The First Year Film Reflection

Dan Narciso

The First Year Reflection

This documentary shows how remarkable teachers can be and the effort they put towards there classrooms. For the 5 teachers shown in the movie I hope that they are still the same and care for there students as they did in the film. The film did not just show the love and compassion they had for students but it showed daily struggles of these public school teachers with administration, parents, and the students. What really inspired me was how far and what the teachers were willing to sacrifice to make sure that their students were to succeed. This film put it in the perspective of how the teachers really feel and the challenges they need to face when wanting to teach in there first year. Some of the teachers like Joy Kraft was not even able to get her own classroom. Some teachers even had parents that would not show up to meetings even when they know there child was not doing well in school. Genevieve who was a middle school social studies and language arts teacher had many struggles during her first year teaching. There were personal issues and issues with students from her classroom. One of her best scenes was the conference she has with Marvin and his father. This scene showed the disappointment and love of the father, how embarrassed and shameful Marvin felt, and despite the disappointment Genevieve still cared for her student. There were many other great moments in the film where the teachers did not just interact with students, but also in their own personal lives. For example I remember the scene when Maurice went back to his hometown and sees a school playground where kids are playing and enjoying. He cries and watches the kids and says to himself that those are his kids even though they are not; I believe it shows how much he does care about his kids. Joy Kraft was also influential to her students while showing a video about homosexuality but then the way her teaching was may be offensive. She used several techniques to get students attention by saying inappropriate words and getting her students to respond the way they feel. Georgene Acosta was also one of the most influential teachers. She was the ESL teacher that helped her students talk to the city council to get more funding for their program. It showed how well of a teacher she can be. My favorite of the teachers was of course Nate who was the 5th grade teacher of a troubled student named Juan. Nate has been having issues with Juan and has tried everything to get him to cooperate but has not been able to with disciplinary actions. After finding out about Juan’s family he becomes sympathetic and uses a different approach for Juan and becomes caring, loving, and also a father figure to Juan. Nate was very inspirational because of what he did for Juan. He went as far as to showing up to Juan’s house and even taking him out for lunch. It did not become a technique of teaching but it showed a connection between a teacher and his student.