An actor and a journalist top the list
Award-winning screenwriter, actor and philanthropist Matt Damon and journalist, author and CNN television personality Anderson Cooper, would make great substitute teachers. That’s the verdict rendered by those who voted in the National Education Association’s annual poll, conducted to draw attention to the role that substitute educators play in our nation’s schools.
Actor and activist Matt Damon
According to the poll conducted during American Education Week, 84 percent of respondents would like to see Damon at the head of the class for a day.
Given the choice among Damon, actress Betty White, basketball star LeBron James, actress Penelope Cruz, and journalist Ann Curry, Americans overwhelmingly chose Damon as the person they would most like to see in the classroom as a substitute teacher.
Damon is no stranger to education. His mother, Nancy Carlsson-Paige, Ed.D, is a professor of early childhood education at Lesley University in Massachusetts. In addition, Damon narrated American Teacher, a recent documentary film about five K-12 public school educators from across the country as they navigate the daily challenges of balancing their teaching careers with their personal lives. Damon gave a passionate speech at last summer’s Save Our Schools march in Washington D.C. The march drew thousands of educators from across the country to speak out against current education policies.
Cooper in the classroom
Given the choice among CNN anchor Cooper, actor, and reality show star Tony Danza, actress Jennifer Grey, TV personality Rachael Ray, recording artist Taylor Swift, and St. Louis Cardinals slugger Albert Pujols, 43 percent of the 700 respondents chose Cooper as the person they’d most like to see in the classroom as a substitute teacher.
When asked why they chose Cooper as their ideal substitute teacher, one respondent wrote, “Anderson Cooper’s work ethic, charisma, passion, integrity, compassion, bravery, knowledge of many subject areas and integrity are the qualities I find most evident in my colleagues in our profession — education. Thus, he would be the perfect substitute.”
CNN anchor Anderson Cooper
Cooper has covered many stories that affect America’s young people, including the rise of bullying. Cooper held a town hall meeting called Bullying: No Escape; an Anderson Cooper 360° Special Report with PEOPLE Magazine and Cartoon Network.
Respondents in NEA’s online substitute teacher poll included NEA members from across the country and the general public.
