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"Teacher Of The Year"

WUNC | By Anita Rao,
Frank Stasio
Published June 6, 2017 at 1:11 PM EDT

Teachers are a common subject in Hollywood films. Portrayals of teaching range from the unorthodox style of Robin Williams’ character in “Dead Poets Society” to the dull and droning econ teacher in “Ferris Bueller’s Day Off.” A new documentary film about a veteran North Carolina teacher explores how popular culture’s portrayals of the teaching profession are a far-cry from what happens in most classrooms around the country day-in and day-out.Host Frank Stasio talks with social studies teacher Angie Scioli, and teacher and director Rob Phillips about his new film, "Teacher of the Year".

“Teacher Of The Year” tells the story of Angie Scioli, an educator who has been in the classroom for more than two decades. It traces her struggles to balance varying demands on her time and energy, and examines how the evolution of state politics has impacted her life and the lives of the students inside her classroom. Host Frank Stasio discusses the film with subject Angie Scioli, social studies teacher at Leesville Road High School in Raleigh, and director Rob Phillips, an English teacher at Leesville Road High School.

Note: This segment is a rebroadcast. It originally aired on March 2, 2017. 

Watch the trailer for Teacher of the Year below:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0MO-cWEYnNk

Teacher Angie Scioli with her husband in their kitchen. Scioli is the subject of the new documentary "Teacher of the Year" which explores her life inside and outside the classroom.
At Large Productions /
Teacher Angie Scioli with her husband in their kitchen. Scioli is the subject of the new documentary "Teacher of the Year" which explores her life inside and outside the classroom.
Angie Scioli after an unsuccessful fundraiser at her school. Scioli's life as a teacher is documented in the new film "Teacher of the Year."
At Large Productions /
Angie Scioli after an unsuccessful fundraiser at her school. Scioli's life as a teacher is documented in the new film "Teacher of the Year."

Copyright 2017 North Carolina Public Radio
Anita Rao
Anita Rao is the host and creator of "Embodied," a live, weekly radio show and seasonal podcast about sex, relationships & health. She's also the managing editor of WUNC's on-demand content. She has traveled the country recording interviews for the Peabody Award-winning StoryCorps production department, founded and launched a podcast about millennial feminism in the South, and served as the managing editor and regular host of "The State of Things," North Carolina Public Radio's flagship daily, live talk show. Anita was born in a small coal-mining town in Northeast England but spent most of her life growing up in Iowa and has a fond affection for the Midwest.
See stories by Anita Rao
Frank Stasio
Longtime NPR correspondent Frank Stasio was named permanent host of The State of Things in June 2006. A native of Buffalo, Frank has been in radio since the age of 19. He began his public radio career at WOI in Ames, Iowa, where he was a magazine show anchor and the station's News Director.
See stories by Frank Stasio