"I'd Like to Apologize to Every Teacher I Ever Had" by Tony Danza is the story of the famous and successful TV actor and talk show host making a huge U-turn in his life. As the subtitle suggests - "My Year as a Rookie Teacher at Northeast High" - Tony took on a role that probably no one could have never predicted.

After have big successes on two popular TV series, "Taxi" and "Who's the Boss?", Tony became the host of a local TV talk show in New York City. Tony had always been interested in education. In fact, when he was in college, it was his dream to become a teacher. But his life and career went into an entirely different direction. He became a professional boxer and then got into acting. But education remained important to Tony. One segment on his talk show was devoted to reaching out to corporations to make charitable contributions to schools that needed financial support. It was a successful program and the donations that were collected were used for essential supplies and musical instruments. Unfortunately, Tony's talk show was ultimately canceled.

At the same time he lost his show, Tony's marriage was faltering. His life was chaotic and uncertain. His thoughts went back to education and he decided to at last pursue a career as a teacher. When word got around about his plans, A&E expressed an interest in making a TV reality show out of Tony's venture into education. At first Tony was dismissive of the idea. But the producers persisted. Tony would agree only under certain conditions. The students had to always come first and could not be exploited. And Tony would not agree to any scripting, even soft scripting. The studio executives agreed to his terms and "Teach" was placed on the A&E schedule and would be taped and made into a series.

It took some effort to find a school that would agree to having a reality show filmed on its campus, but the producers finally convinced the Philadelphia public school system and the mayor that the show could shine light on the struggles of the teachers and the needs of the students that exist in today's public education system. Tony had to not only prove himself to wary students and suspicious teachers, he had to struggle with unfamiliar material and a stringent curriculum.

Tony brought his own brand of teaching and his ability to connect on a personal level to Northeast High. He helped the inner-city kids in his class with their personal problems and with the challenges of learning. He proved himself to be a valuable part of the school especially after the show is canceled mid-year and Tony stayed on without pay. The kids learned a lot from their TV star teacher that year but Tony did, too. When he left after fulfilling his year-long commitment, he told the kids he loved them, would miss them and that they had changed his life forever.