Scottsdale International Film Festival 2009

T IS FOR TEACHER examines the experiences of four transgender teachers who transition from male to female within the American school system. Australian Director Rohan Spong traveled to New York, Minneapolis, New Mexico and Arizona to interview the teachers about their struggles and triumphs, and the outcome of each transition. The film engages in issues such as gendered bathrooms, the impact of transition on students, and the depiction of transgendered people by mainstream American media. Along the way, he engages students, parents, school administrations, a newspaper editor and conservative church groups in a discussion about the lessons learned from bearing witness to these remarkable transwomen’s courage. “I'm the same person, in and out... it's just that my topographical map has changed!” (School teacher, Mekah Gordon)