebra, geometry." "Terrible at geometry." "I was good at algebra." "(Stroope) which one's geometry?" "It's, like, shapes." "(Stroope) ah, see, I kind of liked that one." "(Lowrey) see, I was very good at that" "But just very slow." "(Guerrero) the problem I had with math" "Is that I like to spell everything out." "Instead of using numerals, I like to spell everything out," "And it just took me some time." "(woman) spell out the numbers?" "Yes." "I basically took an aptitude test." "I took two, but they both said the same thing," "So I took that to be a good sign," "Is that I would probably do well in teaching..." "Or veterinarian medicine." "Well, I actually..." "I taught at Harrison high school" "For five years." "I was the choir director, actually," "And I wasn't planning to be an AP at all," "Maybe some day down the line, but certainly not this year." "But I guess, as everybody knows now," "Mr. Fletcher was found guilty, so there was an opening," "And they came to me and asked me to apply," "So I did, and here I am." "You know, I've always got goals for the classroom." "I always have goals for my students." "I'm a teacher." "But I always told myself," "For me, within the first five years," "I want to win "teacher of the year"" "At Harrison high," "And I'm hoping to pull it off this year." "I don't think people realize how hard it can be sometimes" "To be a teacher." "I mean, it really is a very difficult job," "And I've only done it for one year, but..." "And I know the first year is supposed to be the hardest," "But you start feeling like you just depend so much" "On other people to help you with your job," "And the administration is a huge part of that." "And suddenly, I've got this very close friend of mine," "I mean, my best friend, actually," "As an assistant principal." "And I feel like..." "I mean, I'm just..." "I'm already starting the year feeling relieved about this." "[sniffs]" "[sniffs]" "Mrs. Campbell." "[clears throat]" "Mrs. Campbell." "Mrs. Campbell, you made it." "(Campbell) I'm gonna start with..." "Planning my yearly appraisals" "And my walk-throughs, formal Evals," "In the next month or two." "Sure." "Do you remember what we talked about" "For you for growth areas?" "Growth areas, last year, the three goal things?" "Right." "Yes; yes." "What are those?" "My goal... my goals?" "Uh-huh." "From last year, um..." "Sarcasm." "Uh-huh, we're against it, right?" "[laughing] we are, yeah." "Okay." "You're right, I am..." "I'm working on the sarcasm." "Sometimes I feel it's a defense mechanism" "And a survival tool," "But the second one" "Was cleanliness, organization." "And I still" "Have some boxes and stuff," "And we are a little bit in," "Which leads into that third one, which was lesson plans." "I still... you know," "Sometimes, like today, I did a little bit" "On the fly, I'll admit." "But the kids really liked lesson," "So I think it's working well today." "Well, you know that the lesson plans" "Are due the Friday before the week" "That you're going to teach them." "Yeah, I know." "Once in a while, I'll be a little late," "But you're right." "The point is to know..." "What's coming up." "Before you teach." "And let's write..." "Let's work on the lesson plans, a little more descriptive." "Let's be a little more..." "Detailed?" "Yeah." "(Reddell) crap." "Hey!" "Don't!" "Hey, you guys." "[people yelling]" "Hey, stop!" "Back!" "You, back!" "What's this?" "What are you doing?" "[people yelling]" "(Reddell) the rest of you, go." "Don't... don't do that!" "You, to my office, right now!" "Go!" "Go!" "Nothing to see;" "Go." "Nothing to see here." "Whew." "[whooping] [laughter]" "Hi, sweetie." "How you doing?" "(Webb) so anything volunteers to go first?" "I'll go first." "(Webb) I find that as a PE teacher," "I do..." "I do have a lot of..." "I've had a few instances where students or teachers" "Have assumed I was gay." "And I think it's a mixture of, I'm a PE teacher;" "My hair's short." "I don't know if that affects" "The way guys see me." "I don't know." "I don't know if that's something they assume," "That I'm gay and so I wouldn't be interested in them." "I don't know." "But not all PE teachers are gay, you know?" "(Lowrey) I just..." "I wasn't expecting you today." "If I'd have known you were coming," "I would have had a different lesson." "They're doing a free response right now, and it's... (man) okay, I'll tell you what:" "We'll come back in 15 minutes..." "Put that down." "Crash!" "Put that..." "David." "David, you put..." "I'm sorry." "All right, that'd be great; great." "All right, yeah, you have my attention now." "You have my attention." "Put that back." "Put that down." "Put that down." "How would you like a referral?" "You just got... you just earned yourself a referral." "Mark, Amber, Robert, sit down a sec." "(Stroope) they tell you early on, don't be their friend." "You know, you don't want to have a friendship;" "You want to have a relationship." "I haven't quite figured out the difference." "Mark, the past two days, you've been gone." "Now, I know you've been on campus," "Because I see you skating out by the picnic tables." "That's okay." "Now, you're not that great of a skater." "That's one issue." "And so that's my goal every year," "Is letting them know early on," ""I care about you, and you can trust me," "And I have your best interest at heart."" "I'm worried about your back." "That's a lot of weight in that thing." "It's straining." "I know you're a good student." "You study;" "You work hard." "Do you ever see those old ladies that are hunched over?" "Yeah." "What it all boils down to at the end of the day" "Is that you have to show me as much... [students clamoring]" "Um..." "What was I saying?" "(girl) oh, you stupid nigger." "You need to make up your mind." "All right; all right." "Micah." "Micah, no." "Micah, Micah, will you please..." "You need to control your own... (Lowrey) Denise, please." "That's good." "That's good." "Denise, please, will you face front?" "Micah, will you please have a seat?" "Please." "Please!" "Denise, I don't..." "I don't need..." "Please have a seat." "Um, you know, this isn't even for our class," "But you... all of you could really, really..." "The preamble to the constitution of the United States" "Is "we the people."" "And who are the people, huh?" "Are women people?" "(girl) nope." "Are black people people?" "(boy) where do you think soul food comes from?" "(girl) some of us; some of us." "Are immigrants people?" "Are minors people?" "(girl) this one right here." "What I'm talking about" "Is that which..." "it talks about respect." "Don't start with me again." "Denise, Micah." "All right?" "All I'm trying to do is say" "That when you are in this classroom" "That you show each other a little respect." "Where is Manny?" "Um..." "Well, what do you want me to say?" "This shouldn't be a surprise to you, honey." "I know." "I am gonna try my best to be..." "I don't know, 2:00, 3:00, 4:00." "I'm not sure." "I will try." "Fine." "Great." "All right." "Hi, it's 10:30." "I just got home." "This is the third night..." "the third night in a row" "That I have gotten home after 10:00." "I'm exhausted, and my husband's asleep." "And I'm going to go to sleep soon too." "So that's it for me." "I haven't had sex in three weeks." "Bye." "[school bell rings] [intercom beeping] [man over intercom] tough game last night, hornets." "At least we kept them under 100." "Okay, teachers, now is the time." "Go ahead and turn to... (man) the condensation..." "Yeah." "Does anyone have a nickel?" "(Stroope) so it usually is," "Two teachers go against each other." "Do you have any pointers" "For a guy who is, you know," "Trying to get in there, trying to win it?" "Because you had some stiff competition last year." "Well, to me, the focus really needs to be on the students" "And not on the prize," "Because if you're really caring about your students," "Then things like that can fall out from it." "It's just gonna happen." "That's the biggest bunch of crap I've ever heard." "Well..." "That's all right." "(Stroope) doc needs a nickel." "Those were some interesting..." "It's yoga." "You want me to teach you?" "No, no." "No, come on." "Maybe you might be good at it." "Come on, just a little bit." "Come here." "Might loosen you up." "(Stroope) yeah, you could use a little loosening up." "Come on." "Take off... here." "No, I..." "I..." "I..." "I really don't think that's safe." "Like, do this;" "Do this." "Just try this." "(Stroope) you guys make a cute..." "You ought to..." "you ought to date." "All right." "So I, uh..." "I will talk to you about the announcement." "[teachers chatting]" "(Lowrey) um, did anybody..." "Did anybody see a..." "a banana berry yogurt?" "I had put it in the door, and I wrote my name on it." "(Webb) you put your name on it?" "Yeah." "If you put your name on it, nobody should take it." "(woman) especially if you put it in a bag," "And put your name on the bag." "(Webb) no, I'm serious." "Has this happened to you more than once?" "Um, it's... yeah." "It's happened twice this week." "Yeah, see, that's... that's wrong." "I'm sure it's" "That somebody's just confused, and I..." "I'll mention it to Miss Reddell." "Did you ever see the movie 55 days in Peking?" "I don't think I did, no." "There's a scene there where the marine corps major's" "Coming into the international hotel" "In Peking," "And they hand him this whole stack of mail." "And he immediately just throws it all" "In the trash can." "And the guy says, "what did you do that for?"" "He says, "well, if you have mail," ""you got to open it." ""and if you open it, you got to read it." "And if you read it, you got to respond."" "That's right." ""so the easiest way is just to toss it."" "That's great." "That's great." "I have to rent that one." "Let's see, 50... 55 days..." "In Peking." "In Peking, yeah." "Charlton Heston." "Oh, old Charlton Heston." "Sorry, folks." "Let's go." "The bell's about to go." "[school bell ringing]" "Hey, hey, hey, hey." "That was the bell." "She lets me in." "(woman) okay." "Hi, Brian, sweetie." "Come on in;" "Have a seat." "We're gonna get started." "Everyone, get your..." "All right, guys, let's get our homework out." "Got your homework to turn in," "And then we can talk about our math party" "That we're gonna have at the end of the month, okay?" "Miss Brock?" "Hey, excuse me." "Miss Brock, can I talk to you for just a quick second?" "Oh, sure." "Okay, class, one moment." "Just go ahead, get your homework out" "And check your answers." "[students chatting]" "Hey, how you doing?" "Hi, I'm fine." "You had a kid run in late," "And you let him in." "Well, he wasn't running." "He was... he walked in..." "no, he ran." "He was running down this hall," "Oh, he was?" "Yeah." "Do you send them to PRC if they're late?" "Well, if they're really late." "See, we all got to be on board with this tardy policy," "The lock-out, because it's not fair to the kids" "Whose teachers are honoring the system" "And those who aren't, and I feel like" "This is a wonderful system..." "You think I'm not honoring the system?" "Well, as I yelled at him, he said," ""she lets me in," which implies that you do this" "More than once," "So I'm gonna take him with me to PRC," "Because we need to keep this consistent, okay?" "Um..." "All right." "All right, well, maybe we can talk about this later." "No, that's it." "I don't need to talk about it anymore." "Okay, well..." "I did want to talk to you, though." "We have..." "I'm starting up a little teacher walking group" "On Tuesday and Thursday morning." "[thunder booming]" "Oh, uh-huh." "And we just kind of meet at 6:30," "Walk around the school a few times." "Right now, it's just Mr. Guerrero and I." "I'm trying to get a few people involved." "Oh, really." "Yeah, kind of start the day with some exercise." "Is that something that would interest you?" "Um, maybe..." "If so, just let me know." "I'm not really into that." "Let me know, 'cause I think it's good for all of us" "To get a little more exercise." "Are you..." "We get stuck in these classrooms." "Do you think I need to exercise?" "I think we all need to exercise." "Oh, I see." "That is for sure." "Um." "[tapping on desktop]" "So we're..." "we're talking about voting." "[girl rapping]" "Just a second." "[tapping a hip-hop beat]" "Yeah, okay, where is it?" "Where's my chalk?" "[laughter]" "Do you know where my chalk is?" "[laughter]" "Hotter; hotter." "Ooh, ooh, ooh, uh." "No, I..." "hotter." "[students giggling]" "Okay, I'm not doing this, all right?" "[laughter]" "I am not doing this." "(boy) on the back burner." "This is not the kind..." "this is not what..." "This is not what we're doing, okay?" "Now, if..." "Uh, uh-oh." "No, you missed it." "[laughter]" "Did you move my chalk?" "You're cooler now than ever." "Did you move my chalk?" "Okay." "That's hotter, hotter." "Oh, no, cooling down now." "Just listen to what I'm saying." "(girl) I think you should just write him..." "All right, I tell you what." "I tell you what," "I'm going to step out into the hall," "And when I come back, I would like to see" "Who's going to finish teaching this lesson, all right?" "(boy) not you." "[students chatting and giggling]" "No, go sit down." "Go sit down." "(boy) yeah, go Linda." "(girl) come on, Linda." "All right." "(boy) go, girl." "You want to go outside class too?" "You want to go with him?" "All right, then." "(boy) I'm not going anywhere." "Let's see here, where we started..." "Where we left off at." "Hmm." "Restrain, what does restrain mean?" "(girl) when you're held back, like she did." "[laughter]" "(girl) do we even need to learn this stuff?" "(all) no." "(boy) no, I mean, this is what I find interesting." "(girl) I'm not gonna go to school just to learn this stuff." "Do you have a pass?" "I am a firm believer in the old saying," "Students are what you think you make them think you are," "Or, students are what..." "Students are what you..." "Students are what you make them think you think they are." "I have a couple students who aren't very athletic." "They're a little heavy, and I can tell" "There's no part of them that wants to be active." "If I make them think that they have some potential" "And that they are actually good at the activity," "Suddenly, they start thinking, "hey, I can do this."" "I'm gonna take you through a few moves." "Here's a move a call "chug," really works the glutes, okay?" "You got to lead with your butt." "You're gonna chug." "(girl) oh, my God; no." "Lead with the butt." "I don't even know where it's taking me." "And I watch them do it." "I watch them succeed at it," "And I think that's really important." "I think that's something all teachers should remember." "It's kind of a hard little saying," "But the idea is, you make students" "Understand your expectations for them." "And maybe... maybe you're kind of lying, you know?" "Maybe you don't really think they're that good at that," "But you make them think they are," "And suddenly they start..." "they start, um..." "What's the word I'm looking for?" "They start performing at that level." "It's a good... it's true for all life, really." "I sent you an email" "About the new book on the reconstruction." "Yeah, yeah." "We don't have it in our library," "But I've ordered it from another library." "It should be here in a few days." "Okay." "Great, um..." "Is there anything else?" "Yeah, I was wondering" "If you have an books on, um, uh..." "Classroom management." "Hey, Lindsey, how are you?" "Hey, do I know you?" "What?" "What?" "You seem vaguely familiar." "[laughs]" "I never see you anymore." "I know;" "I know." "It's true." "I hate this." "My life is completely different." "Are you coming tonight?" "Tonight." "What's tonight?" "Thursday happy hour." "It's Thursday." "Oh, no." "I am so..." "You promised we'd go this week." "I know;" "I was gonna try, wasn't I?" "You haven't been the entire year." "I am so sorry." "What?" "What?" "I can't go." "Why?" "Jarmon's out of town." "They've got that band competition." "I've got to lock up the school." "Band competition?" "(Reddell) yes, band competition." "(Webb) they can't make you do everything." "Well, yes, they can, and they do." "It's my job." "No, it's totally..." "I can't even tell you" "The amount of hours I spend up here." "I don't think you have any idea." "Yeah, okay, fine." "You call Greg;" "I'm not calling him." "He's gonna be disappointed." "I will;" "I'll call him." "All right." "I've got to run;" "I've got a meeting with Hector," "So I will see you soon." "Okay, tell him hi." "Have a good meeting." "Bye." "Send me an email." "Let me know what's going on." "[clears throat]" "Is the copier broken?" "I think they changed the codes." "[school bell rings]" "All right, guys, hold it a second." "Will, sit right here a second," "And, Alex, sit right there, please." "You guys have a good day." "Hurry up, Kim;" "I got to talk to them, so..." "See you tomorrow, Jesusita." "Listen, will," "You use some big words that I don't quite understand." "Okay?" "And, you know, I worked hard" "To get to this teaching thing, to get here," "And it's kind of my limelight, all right?" "So I want you to use words" "That I understand and the class can understand, okay?" "I don't even know if you know what they mean." "Alex, you probably know more history than I do." "We probably both know that, and that's fine, okay?" "But in class, try not to know as much as me." "Does that make sense?" "Tone it down." "Just... yeah." "Just..." "I mean," "Don't act stupid..." "Okay." "But don't... don't roll your eyes." "Don't, um," "The guffaws like that, that... [guffaws]" "That right there." "Sorry." "(Reddell) okay, now, did you spot him" "In the north hallway or the south hallway?" "I thought you said south." "[unintelligible radio chatter]" "And did you say "red cap"?" "[woman over radio] unit cleared on five." "Identify." "I am headed east in the purple zone." "[unintelligible radio chatter]" "Does he have jeans?" "I'm in the main hallway of the 300 wing." "Uh-huh." "In the main scaffold." "But do you see me waving?" "(boy) he went this way." "Oh, thank you." "That little bastard." "Okay, so what I'm gonna do today" "Is introduce you guys to a few yoga moves." "We're going to..." "I'm gonna be incorporating that" "Into the school year, into sort of warm-ups." "We're gonna occasionally do some light yoga," "Nothing super-difficult." "Okay, so lay down;" "Everybody lie down on your backs." "Okay." "And you're just gonna lift up from your pelvis," "Lift up, and you're in kind of a slant, okay?" "And you're gonna breathe in that position." "This is the wonderful thing about yoga," "Is that you're learning to breathe" "In slightly weird stretches." "Good, turkey;" "Good." "(boy) okay, I'm over here." "Okay, Ryan, relax." "I don't feel right doing this." "You don't feel right?" "Does something hurt?" "No, it's, like, kind of making me" "Kind of hot and vulnerable." "[laughter]" "All right, you guys, listen up." "Everybody just keep doing it;" "Keep practicing." "Okay." "Corner of my eye, and I can see Jessie." "Okay, why don't you turn around, then," "So your face is over here?" "Make your head on this end of the mat, okay?" "Just turn around." "Don't worry." "You know, actually, I love that he just said that." "This is our history." "This is who we are as a nation." "This is how we came to be." "Just like with our families, right?" "I mean, how did you get here?" "Don't answer that question." "[laughter]" "I've tried to incorporate a little more humor," "Make things a little bit more lively in the classroom," "And I think that's important," "Because a lot of people take humor very seriously." "And I told a very funny joke" "About the Lincoln-Douglas debates" "And, "what if Douglas had won?"" "[chuckles]" "Well, I really would have to set it up," "And I don't do the whole thing." "I mean, I don't really want to do that on camera," "Because I feel like the timing and the situation" "Wouldn't read." "[laughs]" "Um..." "I..." "I have found myself, um, kind of interested in somebody," "And it's... it's strange," "Because we're really not alike at all." "I do find myself kind of enjoying work" "Even more than I already enjoy it," "Because there's this added little thing." "I don't know." "Um, you know, I look forward to seeing him," "And I'm enjoying getting to know him." "[students chatting]" "(Webb) I'm asking if other people do." "What?" "I don't." "(Webb) make long-distance phone calls" "On the phones here." "I hardly regularly make long-distance phone calls." "(man) I don't have the code to get out." "They give you the code?" "They didn't give you a code?" "(man) they give you a code to dial long-distance?" "Watch everything we do." "They monitor." "Yeah." "(man) excuse me." "Yeah?" "Mr. Fernandez?" "(Fernandez) yes?" "I was cleaning your room." "Um, I dropped your piano." "How do you drop a piano?" "What did you do?" "Well, we were, um..." "We were washing it, and, um... (Fernandez) did you tip it over?" "Well, we were kind of pushing it to dust underneath the piano." "Would you come show us?" "(Fernandez) yeah, I think we need to go." "(man) I just..." "I can't lift it by myself." "(Fernandez) well, of course you can't lift it by yourself." "It's a 500-ton piano." "How did you drop a piano?" "I..." "I..." "I just..." "(Stroope) okay, thank you, Mr. Montalvo." "Hey, guys, real quick..." "Real quick." "I know it's early;" "I'll be quick." "I just really..." "I see coach Webb over here." "Did anyone see the hornets win that volleyball game" "Last night?" "Good job." "[applause]" "Good spikes." "Spike?" "Spike, spikes." "Good team." "So I'll be quick." "They've asked me to ask you guys a few questions, actually." "But what's nice is, this is just teacher-to-teacher." "As you can tell, no principals;" "Just teacher-to-teacher." "So who checks the personal email" "During class, between classes, that sort of thing?" "We all... yeah, you know what I'm talking about there." "Who's got that good class that you're like, you know," "They're working on a project." "I'm gonna wander to the gym and shoot some baskets." "Who's ever..." "who's ever taken a little" "Teacher field trip, if you know what I mean?" "[laughter]" "What about, like, reams of paper from the workroom." "Who's ever borrowed a ream of paper?" "You got to make..." "borrowed the ream of paper." "You've got to make the garage sale flyers for the weekend." "You've kind of run them off on the copier here at school." "We've all done that too, right?" "Now, I know a lot of you sponsor clubs." "And as club sponsors," "Who's ever borrowed petty cash money?" "[laughter]" "Guys, who's borrowed some cash from the..." "You know, like, "hey, we're going to happy hour." ""I'm gonna buy a round of drinks." "Actually," "This science club's gonna buy a round of drinks, huh?" "Beer money." "Beer money." "Who's done that?" "Raise your hands a little bit." "[laughter]" "Hey, that's got to stop." "This is ridiculous." "We're shaping the future, and we're taking cash," "We're stealing paper?" "Who's borrowed a stapler?" "Exactly." "Who's got a couple staplers in their room" "That probably don't belong to them?" "I know I'm missing one." "You try stapling 30 tests without a stapler." "It's called paper clips." "The reason they've asked me to speak" "Is because it's win month." "Do you guys know what that stands for?" "With integrity now, okay?" "Borrowing petty cash," "Taking school property, leaving a classroom," "That's not integrity." "That's not character." "You guys know what I'm talking about now?" "It's kind of sad." "We're supposed to be role models," "And we're doing this kind of thing?" "Well, listen, we all got work to do," "So I'm gonna take off." "I'm done with you guys," "And I'll see you later on today, all right?" "When's the next game, coach Webb?" "Next Tuesday." "Next Tuesday, come out, support the lady hornets." "All right?" "See you, guys." "What ever happened..." "I keep meaning to ask you" "About that Guy that you met at happy hour." "Nothing." "Nothing at all?" "No." "Did he just not call, or..." "Never called." "I didn't really like him." "Why?" "I don't know;" "I don't care." "[laughs] you're in a good mood." "I'm not in a good mood today." "I can tell." "I'm not." "I'll be honest." "Do you think I'm pushy?" "Like, would you describe me..." "if someone asked" "To describe me, would you..." "Would you say I'm pushy?" "Um..." "Well..." "I think you know what you want." "I'm passionate." "Passionate." "You're not willing to settle." "I think that is a quality that makes you" "A good coach and a good teacher." "Is somebody calling you pushy?" "No, I just feel like there's a few people..." "I don't know." "I just feel like a see" "A look in people's faces sometimes." "I should just say, "what?" "What's wrong?" "You think I'm pushy?"" "Have you talked to people about it?" "No." "I mean, that... that would be an awkward thing to say." "Yeah, it would." "Well, you're assuming too much." "You're really kind of projecting" "Certain things on them, so..." "There's a couple people here that..." "I don't know." "Hmm." "Well, maybe you should talk to them." "Show me the thing where you went like this," "And it went across your fingers," "But be careful." "I will." "Okay, take it like this." "This is the top;" "This is the bottom." "Go like this," "And then it weaves through like that," "And it goes back over." "Okay, let me try." "Mmm, mm-mm." "Are you actually moving your fingers?" "Don't use your thumb there." "I don't want to do it." "Okay." "[groans]" "I am sorry you are having a bad day." "Me too;" "I was hoping the baton would help." "Will, I got to do it." "I'm calling home." "What's your number?" "What's this about?" "Just the number, will." "I'm not gonna sit here and put up with this." "Give me that number." "414-7729." "Mr. Eppler, please." "Mr. Eppler, this is Mr. Stroope." "I am will's history teacher up here at Harrison." "Yes, sir." "Uh-huh, well, it's his grade." "It's pitiful." "Uh-huh, one second." "There's no one there, will, but next time, there will be." "[atmospheric piano music]" "♪ ♪" "[woman whispering] Mr. Lowrey." "Mr. Lowrey." "Mr. Lowrey;" "Oh, I'm sorry." "I'm sorry;" "I'm sorry." "I just wanted to make sure you're okay." "Yeah." "Why don't you have a seat?" "Why don't you sit down for a second?" "Are you all right?" "What's going on?" "I..." "I lost track of the..." "Time." "No, it's totally okay." "I actually have an appointment." "[coughs]" "Did you miss it?" "Yeah... no, I'm..." "Okay." "I just need to..." "well, I'm glad I..." "Glad I came in here." "All right, thank you." "Yeah, you're welcome." "Hey, Mr. Lowrey, I've been wanted to ask you..." "Mm-hmm?" "You know my friend, Lindsey?" "Um, coach Webb?" "Yeah, she had lunch..." "Yeah, I know coach Webb." "This... forgive me if this is really..." "I'm just wondering if... are you..." "are you seeing anybody?" "Oh, you..." "are you..." "Are you single?" "Are you..." "You mean, um, like, dating." "Yes, like, dating." "Right, I am..." "And please, if that's too much, you..." "I know, it's none of my business." "I am..." "I'm not..." "I'm not seeing anyone." "Okay, that's fine." "No more said;" "That's enough." "Just wanted to ask." "Okay, I'll get out right now." "I will see you tomorrow." "Have a good night." "Thank you." "Mm-hmm." "I mean, I've been divorced for almost two years now," "And I find that, you know, the subject of dating," "The idea of going out with someone" "Keeps coming up at work." "I mean, teaching is hard enough for me right now." "It's taking up all of my life," "And I can't imagine having time" "For a personal life." "I'll tell you, it is a stress reliever" "To come out here and just put something up" "And just blow it away." "[gunshots]" "I totally missed that one." "It's, uh..." "It's just kind of..." "it's like teaching," "In the sense that you..." "you do your best," "And you're not gonna..." "you're not gonna get every kid." "Robert, you're doing pretty well, all right?" "Now, you're on the dance team, right?" "Yeah." "(Stroope) okay, I hear you're good at it, and I'm glad you are," "But you're missing a lot of stuff in my class." "What's a dancer that knows nothing" "About social studies?" "They say six out of ten kids walk away" "With a college education these days," "And it's what I got, six out of ten here." "And it's kind of funny, you know?" "You practice; you aim." "You hone your skill at shooting;" "You hone your skill at teaching," "And, uh..." "Then you just let it fly," "And sometimes you get it." "I understand that, Mrs. Levine." "No, I know..." "it is school policy" "That if a student brings a knife to school," "He is suspended for three days, and Danner brought a knife to..." "Yes, I have it in my hand." "Mrs. Levine, I understand that." "Arrggh!" "Why do they have to have cell phones?" "I mean, I asked Virginia." "There are 92 phones at our school." "Uh, I would say about 92 phones." "Think about it." "What emergency is so dire that you absolutely, positively" "Have to get ahold" "Of a 15-year-old right this minute?" "(Lowrey) okay, so Britain is growing in size," "And they're getting so big they need a new word for it," "And the word they come up with is "imperialism,"" "To describe their great big empire." "[cell phone music ring tone]" "All right?" "Damon, is that..." "that's your phone?" "That is the third time this week, isn't it?" "Now, what have I said?" "No cell phones in the class," "And I'm not stuttering when I say that, am I?" "Give me the phone." "No, I paid for this phone;" "It's mine." "You paid for it, personally?" "Yeah." "I find that hard to believe." "I find that very hard to believe." "With what, your allowance?" "Look, give me the..." "give me the phone." "You can't grab my phone." "All right, all right." "Everyone... is everyone paying attention?" "Because I think some people think this is funny." "Everyone pay attention." "If you bring your phones into my classroom again," "And you leave it on, like this gentleman has just done," "You can do what he's going to do, which is get out." "Get out?" "Why?" "Get out of my classroom right..." "no more words, just get out." "Fine." "This is fucking bullshit." "You're right;" "You're right." "It is... it is bullshit, all right?" "Are you happy now?" "Are you happy?" "(Damon) oh, yeah," "I'm real happy." "Good, good, just go." "Just go." "I'm going;" "I'm going." "Yeah, good." "Go." "See ya." "And you know what else?" "You know what else?" "Get back in here;" "Get in here." "You're a horrible teacher, you know that?" "Well, you would know," "Because you're a horrible student." "Enjoy your career." "Thank you." "Meet you after school." "Hey, I'm not laughing." "If you'd like to join him, you can go with him." "[laughs]" "I'm just going to ignore the rest of the laughter." "We're gonna go back to this." "Just turn to page 573 and look at the map." "Sorry, 574." "[gentle guitar music]" "♪ ♪" "(man) ♪ I wait at the port, ♪" "♪ dock 21, car 24 ♪" "♪ I'm ready to board, ♪" "♪ so take me away ♪" "♪ to so much more. ♪" "♪ walls keeping you safe, ♪" "♪ holding you in. ♪" "♪ ♪" "♪ fear, fear of an end, ♪" "♪ so you never begin. ♪" "♪ ♪" "Have you kissed him yet?" "(woman) no, we haven't kissed yet." "Oh, my gosh." "You can tell me." ""yet," she did say "yet."" "No, no, no, no." "How did it happen?" "Did he ask you out?" "Exactly." "Did he ask you out?" "Guys..." "Yeah, well, we just kind of..." "We're... we both have the same lunch break," "And we're just hanging out, and we were eating," "And we were just talking about the weekend." "It's hard, the whole single scene," "Trying to meet people." "It's awful;" "I hate it." "And then all..." "like, she's..." "thank you; thank you." "Sorry, I forgot..." "Cheers to Guerrero;" "Look at that." "Cheers to Guerrero." "(Stroope) Guerrero, the walking guy;" "I see you walk." "And to Carly." "(Stroope) and to Carly." "So what's up with you two?" "Ooh." "(Lowrey) I should probably go." "No." "(Stroope) no, you've had one drink with us." "Stay just, like, ten more minutes." "You got some..." "you got some muscles." "He's got some muscles." "I feel like I'm with my dad." "Do you work out?" "(man) would you please..." "Come on, now, you got to stay." "Maybe I'll stay for two, but I don't think I..." "I'm driving." "Guerrero, get him..." "What do you want?" "What was this?" "I got it." "(Stroope) man we're on break." "(Lowrey) I had a student... (Webb) a hornet." "A hornet..." "I had a hornet, and he was a big one." "A big hornet." "And wasn't in my class, but I..." "Big stinger." "I told him, "no running in the hall."" "He stopped." "He turned around." "He walked up to me, and he called me" "An f-ing sea-sucker right to my face." "(Reddell) wait, an f-ing..." "Did he say it like that?" "Did he say "f-ing sea-sucker?"" "Like a sea-sucker suit?" "No." "No, I suppose not." "That's a seersucker." "That's highly inappropriate." "(Lowrey) I know;" "I mean, I wrote him up." "[laughter]" "(Reddell) did he... wait." "Wait, Andy, did he say" ""f-ing sea-sucker?"" "No, he said the words." "But I just..." "I was sure he was gonna just," "You know, hit me." "That's... 'cause I had that." "You had this big guy." "Well, last year, end of the year..." "You know, they get crazy at the end of the year." "This kid, I swear, he was, like, half her size," "Not that you're tiny but... (Reddell) that is a little kid." "Stand up;" "He was, like, this tall." "That really is a little kid." "Was he, like, in elementary school?" "He came up to my belt." "That's a little kid." "And I was worried about my privates," "Because I'm, like, really... [laughter]" "Well, I'm, like, if he really does something," "I mean, he's right there." "(Reddell) what?" "Was he really punching you?" "(Stroope) Alex, door, go." "Um..." "Let me wait till the door's closed." "This is kind of on the downlow." "Now, I've made no bones about it." "You guys are my favorite class." "Every year, there's a teacher of the year." "You guys know that, okay?" "They... well, how it works, if you don't know," "Is, they pick two teachers, okay?" "And then the kind of..." "teachers vote," "And then one wins, and they're the teacher of the year." "Well, I am one of the two picked." "[applause]" "I know." "Thank you; thank you." "But this is my third year teaching," "So I'm kind of a newbie on this..." "One second, Daniel..." "But my goal was within the first five years," "So I'm really excited, 'cause you can't be teacher of the year" "Unless you're picked as one of the two, okay?" "So I've gotten this far, all right?" "Daniel, what was your question?" "Who else is nominated?" "Mrs. Townsend." "You guys know Mrs. Townsend." "She's a great teacher." "She's been here a lot longer." "She's been teaching over ten years," "So I've got some stiff competition," "But I want to beat her like a stepchild, okay?" "[laughter]" "You know, a lot of people don't understand it." "It is not a random thing." "They're not picking two names out of a hat, you know." "It is a thing..." "There's a lot of behind-the-scenes work." "You're... you know, you're doing the extra ball games," "Scratching the extra backs," "Bringing the extra brownies to the games," "Doing the extra tutoring." "You're doing all those extras to get your face out there" "So teachers are like, "that guy's going over the top."" "Well, I mean, first of all, I want..." "I want his mom to know that..." "let's see..." "That this is not a one-time thing" "That just sort of happened out of the blue" "And that I freaked out" "But that this is something" "That is happening in the classroom." "And he's not the only one, but I..." "I mean, he is a really smart kid," "And, yeah, it's obvious he knows the information," "But he just..." "I mean, he doesn't respect me, so..." "I mean, that's fine." "I mean, he doesn't have to, but he..." "He has to act like he does." "Damon is an excellent student," "And it's very obvious that he has a passion for history." "And when we had our..." "I don't like to call it an incident," "But when his cell phone went off in class," "It was the third time that week," "First time that day, third time that week, and..." "Okay, so a phone rang, and he said a curse word," "And you said a curse word, and that's the incident." "Yeah, well, he said two." "He said two curse words." "Yeah." "And you said one curse word." "Okay, it's not so much the curse word" "Or that the cell phone went off for the third time." "It... it's a general lack of respect" "That I feel from your son." "And I know that respect starts at home," "And if he respects you..." "Which he does," "Because I make my eye contact with him when I speak." "I notice you look down all the time." "You fidget." "You speak softly." "How long have you been teaching?" "This is my first year." "Okay, that doesn't surprise me." "And how were you on the first day of class?" "Did you try to be their pal?" "Were you real tough?" "Were you..." "well, I was firm." "I mean, I feel like I've always been..." "Okay, show me firm." "I mean, it's the way I..." "the way I would stand." "[clears throat]" "Okay." "Would you like a glass of wine?" "I think we can..." "I think we can work this out." "Oh..." "Sure." "Okay, Damon." "(Damon) what?" "Come on out." "You can come on out, honey." "Could you get us each" "A glass of wine, please?" "Yeah, okay." "There you go:" ""yeah, okay."" "No back talk." "You got to..." "that was good." "Yeah, you got to ask for what you want." "Are... you're not a teacher, are you?" "(Damon) I hope red's okay." "I..." "I love red." "Would you like to smell the cork?" "No, that's fine." "[clears throat]" "(woman) you were great," "And I really appreciate you coming over." "You know, this is your first year." "It's just gonna get better from here; it really is." "Well, I hope." "It will; it will." "Thank you very much," "And you have a beautiful home, and..." "Oh, thank you." "All right," "Good night, Damon," "And..." "Whew." "Could I use your phone?" "I may need to call a cab." "Oh, I am so sorry." "Well, can you just put it in the oven?" "And I'll be home in, like, two hours." "I promise." "Okay." "Hey, honey, why don't you wear" "That little pink number when I come home?" "Yeah; yeah." "All right." "Okay." "Oh-ho-ho-ho, okay." "All right." "I'll see you soon." "Okay, I love you too." "[intercom beeping] [man over intercom] oh, tough break today, b lunch." "Due to a lack of funds, we are out of fish sticks." "On another note..." "I was out in the hall, like, around..." "Hey, Virginia," "Could you get these to Mr. Montalvo, please?" "Thank you." "About two..." "I'm sorry, what did you say?" "I was on hall room duty yesterday," "And at least two teachers, I watched them let kids in," "Completely ignoring the tardy policy." "They didn't do the lockout." "They didn't send them to PRC;" "They just let them on in." "But I was on hall room duty, which is my job to do that" "And to stop kids from doing..." "To send them on, so I'm wondering" "How we're supposed to deal with that." "I think you need to say something to these people." "Well, okay, what I can tell you is that I know that this is..." "In an ideal world, this is a situation" "Where nobody would get in late, and..." "But this is... it's not so black-and-white..." "All it takes is, like," "A faculty meeting to say, "teachers..."" "We have done that." "We've had the faculty meeting..." "But they have to be held accountable" "If they're going to do that." "It's not fair to the kids whose teachers..." "There are situations that we don't understand." "We don't really know exactly what's going on" "With these students or these teachers." "There's a little more gray area..." "But this has to be a black-and-white area." "No, this can't be." "It has to be." "It is not that black-and white." "How can attendance..." "how can a tardy policy" "Not be black-and-white?" "Are you trying to tell me how to do my job?" "(Webb) then what I'm a supposed to do when I'm on hall duty?" "I'm just supposed to go, "oh, well, maybe there was" "A special situation there that I don't know about."" "This is not your job, Lindsey." "Okay, well, it's being done," "So I just want to know how it..." "Thank you for telling me;" "I appreciate it." "And the people are not recycling right, either." "They're putting..." "you can't put..." "Are you kidding me?" "If you fill it... if you put a thing with water in..." "Are you kidding?" "[clears throat]" "I am very upset right now." "I had this image that she would bridge the gap" "Between teaching and administration," "That she would be somebody I could got to" "And others could go to when we're feeling alone," "When we're feeling frustrated, when we need some help." "She kind of writes me off and listens to other people," "People that I know she doesn't even approve of." "And meanwhile, I'm over here having problems with... [sighs]" "I don't..." "I actually don't think" "She's cut out to be an assistant principal." "(Reddell) the toughest part of my job right now" "Is dealing with teachers" "Constantly complaining about other teachers." "You think she's too harsh;" "It that correct?" "Sometimes." "Thank you." "(Reddell) being a teacher before," "I mean, these were my peers and my friends," "And now I still..." "Of course, I still have those friendships," "But now I'm in a position of "power,"" "And so I feel like they are, uh," "Trying to manipulate that a bit." "(Stroope) I just want to go up to her door" "And just knock and just, um..." "Ask her a few questions, like," "Ask her what she thinks about the campaign." "Ask her if she's gonna campaign." "Ask her if she thinks she has a Chance at beating me." "Ask her if she's ever lost it on a student." "Maybe she'll be like, "oh, there was this one time,"" "And that word will get out, okay?" "[knocking]" "Man, this is terrible." "[knocking]" "What's the deal?" "I don't know, man;" "She's not here." "Her light's on." "Miss Townsend?" "[applause]" "Growing up in rural Arkansas," "I am a product of corporal punishment." "I knew that if I got it at school," "I got it twice at home, okay?" "And did that change my behavior in school?" "Yes, it did;" "It really did." "And so I have a phrase" "As far as corporal punishment, okay?" "If you can't beat them, you might as well join them." "Honestly, this is my time to shine." "I have got to come out of the gate strong," "And, you know, if I stand static," "It will show a lack of leadership." "You know, I've got my podium, but, you know," "I don't want to be afraid to use her podium" "If that's how it works." "I have got to have a great stage presence," "And that is so important to," "I think, winning the whole debate." "Hey, Tony. (Man) hey, Jack." "What do you think about all the faculty meetings we have?" "Tony, first off, I want to thank you for coming," "And I want to thank you for bringing this question up," "Because I've got an answer." "I've put together a committee," "Okay?" "This committee, we're meeting once a week" "To come up with some solutions" "That we can bring to the administration and say," ""look, what is up with all these meetings?"" "I'm praying for a landslide, because landslide means mandate." "And if I get a mandate," "I can really make the changes that people want to see happen." "I have already approached administration" "About getting each teacher in each room" "Their own copier with your own code." "You put your code in there, Mr. Jean." "Do you have a few numbers that you'd like to punch in," "Your own code?" "[cheers and applause]" "Somebody's got to lose, and, you know," "I would really hate to see this push her into retirement," "Because, you know, she's a good teacher." "[applause]" "Thank you, Mrs. Townsend, worthy competition there." "I just want to say thank you again," "And I want to say that this sweat here," "This isn't from, you know, nervousness" "Or from, you know, the heat in the building here." "This is passion for what I do, okay." "This is what that sweat is, all right?" "And that's what a bring to this, all right?" "I work hard." "I show up," "And I do it every day." "Thank you." "[cheers and applause]" "Be wrapping up the warm-up," "Another minute or so." "All right, let's go ahead and talk about it." "I know most of you know," "The number are in." "We found out last period" "I didn't win teacher of the year." "But it happens." "So what's the bright side to it?" "There's always a bright side." "You got next year." "Got next year." "What else?" "(girl) she was a tough competitor." "Mrs. Townsend was tougher than I thought." "She did a good job." "What else?" "Amber." "I thought we worked hard." "Yeah, you guys worked pretty hard, worked pretty hard." "Bright spots, what else?" "(boy) second place isn't last place." "It is when there's only two people." "Give me a break, Daniel." ""second place isn't last place,"" "Out of how many, Daniel?" "(Daniel) two, sir, two." "Out of two." "Okay, if I didn't win," "What place did I come in, Daniel?" "Golly!" "You know, math isn't my strongest," "But I got that one figured out." "You ever go up" "Against your grandma in something and get beat?" "Oh, golly." "A grandma beat me." "Well, I can't have naked volleyball players out there." "If the uniforms don't come..." "oh, Lindsey." "Have you talked to Robert about it?" "I talked to Robert twice." "And?" "He doesn't do anything." "He acts condescending to me." "Like, why?" "I don't know." "That's the way he is;" "That's the way he treats me." "You don't talk to him as much as I do." "He's very sexist;" "He doesn't have an sex equality." "Very sexist?" "Robert?" "Yes." "Are you kidding?" "No, you don't know him." "If that surprises you, then you don't know him." "But if he's not gonna do it," "And the company won't call me back," "And they won't send the uniforms," "Then my players don't have uniforms." "Lindsey, you asked me if you were pushy." "You want to know something?" "You are; you are abrasive." "I'm the only one willing to tell you." "I want to tell you right now, you are;" "I'm sick of it." "I am sick of defending you." "Do you want to know how many teachers last week" "Came to me complaining about you?" "Who?" "Who came to you?" "That's irrelevant." "No, who?" "No, I'm just sick of this." "How would you feel if I said to you" "On your first year as an AP, people were coming to me..." "Every day, there's a list of stuff" "That I am supposed to do for you." "Why are you coming to me?" "Because it's Robert." "Because certain things don't get done for teachers" "That do get done for APs." "Whatever you need to do, Lindsey, do it." "Do you remember how hard it is to be a teacher?" "You know, I don't." "Well, you must not." "You have no idea." "You are coming to me." "You have no idea." "I have no life." "I cannot do your job for you." "Well, you're willing to do everybody else's job." "You're willing to do everybody else's job." "You're never around;" "You're never down here;" "You cancel plans." "I am tired of this." "[playing bright plunky music]" "♪ we can teach if we want to. ♪" "♪ we can leave no child behind, ♪" "♪ 'cause if they don't learn what they got to learn, ♪" "♪ 'cause that's a job of mine. ♪" "♪ we can read, ♪" "♪ write... ♪" "There have been two days," "When substitutes can't get to the classroom," "We APs go in and" "Just cover for them until they can get there" "And two days I've gotten to do that this year," "And those were my best days." "Those are my happiest days." "And right now, that tells me a lot." "[frenetic piano music]" "You know, this whole year, I've been focusing on these..." "These kids who have discipline issues" "And kids who really don't care, and I realize now," "It's the kids who do care that really matter to me" "And that I really miss a lot." "I do;" "I miss it." "[brash piano music]" "Hmm." "[plays bright plunky music]" "I just made a deal with my students." "We have thing coming up next week" "Called "a spelling hornet."" "Are you gonna be in that spelling hornet thing?" "(Lowrey) the what?" "The spelling hornet." "Oh, no." "You mean the thing..." "the thing for prom?" "Yeah." "No, no." "It's a spelling bee of slang words" "That the teachers try and spell words" "That the kids use every day, and so we hear these words," "But we don't know what they mean." "Give me an example before I... (girl) like," "Whoadie." "Like what?" "The kids are excited about it," "And they're gonna coach me." "[chuckles]" "How do you spell that?" "W-h..." "Hold on." "W-h... (girl) o." "O." "How do you think it's spelled?" "That the plan of "the spelling hornet."" "Whoa... yes." "Whoadee." "Whoadee." "Like, like," "Slow down, friend." "[laughter]" "Is that not right." "So, um..." "Yeah, I'm looking forward to it." "[cheers and applause]" "Your word is bling bling." "Bling bling." "Could you use that in a sentence, please?" "Check my bling bling, yo." "Check my bling bling, yo." "[clears throat]" "Bling bling." "B-l-I-n-g" "Hyphen b-l-I-n-g." "[bell dings]" "(girl) thank you, but I'm sorry." "There's no hyphen." "It's just b-l-I-n-g space b-l-I-n-g." "Shoot." "Your word is souljah." "As in street soldier?" "Okay." "Shiesty?" "Badonkadonk?" "The origin, please?" "Could you use that in a sentence?" "Watch him, Charlene." "That boy shiesty." "Can you spell it for me?" "[laughter]" "H-o-m-e-y." "N-u-n-y-a." "(boy) that is correct." "That is correct." "[cheers and applause]" "F-o..." "Apostrophe s-h-I-z-z-l-e." "[bell dings]" "(girl) I'm sorry, there is no apostrophe" "Sorry, coach;" "It ends with a "d" not a "t"." "Oh." "[bell dings]" "Your word is hootie hoo." "(man) would you define that, please?" "A shout or a call to see what is going on," "Or a call to one of your friends and associates" "And the police are nearby." "H-o-o-t-I-e" "Space h-o-o." "Correct;" "Thank you very much." "[applause]" "Mr. Lowrey." "Your word is wildi"" "W-I-l-d-I-n apostrophe." "That's correct." "[cheers and applause]" "(girl) Mr. Eggleston." "Your word is falsifyi"" "Falsifyin'." "F-a-l-s-I..." "F-y-I-n-g." "[bell dings]" "(girl) sorry, there's no g." "There's an apostrophe." "Mr. Lowrey." "(boy) if he gets this right, he gets it." "(girl) just so everybody knows, if you get this correct," "You will be the winner." "Your word is..." "Your word is shawty." "Can you say that one?" "You want to pronounce it?" "Shawty." "Oh, shawty" "Is the origin from the dirty south in Atlanta?" "(girl) yes, sir; that's correct." "[clears throat]" "Then that would be" "S-h-a-w-t-y." "Correct." "[cheers and applause] [uplifting music]" "♪ ♪" "[rock music]" "♪ ♪" "(man) ♪ driving ♪" "♪ in a slow right Lane. ♪" "♪ we got some time to kill. ♪" "♪ you know I love this time of year, ♪" "♪ and you're a strange, ♪" "♪ strange find. ♪" "♪ I want to take all I can from you. ♪" "♪ just give me a sign ♪" "♪ and I'll be right at your side, ♪" "♪ 'cause lately, I've been feeling no pain. ♪" "♪ my heart is wide open, and somehow, ♪" "♪ everything falls into place, and it's love. ♪" "♪ words, ♪" "♪ words that don't come out. ♪" "♪ if I'm confusing you, ♪" "♪ I'm just here to clean your doubts, ♪" "♪ and I'm inclined to tell you ♪" "♪ I don't need any room to breathe. ♪" "♪ I want to see you laid out, ♪" "♪ see you laid out ♪" "♪ sleeping on the couch. ♪ [telephone ringing]" "The economy graphs:" "Don't forget," "They are due tomorrow." "I will not accept" "Any late graphs." "And chapter 34, that's coming up," "Pages 784 through 805." "That's the entire chapter." "There's about five minutes left of class," "So, you know," "Do what you want..." "To an extent." "It's free time." "(Damon) can a check my cell phone?" "Quietly, yes." "[boy knocking on desktop] [tapping a hip-hop beat]" "(girl) yeah." "[clears throat]" "♪ holler if you hear me when I write this beat. ♪" "♪ I'm popular like the kids going trick or treat. ♪" "♪ I ain't gonna stop until this, the light I meet. ♪" "♪ until then, my taste is ♪" "♪ whether you gonna feel the heat. ♪" "♪ feel me, 'cause I'm a soul love mama. ♪" "♪ I'm a souljah; ♪" "♪ I'm a real chick, and I'm a writer. ♪" "♪ you say it's wrong?" "♪" "♪ playboy, it can't get no righter. ♪" "♪ I'm unreachable, like Bin Laden, I mean, Osama. ♪" "♪ but dissing, what?" "♪" "♪ don't blame me." "I ain't the Taliban. ♪" "♪ I'm just a girl from the hood ♪" "♪ tryin' to get my grand. ♪" "♪ get enough, stack 'em up ♪" "♪ and get some rubber bands, ♪" "♪ 'cause, he ought to finish what he started, man. ♪" "♪ no holding hands, 'cause I'm onstage; ♪" "♪ I'm not at the prom. ♪" "♪ representing' for my mom, 'cause she number one. ♪" "♪ hear me up in the streets ♪" "♪ or buy a cd-rom. ♪" "♪ yellow star forever. ♪" "Hey, Mr. Lowrey." "(girl) Mr. Lowrey." "(Lowrey) yes?" "Come here." "What?" "Hey, see if you can spit something." "Hey, spit something." "Spit something?" "You know, rhyme." "(girl) rap." "[laughs] I don't think so." "(boy) I think so." "(girl) come on, Mr. Lowrey." "Uh, okay, like what?" "(girl) just say what's on your mind and make it rhyme." "Just say what's on my mind." "Oh, you're gonna give me a beat?" "[boy knocking on desktop]" "You don't deserve a beat." "[laughter]" "Say, let's not..." "Try to keep the laughter to a minimum." "You know that I..." "I only know a few words." "(girl) all right." "Shout out to my whoadies." "[laughter]" "Shout out to my..." "How do you actually pronounce that word again?" "(girl) shout out" "To my whoadie." "Whoadies... would I shout out to my whoadies?" "Shout out to my whoadies." "Holla to." "Holla at your boy." "[laughter]" "Uh, they call me Mr. L., but it's Lowrey." "I'm here to teach you history." "(girl) yeah, I think you got it." "(boy) you made that." "[engine revving]" "(Reddell) so you actually did some research" "On all of that before." "I crammed for a week." "Did you really?" "Yeah, well, didn't think" "That I just knew those words, did you?" "Well, I wondered." "I was very impressed." "No, I had three students who regularly came," "Two religiously, and several others who would," "Like, hand in words." ""oh, don't forget this one."" "That is wonderful, Mr. Lowrey." "Great connection with the kids." "I don't know how much" "I was able to then turn around" "And apply it to... (Guerrero) I agree with making a connection with the kids," "But I don't agree with the bastardization" "Of the English language." "(Webb) so what do you think you will start next year with?" "Because next year you'll be a..." "An experienced teacher." "What will you do differently that you didn't do this year?" "Um, I mean... [clears throat]" "If I come back, then I would be... [clears throat]" "I probably would set up the..." "That actual year a little bit differently." "So you haven't sign yet?" "Uh-uh." "(Webb) you might not come back?" "I don't know." "I mean, I, uh..." "You've really come a far way, Mr. Lowrey." "You won the spelling hornet." "Yeah." "How do you feel now at the end of the year?" "(Stroope) you really do a good job with your kids." "You really do." "It took you a while to kind of find your groove, but..." "I don't know that I have found my groove, actually." "I mean, I feel like I've..." "I respect it a lot more, you know?" "I mean, honestly, but... (Reddell) it's hard." "(Lowrey) yeah." "I mean, it really is hard." "It's been a very hard year," "And I don't know" "That I like it that much," "I mean, to be honest." "(Reddell) hmm, that's fair." "I mean, I'm just..." "I haven't even really said these words to anybody." "I-I might go home tonight and sign it..." "You know, sign it for two more years, but..." "I wish I had the guts to leave." "You'll have a few kids that will come in and say," ""you know, I just want you to know" ""that you really made a difference," ""and I really thought history was stupid," ""and I thought you were an ass, but you weren't," "And you made a difference."" "What did I learn this year?" "Well, I learned that some people are very insecure," "And I tend to come on very strong sometimes." "I'm very opinionated," "And I think I need to find a different way" "To approach people and especially teachers," "Who I think are sometimes a little extra-sensitive." "I need to be encouraging" "Rather than coming down on people" "Or them feeling like I'm coming down on them." "We can only do so much." "Hey." "I mean, we've got to do what we can to be accountable" "And to teach these kids what we can," "But it does not start in the school." "Number one is home." "Number one, two, and three is home." "I would be willing to say that up to number 57 is home." "58?" "School." "[sighs]" "You know, I lost the election..." "And that's bad," "But what's worse is, I lost it" "In front of my class." "Um..." "I mean, I had to lose the election in front of them," "And to come up short like this," "I mean, what kind of leader am I?" "All right, don't beat up on yourself." "I mean, I wouldn't follow someone like me." "I'm just hoping I can..." "you know, with this class," "I can teach the rest of the year" "And, you know, I'm not a lame duck." "Being a teacher is..." "It's a gift." "But when he got up in front of a crowd, people listened." "Maybe it's something you can learn..." "But no one's taught me, you know?" "[gentle guitar music]" "♪ ♪" "(man) ♪ it's a new sun. ♪" "♪ Summer's begun ♪" "♪ and shifted a weight off your mind ♪" "♪ slow down and turn back around. ♪" "♪ everyone's waiting behind. ♪" "♪ cool eyes that watch you from Miles away ♪" "♪ wait for a time when you learn to stay. ♪" "♪ and everyone knows I'll be here ♪" "♪ on the best day of the year, ♪" "♪ when everything's perfectly clear. ♪" "♪ turn back. ♪" "♪ you're under attack. ♪" "♪ the rain's coming in through the roof. ♪" "♪ choosing sides, ♪" "♪ the whole thing collides, ♪" "♪ and someone's left looking for proof. ♪" "♪ and everyone knows I'll be here ♪" "♪ on the best day of the year, ♪" "♪ when everything's perfectly clear ♪" "♪ here. ♪" "♪ ♪" "♪ the cool eyes that watch you from Miles away ♪" "♪ just tell me this time that you're here to stay. ♪" "♪ but everyone knows I'll be here ♪" "♪ on the best day of the year, ♪" "♪ when everything's perfectly clear. ♪" "♪ it's a bright new sun, ♪" "♪ a bright new sun. ♪" "♪ it's a bright ♪" "♪ new sun, ♪" "♪ sun, ♪" "♪ sun. ♪" "[upbeat music]" "♪ ♪" "(man) ♪ I drove to new York in a van ♪" "♪ with my friend. ♪" "♪ we slept in parking lots. ♪" "♪ I don't mind. ♪" "♪ I don't mind. ♪" "♪ I was in love ♪" "♪ with the place in my mind, ♪" "♪ in my mind. ♪" "♪ I'll make a lot of mistakes in my mind, ♪" "♪ in my mind. ♪" "♪ you came to take us. ♪" "♪ all things go. ♪" "♪ all things go. ♪" "♪ to re-create us. ♪" "♪ all things grow. ♪" "♪ all things grow. ♪" "♪ we had your mind-set. ♪" "♪ all things know." "All things know. ♪" "♪ you had to find it. ♪" "♪ all things go." "All things go. ♪" "♪ ♪" "...the end..."