Matt Damon’s career has evolved over the years from strictly acting to acting plus activism work with causes he cares about, including education. The “Bourne Identity” actor was supporting teachers and education with his educator mother in Washington D.C. when he was approached by a reporter from a political website.
The reporter remarked to Damon that he cares about keeping his job, so that’s why he works hard as an actor. Then, she asked whether or not teachers should have to do the same thing.
“So you think job insecurity is what makes me work hard? I want to be an actor. That’s not an incentive. That’s the thing. See, you take this MBA-style thinking, right? It’s the problem with ed policy right now, this intrinsically paternalistic view of problems that are much more complex than that,” the bald actor told the reporter.
“It’s like saying a teacher is going to get lazy when they have tenure. A teacher wants to teach. I mean, why else would you take a [expletive] salary and really long hours and do that job unless you really love to do it?”
The situation grew tense after no one spoke for a few seconds.
“Aren’t 10 percent of teachers bad, though? Ten percent of teachers are bad,” the reporter’s camera man said. Mother Damon then asked the camera man where he came up with that.
“I don’t know. Ten percent of people in any profession maybe should think of something else,” he said.
“Maybe you’re a [expletive] cameraman,” Damon replied.
Damon isn’t the only celebrity who values education and teachers.
Michelle Williams from Destiny’s Child
Singer Michelle Williams remembers that one of her teachers made learning special. How? With Subway sandwiches.
“My elementary school sixth grade teacher — his name is Mr. Powers from Jackson Elementary School in Rockford, IL. Mr. Powers had a way of connecting with his students and not being judgmental,” Williams told the National Education Association of her favorite teacher. “He was easy to talk to yet he was stern. Mr. Powers was a man who even the meanest child didn’t want to disrespect! I also liked the fact that we would have ‘Subway’ days where we’d order Subway sandwiches and eat them in class around lunchtime! You know, as a kid, things like that mean something.”
We would have loved a teacher who let us eat Subway in class!
Justin Timberlake
Justin Timberlake might have starred as a supportive teacher in this summer’s “Bad Teacher,” but one of his teachers didn’t think he’d make it in entertainment.
“I had a teacher in seventh grade who told me I should have more realistic goals than songwriting and entertaining. My schoolwork suffered. You can quote me on this directly to her, ‘suck it,’” he joked to SheKnows. However, he knows the values that teachers have in our world.
“We have to figure out a way to pay teachers more, that’s my opinion of it. They are surrogate parents away from home. Teachers, we actually learned more from them, who taught us life lessons more than trigonometry. They have such a huge responsibility and are underappreciated and underpaid.”
Megan Mullally
One of former “Will and Grace” actress Megan Mullally teachers introduced her to the world of performing. The rest, of course, is history.
“My high school English teacher, who for some reason assigned me the role of Portia in “The Merchant of Venice” when we read it aloud in class — it was the first time I’d ever done anything remotely like acting, and I thought, hmmmmm…” she told the NEA.
Cameron Diaz
Timberlake’s “Bad Teacher” co-star, Cameron Diaz, was far from a good teacher in the movie. Maybe she learned some of her comedy from one of her teachers?
“I had a teacher Mr. Fujikowa in sixth grade who used to come in after the weekend and tell us about his three-year-old son. He would say how wonderful it was to teach your son, to pass on knowledge, and you want to encourage them and teach them life lessons,” Diaz told SheKnows.
“And he sat with his feet kicked up on the desk talking about how his son was starting to walk, how gratifying it was to see him take the four steps up the stairs to the porch to get to the front door. As he got to the very top last step, he would pull on the string that he tied around his son’s leg to bring him back down to the first step. I just thought that was the most amazing thing. I laughed so hard. Everyone else was horrified. I was like, ‘That’s awesome!’” she joked.
We can almost see her “Bad Teacher” character doing that to some students!
Did you have a teacher that shaped you?
More from this contributor
Leighton Meester the Latest Celebrity to Sue a Parent
Kristin Cavallari the Latest Celebrity to Call Off Engagement
Amber Portwood Attempts Suicide, Needs Serious Help