You have to watch this movie!!!

Chalk is a mockumentary that was shot in Texas and its opening scene showed the following statistic...

50% of teachers leave the profession before their third year

This statistic absolutely floored me. I knew teacher retention was a problem, but I didn't know it was that bad. I saw chalk for the first-time at The Jacksonvlle Film Festiville in 2006. At the time I was finishing my second-year and was thinking about what I was going to do next year. I loved the movie, it was shot like The Office and had some really likable characters and I loved the dialogue. A lot of the conversations and thoughts were ideas that I had been pondering over the last couple of months and towards the end of my first-year of teaching in 2005.

If you get a chance, rent or buy the movie. It is VERY inspiring and is a good motivator for first-year, new teachers. It will make you laugh, but also remind you of the impact that we make on the lives of students as teachers.

If you get a chance to see Chalk or have seen it. I would love to read your thoughts...