🚀 go-pugleaf

On Wednesday, March 6th, at 7:30 p.m. at the Capital Theatre in Toronto, TVO,
the NFB and
Orbit Films present the premiere screening of Tough Assignment - a year in
the life of a group of
spirited teachers at Toronto's Oakwood Collegiate Secondary School. This
feature-length
documentary captures the day-to-day frustrations, triumphs and hilarious
moments a high school
teacher faces in today's world of shrinking resources, rising expectations,
and rapid social change. 

($5 suggested contribution, to be donated to Oakwood Collegiate Institute)

RSVP before March 4th if you plan to be there!
PHONE:  (416) 484-2725  or E-MAIL: TVO_Communications@tvo.org

If you can't join us for this special screening at the Capital Theatre, 2492
Yonge Street, don't miss
the TVO broadcast on March 20th at 10:00 p.m.

Don Presant
TVOntario's Online Group
http://www.tvo.org/

***********************

"I had a dream a couple of weeks before school," says John Calabro. "It's
always the same -- I go
into the wrong class, my notes aren't ready. I only had one dream last year
but this year, I've
already had three or four." "I was on the police force for two years," says
Diane Sokoloski. "No, it
hasn't influenced me. I am who I am. I like rules. If Oakwood were a little
more like a jail, we
would all feel safer and happier." 

Tough Assignment is the latest creation of Genie award-winner John Walker,
one of Canada's
leading filmmakers, who spent a year filming four teachers at Oakwood, an
inner city school with
1,100 students and 82 teachers. "You can't walk into a high school with a
camera and not relive
your teenage years," comments Walker. "At first my sympathies were with the
students, but as the
year passed, it shifted to the teacher."

Walker explains, "High school happens at a critical time in your life when
your future may be decided 
at an age when school is the last place you want to be. That's the challenge
for high school teachers. 
I had one or two teachers who made a difference in my life. I wanted to see
if there were any teachers 
like those at Oakwood."

Other teachers profiled include Janet Pepin, who describes one of her classes
as wild.
"They're my Tylenol class," she says. And she tells them so: "I pat my pocket
and say, you're
the only class I can't get through without Tylenol." And John Clark, a
20-year veteran on the verge of retirement, is puzzled by what kids hope to
gain from high school or what their families expect. 
When he asked one class whether they hoped to pursue a post-secondary
education only eight students said yes. "Then I asked how many of you have
parents who are hoping that you'll go on to something else. The same eight
replied."

Tough Assignment is produced by Adam Symansky (for the NFB in Montreal), Tom
Perlmutter,
and John Walker. It is part of TVO's The View From Here series, which is
introduced by
writer-broadcaster Ian Brown. Rudy Buttignol is commissioning editor of
documentaries for TVO.

Tough Assignment is available on video from the National Film Board.
To order, call the NFB toll free at 1-800-267-7710.