IMDb >
The First Year (2001) (TV)
Quicklinks
Top Links
trailers and videosfull cast and crewtriviaofficial sitesmemorable quotesOverview
main detailscombined detailsfull cast and crewcompany creditsAwards & Reviews
user reviewsexternal reviewsawardsuser ratingsparents guidemessage boardPlot & Quotes
plot summarysynopsisplot keywordsmemorable quotesDid You Know?
triviagoofssoundtrack listingcrazy creditsalternate versionsmovie connectionsFAQOther Info
box office/businessrelease datesfilming locationstechnical specsliterature listingsNewsDeskPromotional
taglines trailers and videos posters photo galleryExternal Links
showtimesofficial sitesmiscellaneousphotographssound clipsvideo clipsThe First Year (2001) (TV) More at IMDbPro »
Overview
User Rating:
Your Rating:
Director:
Release Date:
6 September 2001 (USA)
See more »
Genre:
Tagline:
5 Teachers. 180 Days. Our Children's Future.
Awards:
3 wins
See more »
NewsDesk:
User Reviews:
Full of idealism ... and maybe little else
See more (6 total) »
Cast
(in credits order) | Georgene Acosta | ... | Herself |
| Geneviève DeBose | ... | Herself |
| Joy Kraft-Watts | ... | Herself |
| Nate Monley | ... | Himself |
| Maurice Rabb | ... | Himself |
| rest of cast listed alphabetically: | |||
 | Elisabeth Shue | ... | Narrator (voice) |
Directed by | |||
| Davis Guggenheim | |||
Produced by | |||
| Joanna Friedman | .... | assistant producer | |
| Davis Guggenheim | .... | producer | |
| Kheshgi | .... | associate producer | |
| Senain Kheshgi | .... | associate producer | |
| Jill Murphy | .... | executive producer | |
| Julia Schachter | .... | producer | |
Original Music by | |||
| Michael Brook | |||
Cinematography by | |||
| Sandra Chandler | |||
| Davis Guggenheim | |||
| Jennifer Lane | |||
Film Editing by | |||
| Jay Cassidy | (as Jay Lash Cassidy) | ||
| Sam Citron | |||
| Peggy Davis | |||
Art Department | |||
| Nancy A. Knight | .... | lead scenic painter | |
| Mike Wells | .... | construction coordinator | |
Sound Department | |||
| Aaron Glascock | .... | supervising sound editor | |
| Scott Harber | .... | sound mixer | |
| David S. McJunkin | .... | sound mixer | |
Editorial Department | |||
| Mitch Rosin | .... | assistant editor | |
Other crew | |||
| Susan Bradley | .... | title designer | |
| Mark Dashiell | .... | production assistant | |
| Joanna Friedman | .... | researcher | |
| Scott Hatcher | .... | production assistant | |
Distributors
Additional Details
Parents Guide:
Country:
Language:
Color:
Did You Know?
Movie Connections:
Featured in Waiting for 'Superman' (2010)See more »
FAQ
This FAQ is empty. Add the first question.See more (6 total) »
Message Boards
Discuss this movie with other users on IMDb message board for The First Year (2001)Recommendations
If you enjoyed this title, our database also recommends:
Show more recommendations
|
|
|
|
|
| Sound and Fury | Born Into Brothels: Calcutta's Red Light Kids | Go Tigers! | Dwarfs: Not a Fairy Tale | Mad Hot Ballroom |
|
IMDb User Rating: |
IMDb User Rating: |
IMDb User Rating: |
IMDb User Rating: |
IMDb User Rating: |
Related Links
| Full cast and crew | Company credits | External reviews |
| News articles | IMDb Documentary section | IMDb USA section |
Copyright © 1990-2013
IMDb.com, Inc.
Conditions of Use | Privacy Policy | Interest-Based Ads
An 
company.
The documentary "The First Year" follows five first year teachers into five schools in the Los Angeles area during the 1999-2000 school year. The teachers are passionate, driven, and full of the idealism of an unjaded educator. These are clearly strong, loving individuals who want to make a difference. Watching what lengths they will go to for the benefit of the students is admirable.
The film's overall presentation of them is less so. Clearly a full school year's worth of footage was shot for each of the five individuals and their classrooms. Documentarian Davis Guggenheim directed "The First Year" several years prior to his work on the academy award winning "The Inconvenient Truth". Unfortunately this earlier work does not benefit from the same clear, unmuddled, realistic perspective of that later work.
Clearly the film uses these five individuals to recruit new teachers. With that overarching intention, it makes the picture of modern education that much more sanitized as the film quickly paints over noticeable administrative issues or the needs to form a better link between parents and teachers. Using first year teachers as a statement of "it's not so bad, you should do it too" is imbalanced at best.