Perhaps in answer to "Waiting for Superman"... "American Teacher" comes along to show us that the supermen and women are already here. The problem is we’re not paying them, we’re not equipping them. It’s as if we’re lining the school halls with kryptonite. And one by one, are Super Teachers are fleeing classrooms, not because they don’t love teaching, but because they can’t survive on our planet in that job.

As an educator myself, I love that this film makes a point that so often gets lost in the muck. Here it is: If you want to teach kids well, hire good teachers. IMHO, it's really that simple. Just pay them very well, give them the tools they ask for, and get out of their way.

The film absolutely ignores the problem of weaker teachers (which “Superman” tackles head on). So, I highly recommend watching both of these docs back to back. You'll learn a lot about what is actually going on in our schools. A.T. focuses on just a few apparently excellent teachers with some depth and breadth over time, telling their stories both as passionate educators and as real people just trying to survive in a world growing more and more expensive.

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