Television Shows Salute Nation’s First-Class Teachers

Oh, those back-to-school blues: The end of summer, the beginning of a new school year, the hope that your new teacher won’t be your worst nightmare come true.

That fear isn’t just kids stuff. For many years, the entire U.S. educational system has been earning failing grades. Illiteracy rates are chilling, the drop-out rate continues to rise. And what about teachers? Are there any good ones left?

Two new TV programs answer with a resounding affirmative and guarantee this response from parents and children alike: “I wish I had/could have had a teacher like that.”

“The Truth About Teachers,” a syndicated special hosted by Whoopi Goldberg that airs Sunday at 8 p.m. on KTLA Channel 5, profiles 10 super-teachers who are making a difference against all odds.

In a similar vein, “The Disney Channel Salutes the American Teacher,” a new series hosted by First Lady Barbara Bush, will kick off on Wednesday at 8 p.m.

The half-hour opening episode introduces 31 outstanding teachers from all over the country and includes appearances by celebrities and politicians--among them Sens. Edward Kennedy and Albert Gore Jr., Tom Selleck, Betty White and Michael Landon--reminiscing about teachers who affected their lives.

The 31 teachers will then be profiled, one each week, in five-minute spots that will be shown Mondays and Thursdays at 8:50 p.m. and Saturdays at 3:50 p.m., beginning Sept. 18. The First Lady introduces each installment.

The series began with Disney approaching the national nonprofit Center for Civic Education, which develops programs in civics and the Constitution and Bill of Rights, teacher training and curricular materials. The center came up with a concept and coordinated the selection process.

“The idea is that there’s been so much teacher and school bashing, it’s time to show the bright side,” said Charles Quigley, the center’s executive director.

“We divided the school curriculum into 10 subject areas taught in elementary and secondary schools,” he explained, and then looked for extraordinary teachers who would also “show the tremendous diversity” of physical conditions, ethnicity and grade level in American schools.

Nearly 300 nominations were made, then narrowed down to the final 31 by nine major educational organizations--among them the National Education Assn. and the American Federation of Teachers--and by staff members of the U.S. House and Senate Education committees.

“We had four crews all across the country for a month filming whatever the teacher did that entire day,” said executive producer Brad Lachman.

Paula O’Connor, a former teacher who participated in the selection process for Disney, is director of special projects for the American Federation of Teachers. She sees the Disney series--and “The Truth About Teachers” documentary--as important image boosters.

“Yes, there are some real bad schools and bad teachers,” she acknowledged, “but focusing on the best may be the way to make things better.”

Robert G. Low, a government and economics teacher, is one of three Californians profiled in the Disney series. He has taught at Mark Keppel High School in Alhambra since 1957. The student body now is mostly Asian; many are Vietnam refugees.

In Low’s class, despite language and cultural barriers, the U.S. Constitution and Bill of Rights become living tools of democracy. Low, 56, who encourages his students to get involved in local government, practices what he teaches: He is also the mayor of Covina.

“American education isn’t doing what it’s capable of doing,” he commented in a recent interview. “To the extent the problems are articulated and the positive emphasized (in the series), we can only improve.

“Teachers are isolated in their classrooms,” he pointed out. “(We) need inspiration to do better.”

John Cooke, president of the Disney Channel, candidly admits that the first object of any program on the pay-TV service is entertainment.

“And,” he said, “we felt it would be entertaining to focus on present-day heroes. We’re betting that people are interested in unselfish, creative people who are giving of themselves to do something for the next generation.”

Why the five-minute format? Cooke explained that the salutes were planned as part of “what we call ‘programs between programs.’ ” They are slated to reach a family audience by coming “right after family movies,” he said.

Besides, he maintained, to deal with the subject just once--as an hour special, for example--”is good, but it doesn’t say enough.”

The creators of “The Truth About Teachers” hope that an hourlong documentary can make an impression.

Written, directed and produced by Carol L. Fleisher, it is the second segment of a four-part series called “How to Raise Good Kids in Bad Times,” which began last spring with “See Dick & Jane Lie, Cheat and Steal: Teaching Morality to Kids.”

The program contains footage of remarkable teachers. Karen Cahill in Boston holds down two extra jobs so she can keep teaching inner-city, learning-disabled elementary school children. At Markkam junior high in Watts, Alfee Encisco’s students have won Los Angeles’ academic pentathlon “super quiz” three times.

Interspersed with that footage are statistics such as “700,000 students graduate each year who can’t read at a 4th-grade level” and “in 40 states, a starting garbage collector earns more than a starting school teacher.”

Still, the program is meant as a celebration, says executive producer Arnold Shapiro, who won an Academy Award and four Emmys for his documentary “Scared Straight!”

“In spite of all the problems in our educational system,” he said, “there are teachers doing an exceptional job.

“But parents can’t look at schools as a dumping ground,” he cautioned. “You have to care how your child is being influenced.”