By ROBERT GOLDRICH
LAST WEEKS COLUMN about the animation seminar for art teachers in Chicagos public school system wasnt intended to be part one of a two-parter. But the idea of making teachers better equippedaand in some cases replacing those who arent with more capable instructorsaresurfaced at press time when U.S. Secretary of Education Richard Riley delivered his annual speech on the state of American schools to an audience of educators at Cal State Long Beach
Riley contended that the current public school system does next to nothing to raise teachers skills or attract new talent. As a result, he said, a growing number of school districts are having to throw a warm body into a classroom, close the door and hope for the best.
Elevating teaching to a first-class profession is vital if we are to improve public schools, continued Riley. He called on states to base teachers pay on their skills and to create a three-step system much like that in place for doctors who start as interns, move up to earn resident status and then become board certified physicians. Riley echoed President Clintons proposal for states to create demanding tests of knowledge and teaching skills. Passing such a test would result in a one-year license renewable for three years. Then in order to graduate to permanent status, teachers would need a favorable review of their performance from a panel of peers as well as the school principal. And finally the third hurdle to clear before becoming a top paid teacher would be to pass a certification exam given by the National Board of Professional Teaching Standards.
But Riley warned that if the nation wants to raise standards for teachers, it must be willing to pay them more. The stakes are too high not to, he affirmed.
According to published estimates, the U.S. needs to hire more than 2 million new teachers over the next decadeaand the implications for our business are far reaching. Over the past couple of years, SHOOT has chronicled the need for more home-grown artistic and technical workers to meet the escalating needs of the computer animation, visual effects, digital production and post job markets. Beefing up arts education has been deemed by assorted experts as essential. But in order to develop students into qualified job candidates, grooming qualified teachers must be a priority.
And while arts education improves prospects for the production and post community in the new millennium, it also has far broader benefits that link directly to Rileys assertions. Numerous studies have concluded that connecting with students on an artistic levelaengaging their minds and demonstrating the relevance of schooling to quality of lifeaactually improves youngsters performances in other subjects such as history, math, geography, English and science.
Higher education also figures prominently. Riley said that universities need to upgrade their preparation of aspiring teachers. He suggested that as incentive, professors should be paid and promoted in part based on their work with and mentorship of teacher candidates. And the same need exists within our industry. Frank Terry, director of the character animation curriculum at CalArts, stressed in an earlier installment of this column that Cal Arts and other institutions of higher learning need to do more than just turn out capable, qualified workers. Said Terry: We also need to turn out capable qualified teachers as well as industry people who feel the need to give back [to the community] and teach part-time on the side.
Damon Wayans and Damon Wayans Jr. Explore Generations, Old School vs. New School, In “Poppa’s House”
Boundaries between work and family don't just blur in the new CBS sitcom "Poppa's House" starring father-and-son comedy duo Damon Wayans and Damon Wayans Jr. They shatter.
"It's wonderful to come to work every day and see him and some of his kids and my sister and my brother and nieces and nephews. They all work on this show. They all contribute," says the senior Wayans. "I don't think there are words to express how joyful I am."
Wayans plays the titular Poppa, a curmudgeonly radio DJ who's more than comfortable doing it his way, while Wayans Jr. plays his son, Damon, a budding filmmaker who's stuck in a job he hates.
"My character, Pop, is just an old school guy who's kind of stuck in his ways," says Wayans, who starred in "In Living Color" and "My Wife and Kids."
Pop yearns for the days when a handshake was a binding contract and Michael Jordan didn't complain if he got fouled on the court. Pop laughs at the younger generation's participation trophies.
"It's old school versus new school and them teaching each other lessons from both sides," says Wayans Jr., who played Coach in the Fox sitcom "New Girl."
"They (the characters) bring the best out in each other and they're resistant initially. But then throughout the episode they have revelations and these revelations help them become better people," he adds.
The two have worked together before — dad made an appearance on son's "Happy Endings" and "Happy Together," while son was a writer and guest star on dad's "My Wife and Kids." But this is the first time they have headlined a series together.
The half-hour comedy — premiering Monday and co-starring Essence Atkins and Tetona Jackson — smartly leaves places in the script where father and son can let... Read More