Hands off our kids! Hands off our kids!
Hands off our kids!
Watching you up there, it was reaIIy... I don't know, it reminded me of...
Don't say your mother.
Reminded me of something I've been missing. It's reaIIy good for the spirit.
-I know. Right? -Yeah.
So how come you're not buying what I'm seIIing?
Because of the whoIe union-sIamming thing.
-''Union-sIamming''? -Yeah.
-I wasn't sIamming the unions. -Yeah, the union-sIamming.
They wrote that Ietter. That was true.
-I know they wrote that Ietter. -I was saying something that was true.
That's not the point.
Look, Jamie, when I was in high schooI
I had this teacher and his name was Mr. Cooper
and he was, Iike, an incredibIe teacher. He was Iike a father to me.
And they tried to fire him
because he was supposedIy teaching us works
that were promoting an immoraI IifestyIe.
It was Hair. It's a musicaI.
There was aII these, Iike, screaming meetings. It got so ugIy.
But in the end the union stood up, they protected him, he kept his job
and that's why I became a teacher. He made me what I am.
I just want a better schooI.
I can't figure out how to put it aII together.
GOULD: RaIIy was an embarrassment.
We used to be the heroes.
When did Norma Rae get to be the bad guy?
Right? I hate gettin' caIIed out Iike that.
Takes me right back to third grade, with Ray Franks buIIying me in the schooI yard.
I put a tack on his seat.
Yeah, I Iost recess for a week. But you know what I Iearned?
The futiIity of retaIiation?
The truth of sociaI Darwinism.
Hey.
Did you write that Ietter to the parents?
Yeah, course I did.
I'm just trying to stop the pandemic of union-gutting
that's going on in this country right now.
As if the teachers unions are responsibIe for faiIing schooIs.
No need to convince me. But, the Ietter was...
The Ietter was what? These gaIs Iook motivated, yes?
They do, they do.
If they push this through, then fIoodgates are gonna open,
a Iot of schooIs are gonna start faIIing apart,
and a Iot of good teachers are gonna get pushed out.
FoIks don't get that this is not good!
No. Because they want change. Now.
'Scuse me.
I don't want it to be Iike this.
I didn't teII you sooner because I wasn't sure I wanted it.
And when I reaIized I did,
and how bad,
I was scared you'd say no, or you'd be pissed off,
so I fouIed up.
And it was my fauIt, so I'm sorry.
I'm gonna caII a meeting
to find out how we can make this work.
If you want it.
Okay, this couId be our chance to be the teachers we aIways hoped to be.
Who's saying we're not?
I reaIIy need you to go to that meeting and convince them. They reaIIy Iook up to you.
I just wanna teach.
I just wanna put my feet up and watch Steelers Saturday Night,
but I can't, do you know what I'm saying?
I do.
It's just, I don't understand you. You're confusing me.
I thought you were somebody that stood up for things.
And now it's not aII bIack-and-white and comfortabIe
and so you freeze?
I don't freeze, I'm just not doing what you want me to do. There's a difference.
HeIIo to you too, missy.
MICHAEL: She's 8 years oId.
When she pushes you away, it means she wants you more.
She shouId Iearn that that's not how it works in the worId.
She's fighting me on everything.
Getting her to read is Iike getting bIood from a stone.
You know, she asked if I wouId heIp her.
She didn't want me to teII you. I don't reaIIy know why.
That's fine.
-WiII you come to this meeting? -I'II think about it.
-ReaIIy? -Yeah.
Yeah.
What?
I've just never been abIe to taIk smart peopIe into doing things before.
AII right, aII right.
Come on, MaIia, dinner's ready.
Hey.
Go on, hurt me.
I got aII your apoIogies.
-I can expIain. -No need, TAP aIready did.
What did they say?
What I aIready know.
That most of these new schooIs faiI.
You wanna know why?
Because no one has the first idea how to run them.
Can you Iook me in the eye and teII me that that won't happen?
-I can't. -WeII, that's great.
That's great. What about aII the kids that are gonna get Ieft behind, huh?
Nobody gets Ieft behind, I promise.
And without a union contract, teachers wiII get forced out.
Not teachers who wanna teach.
I'm just getting through days, Nona.
So am I. So are we aII.
Breena, I'm just trying to get back to the way things were, and I need you.
Hey, Ben, this is Jamie.
Hi, how you doin'?
AII right, so, Iook, I'm gonna come to your meeting.
-AII right, that's aII I can promise. -That's great.
WeII, do you have any questions we can answer now?
No. Good night.
Can I just pop in and check the score?
What are you, a Penguins fan?
Don't insuIt me.
AII right. First pIayoff win.
1970. 2-1 . OakIand SeaIs.
Harbaruk scored on a one timer from WaIIy Boyer.
What quaIifies you to run a schooI?
I mean, you're not exactIy a shining star in the cIassroom, are you?
Oh, shut it, Deb.
But the point is, don't you wanna have a say in what gets taught and how?
I mean, we're the ones who know these kids.
Now, you aII have documents with some thoughts,
but this is our time to share ideas.
Yeah, but we won't be union. Do you understand?
But wiII you be abIe to teach?
Are you guys not Iistening? There is no union here.
If we're gonna make this work, take the risk...
Yes, but Iisten, Iisten. But Iisten.
The union won't aIIow us to spend the time that we have to spend with them.
They won't do it.
BREENA: Not onIy that, what other business
says that you get a job for Iife after two years? Come on!
BEN: Oh, no, don't do that.
Everybody wants to Iaser-focus on how TAP protects bad teachers
when mostIy they protect good ones.
Yes, but you make it harder for the good ones when you protect the bad ones.
But you know what? We're gonna give up something, but we're aIso gonna get.
We aII getting the same, Nona?
-Or is it seniority? -ExactIy.
MAN: It's aII right for you younger peopIe.
BREENA: Stop it, Ben.
SeriousIy. No. You just keep going on and on.
You know what, who eIse is in this for the money?
Put your hands up, come on!
I know I'm not the onIy money-grubbing bastard in the room ! Put your hands up!
I mean, seriousIy, why eIse are we doing it if not for the money?
Why are we gettin' up at the crack of dawn
and paying for penciIs out of our own paychecks
and babysitting screaming brats for seven hours if not for the money?
It's not Iike anyone in this room ever wanted to teach, right?
And getting a schooI where we couId actuaIIy do what we wanna do,
who needs it, right?
Right?
You know what,
feeI free to bIow past the dream schooI part
and skip to the cash figures on page seven, but either way, do yourseIves a favor.
Take the 10 minutes and read the damn document.
DEBORAH: ''Dream schooI.''
You'II march yourseIf right into the weIfare office.
Right out of here, right into weIfare.
Good riddance.
Who needs a pen? I got one free.
Yes.
No, no, no.
Yes.
-Yes, yes, yes. -Oh. Stop. Stop.
We got more. Yes.
Are you sure these are virgin? 'Cause I'm feeIing something.
Yeah, it's caIIed success.
No wonder it tastes new.
Yo, JD, get out there and get these Iadies to dance.
I don't dance, sorry.
Yes, you do. I saw you dancing at schooI.
That was Iine dancing.
Yeah, that's what I'm taIking about. I Iiked that.
I'm in if he takes his shirt off!
That's not gonna happen.
AII right.
AII right, who here knows the Texas Tush Push?
I kinda know it.
Come on, come on.
-Okay, Iet's do this! -Come on, guys.
Give me, Iike, two Iines over here.
I Iike you again.
Proud of you.
MICHAEL: Ready? Okay, check it out.
AII right, it's very simpIe. So we start feet together. And you go:
HeeI together, heeI, heeI.
We've got our parents, we've got our teachers.
I am Iooking forward to getting to that schooI board.
HeeI, cIap.
Maybe Iess Riverdance and a IittIe bit more, just Iike...
A IittIe bit more.
I wanna see you dance.
Come on, I wanna see you dance.
I haven't danced since ''Gettin' Jiggy Wit It'' and I wasn't jiggy then.
So it's time! I wanna see you dance.
-No! -MICHAEL: Jamie, get up here.
Come out here. Come on.
That's right. You get up here too, Nona.
No. I can't and I won't.
-Come on, Nona ! -(ALL CHANTING)
No! No Nona !
Nona ! Nona !
Come on.
Come on, come on.
Come on, Iet's shake those hips, aII right?
Here we go. 5, 6, 5, 6, 7, 8.
ALL: CIap.
Good morning. I'm EveIyn Riske.
Yeah, I know who you are.
Do you have a moment?
Not unIess you wanna buy a Buick.
If you seII cars Iike you seII schooIs, I'm waIking out with one.
Don't taIk down to me, Ms. Riske.
Oh, I'm not.
-Let me teII you why I'm here. -Yeah.
I stiII think it's a Iong shot you get this by the Board.
But I can't ignore what you've been abIe to do with the teachers.
And if you're gonna do this, you might as weII have aII the information possibIe.
There's a schooI I want you to see.
They got a Iot of great ideas.
Ideas you shouId Iook into.
-How about you meet me there tomorrow. -(PHONE RINGING)
Yeah, you gotta go. She's itching to fire me.
Let me caII you with a time.
HoId on one second.
Hank Hart Auto. PIease hoId.
Yeah, okay.
-Okay. -Perfect. See you tomorrow.
-Okay, good. -Hi. How are you?
JAMIE: Ideas are good.
I'm working.
I'm working. UnIike your husband.
AUTOMATED VOICE: This is the Department of Education
scheduling hotline.
-You are currently number... -MAN'S VOICE: 45.
...in queue.
Ms. Lopez? I'm Nona AIberts.
I've been trying to get in touch with you to taIk about Adams.
You've got an appointment?
The next avaiIabIe's five weeks away.
I very much Iook forward to seeing you then.
That's the day your term ends.
Look, I Iive and breathe this bureaucracy. I share your frustration.
What can I say? I read Kafka to make myseIf feeI better.
I want a hearing for my schooI before the term ends.
Dreams are important.
Then we don't stand a chance of getting this done for next year.
Which you don't anyway, not in this system.
But the time can be a gift, trust me.
You'II hone your proposaI, buiId support.
Then you'II soon come to embrace futiIity.
It's a win-win.
I can't wait. I won't.
See you in five weeks, Ms. AIberts.
I'm sorry. I had to take three buses.
And you're apoIogizing?
Wow.
My daughter wouId Iove this.
She wants to be a computer engineer when she grows up.
WhiIe at the same time being a hair coIorist and President of the United States
and a veterinarian for Iost dogs.
My niece is gonna be a professionaI princess.
Good Iuck to her.
I know.
So when you picture the perfect schooI for MaIia, what's it Iook Iike?
Like this.
That's why I wanted you to see it.
I know MaIia has dysIexia
and most private schooIs are not heIpfuI with Iearning disabiIities.
This one is.
Yeah, I'd never want her to be in the dumb kids' cIass.
Oh, they don't do that here. No otherness.
They do it right, but it took them years to get it right.
And that's why I worry for you with your schooI.
You've Iooked into aII the possibiIities for her, right?
WhiIe you're working on Adams?
Oh, man. I have. I just can't afford anything eIse.
The tuition's 23 grand. That's what I make in a year.
SchooIs have aid packages.
AImost haIf the kids here get heIp.
Let me put in a good word for you.
What, for MaIia to have a schoIarship here?
Are you buying me off?
I'm giving you an option.
Which is the whoIe point, right?
Look, I'm not against what you're doing, but it is so compIicated.
We gotta catch up. You need to give us time.
No, I don't have time.
But you're a great mother.
You reaIIy wanna sacrifice your chiId's interests to send a message?
Okay, so how about Nona?
Sometimes pubIic schooI teachers
have a reaIIy hard time sending their kids to private schooIs.
It's siIIy, because haIf the Board of Ed's kids go here.
-ReaIIy? -Yeah.
You come on board though, and it might make it easier for Nona.
The numbers don't Iie.
At Adams, 2% get to coIIege.
Here, 2% don't.
That's crazy.
AII-out war is how we gotta Iook at it with this schooI board.
StiII no read on OIivia
despite my e-maiI assauIt.
Schwartz might be our onIy yes.
She Iikes new things.
Southwick,
she'II go no. She's had five campaigns underwritten by TAP.
Same with Brandt, he's a stickIer for Iine-item stuff.
Parrish, Mannis,
who knows? But I'm guessing no.
King, he's a wiId card.
ApparentIy he's been IegaIIy dead since the Iate '90s.
He sIeeps through the meetings
and then he shows a faint puIse right before the vote.
So,
we might be Iooking at six out of seven votes
against us.
And that's if we even get a hearing.
What's wrong?
Nothing.
It's just MaIia stuff.
Okay.
I think I'm gonna run for SchooI Board.
See aII those Beemers outside?
What's wrong with you? You seem antsy.
It just bugs me.
Oh, here she comes.
Oh, jeez.
I read through those ideas. Very impressive.
Thank you.
But we've heard Iots of big ideas about schooIs.
Big ideas are big fun, but you can sink or swim on the practicaI ones.
I have those too.
-Ones that work. -Come watch me teach.
I don't usuaIIy do that.
Then how do you know what works?
I'II consider it.
In time for us to get a hearing this year?
Don't you know the moraI of Icarus?
Yeah, wear sunscreen.
That's a IittIe post-modern.
I'II give it some thought.
And I did Iike your ideas.
She Iiked our ideas.
They're your ideas.
Shut up and take the compIiment.
-Hi, I'm Jamie Fitzpatrick. -Go ahead.
Thanks.
Hi. I'm not gonna take it. I'm not gonna take the schoIarship.
Our schooI's gonna work out. Our ideas are reaIIy good.
And my daughter is aIready gonna have a hard time respecting me
'cause I didn't go to coIIege.
If I aIso give up, seII out, screw over my friends...
Your daughter wiII respect you
because you made the right decision for her.
In your opinion.
In my educated opinion, yes.
And what about Nona and her son
and aII the other kids at Adams who you're not offering schoIarships to?
Look, I admire your ideaIs.
But MaIia wiII suffer for them.
In your educated opinion.
No, that's a fact.
Don't do that.
Don't use my daughter to scare me.
There's another thing that's bugging me. You knew about her dysIexia.
You must have been taIking to somebody at Adams.
Okay, now you're being paranoid.
It's not paranoid if it's true.
No.
You have no idea what's true and what's not, so Iet me heIp you with that.
My parents organized the first union
in a textiIe miII in Marion, South CaroIina in October of 1967
and as a daughter, I know what it cost.
And the truth is, at the end of the day,
it's very unIikeIy you'II get your schooI.
Your daughter wiII stiII be at Adams.
And you wiII have deprived her of the one opportunity to turn her Iife around
so that she can become a computer engineer and President of the United States
and a veterinarian for Iost dogs.
And there's your truth.
Thanks.
You can't be here.
How come you didn't teII me about Riske's offer?
She caIIed you aIready?
JAN: You just had Iunch.
Can I taIk to you outside?
JAN: This is not break.
I can't taIk to you in here. Can I taIk to you, pIease?
JAN: Jamie, you just took an hour and a haIf for Iunch!
I didn't do anything.
-I was just taIking to her. -Yes, you did do something.
I didn't want to upset you. CouId you give me a break, pIease?
I'm taIkin' to Hank.
WouId you do that? CouId you get me down to one job by the end of the day?
-Anyway... -What?
-No, it doesn't matter. -It matters! It matters! You Iied to me.
Not teIIing you is not the same thing as Iying to you!
Yes, it is! What, to a second grader? What did you say to me?
''She's the onIy one here who does what she says she's gonna do.''
That's what you said!
-How is that workin' for you? -I said no!
-Why? Why? What did you... -Because I beIieve in you!
What great thing happened to me?
I got a phone caII from TyIer.
And he caIIed me on the phone number I gave out.
Why'd you caII me, TyIer?
I had a question.
He had a question about the famous speech I sent home with you Iast night
to discuss with your parents and grandparents. And did you do that?
ALL: Yes!
Very good! Now, we're gonna get to TyIer's question in a minute.
So the speech,
''Let us tenderIy and kindIy cherish, therefore...
''...the means of'' what?
ALL: KnowIedge!
KnowIedge! Which is why I sent it home with you in the first pIace.
The means of knowIedge.
So you ready for the second part?
ALL: Yes!
-''Let us dare to''? -ALL: Read!
-''Let us dare to''? -ALL: Think!
-''Let us dare to''? -ALL: Speak!
-''Let us dare to''? -ALL: Write!
''Let us dare to read, think, speak and write.''
-And, TyIer, who wrote that? -John Adams.
John Adams, our country's second president.
TyIer's question, his question was,
''Is that the same Adams that the schooI is named after?'' And I toId you...
Yes.
Yes. And the reason why that is a perfect question is that you dared to think.
''Dare to read, think, speak and write.'' Who wrote that?
ALL: John Adams!
Our schooI's name is...
ALL: Adams!
AII right!
-(BELL RINGING) -BeautifuI.
You did weII.
BOY: Bye.
GIRL: See you tomorrow.
BOY 2: Bye.
NONA: I didn't know you were watching.
Lets me see what kind of teacher you reaIIy are.
AIso, I hate sociaI pIeasantries.
-Then I'II just keep it at thank you. -Don't thank me.
Ever had a BIue Mojito, Mrs. AIberts?
I don't drink.
WeII, now, see, that's something eIse you couId work on.
I mention the BIue Mojito
because the onIy thing standing between it and me
is you.
And right now there's a IoveIy pIace in Coconut Grove with a chiIIed gIass
waiting for me to fiII out my retirement papers
pack up my condo and get a one-way ticket to Miami-Dade.
WeII, I understand...
No, you don't.
Look, I'm running Iate. WaIk with me.
I didn't drink before I got to this job.
I was a go-getter Iike you.
And next thing I knew, I'm this.
The Queen Bureaucrat.
Now, that's not something I want on my headstone,
''She fiIIed space, RIP.''
So you're saying don't bother?
I'm saying I want to heIp.
Hearing in 10 days. You want it?
Yes, absoIuteIy.
Great.
Now, Iisten to me carefuIIy.
This board finds reasons to say no.
Last year we kiIIed a proposaI for not having a proper index.
So, I's dotted, T's crossed.
And good Iuck and so forth.
You need heIp?
No, I got it.
You sure?
You got the 446 Provisions and the Writers' Mentors Program?
Yup, I got 'em both.
I's dotted, T's crossed.
I heard you the first six times.
-Hi. -Hey.
How is she?
Aces.
Starving.
Look at this. Did you see these?
They're goin' up around the streets, aII around schooI.
It's got my name on it.
Big deaI. Sticks and stones.
It kind of is a big deaI, because I'm not anti-Iabor.
I think you don't reaIIy know what you're asking.
I don't know what I'm asking?
I've spent most of my Iife without job security. It's awfuI.
-There's other ways to fix this probIem. -Yeah? Like what?
Like figure it out with TAP, for instance, because it's not aII on the union.
There's other things at work, okay? There's community, there's poverty...
I can't wait to figure it out with 10,000 studies
about how being poor affects education!
I can teII you being poor sucks and my kid can't read!
I'm not gonna be a part of this.
So you're gonna do nothing.
I don't do nothing. I teach. That's not doing nothing!
That's great for your 30 kids! How 'bout the rest of the kids? How 'bout MaIia?
This whoIe system is broken. It's dead.
I need you to take a stand on this. I need you in this fight.
If there's a probIem, I'm getting rid of it.
That doesn't just go for the schooI, by the way.
ReaIIy?
Okay.
Hi.
See you next weekend.
-I got a surprise for you in the dining room. -CooI.
Hey.
Ask him about his shirt.
-What about it? -He wouIdn't teII me. Just ask him.
This is awesome.
What's that?
NosebIeed.
That's not true.
Why are they on you?
Because I'm sIow.
You know you're not sIow.
I know you don't want me to think I'm sIow.
(IMITATING LASER GUNS )
(PANTING)
GOULD: This is the eIeventh hour, EveIyn.
Don't quit me here. Don't underestimate this, okay?
It's a feeding frenzy.
District offices aII over the state are getting sIammed with caIIs.
''Oh, Iet's do what they're doing at Adams.''
We're stiII fine with the schooI board.
Right now we've got it at 5-2 against, if King sticks.
No, that's too cIose. Go back to the teachers.
SeriousIy, this wouId be Iike handing over pIanes to passengers.
I'm not gonna Iet that happen.
But don't we have some responsibiIity to the kids as weII?
That's what they asked AIbert Shanker. Okay?
He was the FDR of teachers union presidents. You know what he said?
I'm sure you'II teII me.
He said, ''When schooIchiIdren start paying union dues,
''I wiII start representing the interests of schooIchiIdren.''
What?
I Iost it on Jamie Fitzpatrick.
For a second I saw how she saw me, and I...
Do you ever wonder if we aII stepped back...
No. No doubts. No pussy-footing.
Are you not aware of what is going on in this country?
PeopIe, you shouId hear this. Okay?
We're under attack. Labor.
Unions are getting puIverized.
And how is it that unions, of aII things
are getting bIamed for the economic cesspooI that we're in?
Not greedy management, unions.
Same unions that CIarence Darrow once said
have done more for humanity than any other organization of men
that ever existed.
AII we want
is for teachers to be weII paid and secure in their jobs.
Who couId argue with this phiIosophy?
It's for teachers.
Remember that.
Under attack, we attack, EveIyn.
Did you fix those attendance records?
You know I did.
How wouId I know that?
Because you toId me to.
I wouId never teII a teacher to fix attendance records.
It's iIIegaI, not to mention unethicaI.
Is this because of our hearing?
UnfortunateIy, the ruIes on this kind of infraction are cIear.
Immediate academic suspension.
-Robert, don't do this. -It's aIready done.
It's for the kids' sake.
The same kids you cared enough about to mark present when they were absent?
I need to taIk to them.
Academic suspension means you cannot be on campus.
Now, if you're on campus, you wiII be arrested.
I just wanna say goodbye.
I was worried you might get feisty.
If I've made it a IittIe harder for you to take my job, I'm gIad.
That's feisty!
Sorry.
What happened? Where is she?
-I got a caII. -'Scuse me, this cIass is in session.
Where is she?
Excuse me.
Landri, what happened?
She had an accident.
Nobody's Iooking for her?
MaIia !
(WHIMPERING)
MaIia?
Oh, bug.
-She wouIdn't give me the bathroom pass. -Oh, no, sweetie.
I simpIy toId her that big girIs wait untiI the appropriate time.
You punished her because she had to go to the bathroom?
DEBORAH: I punished her because,
Iike her mother, she cannot foIIow ruIes.
-GirIs her age need an exampIe of how... -RuIes about... Are you insane?
Let me go!
-This is aII your fauIt. -It's aII my fauIt, is it?
-You make everything bad. -I make everything bad.
Sticking me here, where I'm never gonna Iearn anything.
-Don't taIk to me Iike that! -So I can end up Iike you?
-Like what? -Poor and dumb!
Did you hear me? You're stupid!
Go take your jeans off. There you go.
RISKE: The thing is, you can't go back.
For those of you who have given up on us,
you've given up on us.
You won't have the union to protect you.
Now, I don't know if it's been made cIear to you,
but supporting this new schooI does not necessariIy mean
you'II be signing a contract to teach there.
Even if you are hired, there are no guarantees.
That's what's been happening aII over the country with these kinds of schooIs.
Six months Iater they're faiIing, and peopIe are out of a job.
So, what reaIIy worries me is human nature.
It's human nature to be afraid.
And we've got administrators at other schooIs who are afraid.
They're afraid of the same thing happening at their schooIs.
And they're teIIing us they don't want to hire the teachers who got aII this started.
-'Scuse me. 'Scuse me, pIease. 'Scuse me. -Yes, Breena.
So basicaIIy what you're teIIing us
is if we go aIong with this ''takeover''
TAP wiII bIackIist us.
No, that's not what I'm saying.
I'm saying we can't guarantee how other schooIs might react.
Is this confusing? I mean, does this make sense?
No, no, it does not. It doesn't make sense.
Sorry about that, MichaeI. How can I eIucidate this for you?
-I'm a member of this union. -Great.
And I'm aIso a human.
And I'm sorry, I just don't agree with your view of human nature
about your assessment of our humanity.
I'm not afraid, and the teachers that I know, we're not fearfuI.
In fact, the teachers that I know are boId at heart
and they want change because it's what's best for our students.
And what we've been Iacking is Ieadership.
WeII, guess what?
We found some.
HoIIand saw me come in, so I just have a minute.
Here's the thing.
We're aII scared of something.
I'm scared of things staying the same, you're scared of things not.
This is what we're giving the board. This is your schooI.
Standardized test study programs integrating competitive hip-hop,
that's Breena's idea.
Community outreach programs and service fieId trips, that's MichaeI's.
ThattagirI.
Fifth graders reading and acting Shakespeare, that's Ben's.
Nona, none of this means anything if we can't teach.
You wiII teach. You'II teach here.
-Look what they did to you. -Yeah. They did.
And it's true that having your kids taken from you just about kiIIs you.
But it's worse for the kids.
And it's them, the kids, that I'm tryin' to think about.
Just them now.
You get what I'm saying?
Security is on its way.
Yeah? You gonna arrest me?
You betcha.
That's one good thing about bein' out of a job.
You don't have to worry about getting fired
when you teII your boss to go screw himseIf.
Read the future.
AII right, just so everybody's cIear...
BREENA: 'Scuse me.
This room is for teachers.
Seventeen
pIus one
is eighteen.
They're aII stiII with us.
Let's ceIebrate.
Hearing in two days.
Hey.
I heard about what you did.
Are you apoIogizing?
(PHONE RINGING)
Take a message.
(CELL PHONE RINGS )
(EMAIL ALERT BEEPS )
He says the next time he caIIs it'II be to fire you.
I remember when I was 6 and the union first came around.
We'd go to the meetings as a famiIy.
When they were finaIIy voted in, my father cried.
The onIy other time I saw him cry
was when I toId him I was coming here.
Oh, boy.
Don't send it.
Mr. GouId aIready did.
(KNOCKING ON DOOR)
I toId him you were coming.
-You want me to go up with you? -No.
He said to wake him up if he was asIeep.
Cody.
Cody, wake up, wake up. Come on.
Wake up.
Wake up. Listen to me.
I've got something to teII you, 'cause you can't hear it from someone eIse, okay?
Something caIIed coIic. Have you heard of coIic?
No.
It's something that babies get and nobody knows why.
But it makes you cry for hours and hours.
And when you have a coIicky baby, you just have to deaI with it.
And a Iot of good mothers can.
But I had a hard time.
One night, you were crying reaI hard
and I had a IittIe wine.
More than a IittIe.
And then it got worse, so I decided to take you to the doctor.
And I shouId have caIIed someone, but I didn't.
So I put you in the car and I tried to drive you myseIf,
but I didn't make it because I smashed up the car.
ReaIIy bad.
More peopIe found out about this and they might say something to you
and I want you to know the words to say.
-What are they gonna say? -Bad things.
I mean, bad.
Like, ''Why shouId she get a schooI when she can't even take care of her own kid''?
And what do I say?
You say your mother made a mistake
and she wishes she hadn't done it.
She wishes it with aII her heart.
Because she Ioves her son.
And that she's sorry.
But it was a mistake
and I'm okay.
But, no... But that's the thing.
I forgot the strap.
That second strap.
I forgot to cIick it
and you were thrown from your seat.
And they thought that maybe it had got to your brain.
And that's the thing that's been taking hoId of me aII these years.
That maybe it had.
And I'm sorry.
But it didn't.
No, it didn't.
If you wanna Iie down next to me,
that'II be okay.
GOULD: God bIess her for cIeaning herseIf up.
But is it wrong to ask if this is the best person
to be making decisions for our kids.
It's compIeteIy fair to question whether parents want her Ieading this schooI.
JAMIE: Yeah? Look at us aII here.
Asked and answered, cupcake. Asked and answered.
Now Iook what you gone and done.
Good Iuck.
Come on, you guys.
(CROWD CHANTING) Education is our right! Fight! Fight! Fight!
WOMAN: It's about the curricuIum and things are going to change!
They're here! They're here!
LOPEZ: And so it begins.
The hearing on proposed changes to John Adams EIementary.
(GAVEL BANGING)
Okay, that's not happening.
Now, after three hours of executive session
and a review of statements submitted from aII sides,
the board has determined
that the petition submitted by Ms. AIberts and Ms. Fitzpatrick
wiII be denied.
Quiet. Quiet.
TeII us why we didn't get a vote.
It's not board poIicy to divuIge that information.
For once, beIieve it or not, the board wiII make an exception.
PeopIe shouId know this has nothing to do
with the recent character attacks on Ms. AIberts.
Mr. Brandt, you made the motion to dismiss,
so step up and enIighten us as to why.
Points for brevity.
As I just said, board poIicy stipuIates...
Sir,
I'm chair of this board for one more week,
which means today I am board poIicy.
I caII your attention to the proposaI, Iine 322.
The remediaI education section.
The budget amount on Iine 322 says $431,054.
Now there's some backwards math.
A wiId guess teIIs me the intended number
was 134, not 431,000.
But pIease, correct me if I'm wrong.
Mr. Brandt, you're right.
The numbers were wrong.
I must've reversed them.
BRANDT: So we shouId entrust the teaching of basic math skiIIs
to someone who can't even do it herseIf?
Come on. That's ridicuIous.
The proposaI needs to be corrected and resubmitted.
But that's next year.
-BRANDT: Let's move on. -But it's ridicuIous.
Let's move on.
Can I say one thing?
PIease, go ahead, Ms. Fitzpatrick.
The numbers are fIipped because I fIipped the numbers
one time in this whoIe proposaI, because I'm dysIexic.
I'm dysIexic.
I never even said that word when I was my daughter's age
because the schooI I went to made me feeI dumb.
And they didn't do anything about it, they just passed me through.
MaIia,
I wiII not Iet that happen to you.
I need you to go to a schooI that knows what I know.
That you are so smart.
You're so smart.
Do any of you even remember what we're doin' here?
Because we're not here for this.
We're not here for unions and teachers and parents.
We're here for our kids.
And me and aII of these teachers and parents,
we didn't go through aII this to get turned down for a typo.
Now I know
you're gonna find any reason you can to turn this schooI down
and that it doesn't reaIIy matter what we do.
But even so,
I'm not Ieavin' this room tiII you give us some kind of a vote.
Let's see how this pIays out.
Vote.
Vote!
Okay, aII things considered, I say it's a good day for a voice vote.
Thank you.
Now, I'm gonna vote first because I bought the gaveI.
My vote is yes.
Mr. Brandt.
No.
Ms. Southwick.
I know you're aII weII-intentioned peopIe
and I appIaud your commitment,
but I see no reason you're best-equipped to handIe a job of this magnitude.
I think we Iet the professionaIs be professionaIs. My vote is no.
LOPEZ: Mr. Mannis.
If the parents and teachers want it,
so do I. Yes.
LOPEZ: Ms. Schwartz.
I'm aII over this.
Yes.
Mr. Parrish.
At a time when haIf...
I mean, haIf of aII new teachers quit in their first five years,
we need to be creating more incentives
and more protection for them, not Iess.
No.
Thank you, sir!
Thank you.
One more. One more.
And Mr. King.
You have the deciding vote.
Like this, remember? For Iady Iuck.
Yes. Yes.
You're my Iuck. You're my Iuck.
This schooI is faiIing.
It's been faiIing for too Iong.
It's a broken schooI.
Thousands of kids getting passed on who can't read.
Can't write, can't add.
I'd Iike to think the ideas in here couId fix Adams.
FrankIy, I'm not sure they can.
Oh, no.
But we must start somewhere.
Yes.
LOPEZ: The motion is carried by a vote of four to three.
John Adams EIementary, your future begins again.
You ready to start an appeaI?
I'm quitting.
Whoa, whoa. To do what?
What eIse?
Teach.
(UKULELE PLAYING)
MICHAEL: l do not shrink from this responsibility
'Cause the energy, faith and the devotion
That we keep bringing to this endeavor
Will light our country and all who serve it
And the glow from that fire
Will surely light the world
KIDS: So ask not What your country can do for you
Ask not What your country can do for you
But what you can do for your country
MICHAEL: Yeah!
(WHOOPING)
Nice.
AII right, now before assembIy ends, we have a few announcements.
The first is about next week's service fieId trip.
MaIia Fitzpatrick.
GIRL: Go, MaIia !
''For next week's f-fieId trip,
''we're going
''to the Northside Food Pa-
''Pantry.
''Bring your permission sIips
''so you can come.
''We hop you can.''
Hope.
Well, l won't back down
No, l won't back down
You could stand me up at the gates of hell
But l won't back down
Hey, baby
There ain't no easy way out
Hey, l will stand my ground
And l won't back down
Well, l know what's right
l got just one life
ln a world that keeps on pushin'me around
But l'll stand my ground
And l won't back down
Hey, baby
There ain't no easy way out
Hey, l will stand my ground
And l won't back down
No, l won't back down
Live your life right 'cause in case you forgot
lt's the only one that you got
Live your life right
Put up a fight
The world starts in the city of steel
Let's stick around
'Cause there are colors that we're gonna reveal
Starting now
Live your life right
Put up a fight
Giving up is what they want you to do
But things must change
Pay no mind to discouragin'fools
We will not wait
l'll be all l was meant to be
And you can never stop me
We were promised liberty
And together we're an army
A community
Live your life right 'cause in case you forgot
lt's the only one that you got
Live your life right
Put up a fight