POV’S “THE LEARNING” FOLLOWS THE HOPES
AND TRIALS OF FOUR FILIPINA TEACHERS COMING TO AMERICA
~ A Century After
American Educators Helped Create Public Schools in the
Philippines, Filipino Teachers Returning the Favor in
America’s Inner Cities ~
September 2011
(New York, NY) – A new POV
documentary tells a surprising tale of immigration,
globalization and America’s shifting position in the
21st century. When the United States took possession
of the Philippines in 1898, American teachers set up
the islands’ public school system. English was established
as the language of instruction and remains so to this
day.
Today in the Philippines,
there is a large pool of trained, motivated, English-speaking
teachers, especially in high school math, science and
special education. In their country, these teachers
receive poverty-level salaries, making them prized recruitment
targets for many U.S. school districts, especially those
in cash-strapped inner cities. While a salary in one
of these urban districts may be low by American standards,
it can be as much as 25 times a teacher’s salary in
the Philippines.
As a result, in recent years
there has been a trend of Filipino teachers seeking
a better life by braving America’s urban schools and
their poor, often troubled students. In Baltimore, 600
Filipinos account for 10 percent of the teaching force.
THE LEARNING is the story of four Filipina women
facing their first year in Baltimore’s schools, where
learning is a two-way street marked with disappointment
and inspiring breakthroughs.
In documenting a very special
year in the lives of Filipina educators Dorotea Godinez,
Angel Alim, Grace Amper and Rhea Espedido, THE LEARNING
captures these women’s individual experiences, their
hopes and their daily classroom struggles, while also
exposing the issues that plague many American public
schools. Declining school funding, urban poverty and
crime have given these teachers a golden opportunity
– and delivered rude shocks as the women are thrust
into the heart of America’s educational crisis.
Chronicling the women’s determination
and unshakeable belief in education, THE LEARNING
is a bracing and timely evocation of a teacher’s indispensable
work. It has its national broadcast premiere on Tuesday,
September 20, 2011 at 10:00 p.m. on POV on PBS. (Check
local listings.) The film will stream in its entirety
on the POV website, www.pbs.org/pov/learning, from Tuesday,
September 21 through Friday, October 21, 2011.
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