Advanced search
- TITLES
- NAMES
- COLLABORATIONS
Search filters
Enter full date
to
or just enter yyyy, or yyyy-mm below
to
to
to
Exclude
Only includes titles with the selected topics
to
In minutes
to
1-50 of 110
- Teacher Pete Dixon tries to teach the students at Walt Whitman High to be tolerant. He's assisted by girlfriend and school counselor, Liz and student teacher (later teacher) Alice. The students love him.
- Jackie O'Farrell was a child star on TV which made him rich but it doesn't help him fit in at Whitman High. Jason and Bernie scheme to get Jackie to promote a concert but Jackie agrees only if they cut their hair.
- Principal Seymour Kaufman is concerned about the prevalence of drug use at Whitman, and asks for suggestions how the teachers can help the students with this problem. Pete Dixon suggests setting aside a room where anyone who wants -- students or teachers -- can enter at certain times and talk freely, with assurances that nothing said will leave the room. At first the approach draws little interest from the students -- but then as it begins to show some promise, the school board decides it might want to shut the project down.
- Several of the girls at Walt Whitman begin to protest their treatment at the hands of both the male students and the administration. Their ringleader is Sandy, whose persistence wins an unexpected victory when another girl is allowed to take auto shop. But then there is some backlash -- and ridicule -- from those who see "women's libbers" as trying to change the sex roles too radically. Sandy, however, sees a chance to win respect from the school and the male students by having Pat Halloran, a gifted female athlete, compete for a spot on the boys' basketball team.
- More than 100 colleges are competing to recruit Whitman's talented halfback Ronnie Moore. Uncertain about which school to select, Ronnie turns to Seymour Kaufman and Pete Dixon for advice. They accompany Ronnie to Atlantic State, where one of its former star players, Jim Williams, takes Ronnie on a tour of the school -- which also happens to be Seymour Kaufman's alma mater. But as they speak to some of the school's officials and its current football players, Seymour and Pete learn some disturbing things about the school's treatment of student athletes -- and about Jim Williams himself.
- Conflicts develop between two students, Craig Jackson and Brendan Michaels, Craig a short-haired, straight-laced type who respects authority and often exercises it as a hall monitor, and Brendan an easygoing free spirit with long hair who abides authority grudgingly if at all. Tension boil over, however, when the track coach becomes ill and Pete Dixon takes over for the balance of the season. Pete relaxes the discipline and permits students with long hair to play for the team -- including Brendan Michaels, who is an excellent pole vaulter. This doesn't sit well, however, with Craig Jackson, who abruptly quits as the team captain because of the constant clowning that Brendan brings with him onto the team.
- 1969–197430m7.7 (22)TV EpisodePete Dixon participates in a pilot program that cross-trains teachers to become administrators, and finds himself in the vice-principal's office alongside Gil Casey, a tough disciplinarian who believes that no student who comes into his office ever tells the truth. Pete tries to take a softer approach with the students, putting him on a collision course with Casey - even though he reluctantly begins to see that Casey may be right about the duplicity of at least some of the students.
- The sometimes outlandish clothing that the students are wearing to school, especially one boy named Jerry Shaffer, has become an issue at Walt Whitman, with some complaining that Principal Kaufman is failing to enforce the dress code. Kaufman, backed by Pete Dixon, sees that the dress code (adopted in 1940) may need some updating, but isn't sure how far to go. Kaufman appoints a committee composed of parents and teachers, chaired by Pete, to advise him on the issue. Pete however, pushes to have student participation on the committee -- which ends up including both Jerry and his indecisive father.
- Principal Kaufman's nephew Mickey begins attending Whitman telling everyone who his uncle is against advice. Mickey aspires to be a comedian but tells terrible jokes. Even so he's chosen to MC a talent show but then gets stage fright.
- Pete Dixon's class is studying civil disobedience apostle Henry David Thoreau, and Pete mentions that the city is planning to cut down the trees along his street to widen it for better traffic circulation. His class is inspired to show up there to stage a protest against the removal of the trees. The ringleader is Grady Garrett, an impressionable young student who already clashes frequently with his father, a doctor who is distressed that Grady doesn't want to follow him into the profession. Grady's father decides that the cause of Grady's new-found rebelliousness is Pete Dixon, whom he wants removed as a teacher.
- News reports suggest that a proposed school bond will fail by a large margin, and its defeat will mean cutting a number of programs at Walt Whitman High. The teachers initially propose only adopting a petition in support of the bond, but when Pete Dixon is elected to head a group of teachers to take a more active stance in favor of the bond, they decide to go on a half-day strike and to stage a demonstration to bring attention to their position -- much to the dismay of Principal Kaufman, who, although he supports the bond, sees the action as a useless gesture that likely won't change many voters' minds.
- One of Pete Dixon's fellow history teachers complains about a boy named Harvey Butcher, who continually disrupts his American history class. When Principal Kaufman suggests that they may have to transfer Butcher to another school, Pete Dixon argues that the school administration isn't working with the boy. Kaufman, aided by a suggestion from Alice Johnson, decides instead to reassign him to Pete's history class. Pete initially finds that he's gotten more than he bargained for -- but he also sees a talent for humor and imagination in the boy and tries to find a more productive outlet for it.
- Principal Seymour Kaufman asks Pete Dixon to take over a remedial reading class that the current teacher has trouble controlling. Pete finds that the students are sarcastic and unmotivated, and so he decides to try something unorthodox: pay the students if they will do their assignments.
- Billie is a Native American student, new to Whitman High, befriended by Jason. Mr. Dixon's class is studying Indian treatment and Billie is sensitive to anything calling attention to his heritage, lashing out at classmates.
- Alice Johnson finds herself exhausted to the point of collapse, as she not only teaches class by day, but also spends hours grading papers - in between counseling students about the problems in their personal lives. Her problems begin to turn into a crisis, however, when she agrees to let the students read "Catch-22" before tackling "Silas Marner", and then is caught having signed a less than truthful note about where one of her students was after school.
- Charlie and Abby, two of Walt Whitman's students, approach Pete Dixon and Liz McIntyre to announce that they are planning to marry at the end of the semester, and to request that Pete and Liz be the couple's best man and maid of honor, respectively. Pete and Liz believe it would be a mistake for the couple to marry so young, so they try to befriend them, hoping to persuade them gently to reconsider. Charlie and Abby mistake Liz and Pete's entreaties as approval, and announce that they have decided to move up their wedding date to the following weekend.
- Over Principal Seymour Kaufman's objections, the school district forces Walt Whitman to accept hundreds of new students on short notice, causing significant unhappiness among the teachers. Kaufman approaches Pete Dixon, who holds an important position with the P.T.A., and asks him not to raise objections about Whitman's new enrollees at the upcoming P.T.A. meeting, but Dixon feels that he must stand up for this fellow teachers -- causing a serious rift in Dixon's relationship with Kaufman.
- When one of the long-time teachers resigns as the advisor for the Junior Class Night, a musical presentation, Alice Johnson eagerly volunteers for the position. Principal Kaufman is reluctant at first to appoint her, but he relents under pressure from Pete Dixon and Liz McIntyre. Alice promises the class that it will be "their" presentation, and that she will allow them to run it the way that they want. She comes to regret this, however, when her shyest student, Helen Loomis, comes up with an unforgettable finale: everyone in the cast will strip naked on stage.
- 1969–197430m7.4 (23)TV EpisodeA discussion in Pete Dixon's class about the difference that one person can make leads Jason and Richie to become involved in a class project -- to raise the money to purchase 1 minute of air time on a local television station to try to raise awareness about air pollution. Jason and Richie also have to write and produce the announcement -- and when they start looking for an announcer, they decide that Pete Dixon himself would be the perfect choice.
- Liz McIntyre is assigned to substitute in the "Preparation for Marriage" class taught by middle-aged Miss Tandy. Liz discovers that the class is based entirely on Miss Tandy reading aloud from a book composed of notes she has compiled over the years, much of which is no longer relevant to her students' lives. Liz decides to put the book aside to lead a discussion among the students -- something the students like so much that they ask for Liz to replace Miss Tandy as the teacher for the class.
- Nick is a committed leftist and convinces Mr. Dixon to sponsor a Marx/Lenin club. Nick invites a confrontational speaker without authorization, upsetting board member Mr. Franklin and sparking a campus controversy
- Pete Dixon's student teacher wonders when he will get the chance to be in front of the classroom. When Pete has the flu, he gets his chance.
- Walt Whitman is planning an assembly to encourage its students to stay in school, but Pete Dixon is concerned that it won't be enough to convince Whitman's contemporary students. He recalls seeing former Whitman student Michelle Scott, now a famous singer, joking about how she was a high school drop out, and suggests that she might actually be embarrassed by her lack of a diploma. Pete and Liz McIntyre convince her to make an appearance at the assembly, and afterward she continues working on the problem of student dropouts. But Liz fears that her efforts may be more because she's attracted to Pete than just because she cares about students.
- Pete Dixon starts teaching an evening adult education class at Walt Whitman to earn some extra money, and discovers that the students are much more interested and motivated to learn the subject than his daytime high school students. On the other hand, he finds himself plagued by self-described "history nut" Ralph Fisk, whose love for the subject makes it hard to carry on a conversation with Ralph about anything else -- and who "adopts" Pete as his new best friend because Pete it too polite to refuse Ralph's attentions.
- In the pilot episode (which opens as essentially a continuation of the scenes in the opening credits), Pete Dixon teaches history in Room 222 at Walt Whitman High School. Principal Seymour Kaufman introduces Pete to Alice Johnson, a perky but painfully insecure student teacher. Pete's most enthusiastic student is Richie Lane, who goes so far as to dress a lot like Pete and even takes roll in his absence. But Guidance Counselor Liz McIntire has discovered some disturbing news about Richie -- the home address he submitted is fake, suggesting that he may not live in the school district, and therefore might be ineligible to keep attending Whitman.
- Pete Dixon is at a diner alone when a young woman asks his help to avoid a man she claims was stalking her. He buys her dinner and drives her home, but draws the line when she tries to become romantic. Then Pete discovers that she's actually a 17 year-old student from Walt Whitman who set up their meeting because she has an infatuation with him -- that she hopes will end in marriage.
- Whitman High has a problem in Herbie, who's always looking to make a fast buck primarily by using shortcuts. When a fundraiser turns into disaster because of double ticketing, he's willing to let treasurer Bonnie take the blame.
- Two men from a company named Automation West, which helps find employment for high school dropouts, come to visit Walt Whitman. Although they have worked with Pete Dixon on assisting dropouts in the past, their goal this time is to offer him a job with their company, at a substantial increase in salary. Pete is tempted by the offer, particularly because it will still involve working with kids -- but the possibility of his departure creates great consternation for his coworkers, especially Principal Kaufman, as well as among his students.
- Liz McIntyre is concerned about Jason Allen, who believes that he's not college material, and also that he's unlikely to get far in life because of his race. When she discovers that Jason is a talented artist, however, she arranges for him to get a job at a local department store's art department. Jason thanks her by giving her an expensive coat -- only it slowly dawns on Liz that the coat was likely stolen, not purchased.
- Walt Whitman High has arranged for an exchange teacher from England, Dora Hughes, who teaches creative writing and surprises the students with her novel approach to teaching -- including no permanent seating, no assignments, and the use of songs from Simon & Garfunkel and The Beatles in classroom discussions. While this energizes the students' interest in writing, some of her other quirks -- such as disregarding the bell schedule, not taking roll, and leading her students off on impromptu field trips -- place her on a collision course with the administration, especially Lloyd Hollis, the crusty head of her department.
- A city-wide flu epidemic causes so many teachers to call in sick that the very real possibility of having to close Walt Whitman High looms for Principal Seymour Kaufman. In the meantime, Kaufman's son Martin unexpectedly shows up from a year and-a-half stint in the Peace Corps in Uganda. Martin's background as a teacher comes in handy because of the shortage of teachers caused by the epidemic -- but his continuing presence at Whitman also brings up unresolved emotional issues between him and his father.
- Walt Whitman Principal Seymour Kaufman takes a personal interest in the situation of one student, Jerry Cates, who is a standout basketball player but whose grades have been tumbling, and who frequently falls asleep in class. Kaufman discovers that Jerry's mother has more or less abandoned him, forcing him to take on a night job just to pay the rent -- meaning that Jerry may end up in a foster home unless some other arrangements for his welfare.
- A new transfer student, Dennis Joplin, comes to Walt Whitman from John Adams High, and brings with him a lengthy disciplinary record. He provides a reasonable explanation for some of his behavior to Seymour Kaufman and Pete Dixon -- but within a short time they begin to realize that Dennis has a much more serious problem -- he lies almost all the time about almost everything.
- Stretch is hit by a basketball, breaking his braces, while looking at Phyllis Nichols who is cheerleading braless. The incident leads to an uproar over the school's lack of a dress code and student freedom.
- Criminal behavior is happening on school grounds so the students come up with their own policing plan. Headed by Richard the pass system soon falls apart due to rules enforcement and Miss Johnson's new car is vandalized.
- Donnie is the outstanding swimmer at Whitman's but decides to quit because he wants time for other things. His father Sid reacts badly and blames Pete. Donnie joins too many groups and finds new pressures.
- With another year's graduation approaching, Alice Johnson convinces Walt Whitman's administration to have an open competition to select the class valedictorian instead of simply relying on the students' grades. The unexpected winner of the competition, however, is perpetual underachiever -- and occasional troublemaker -- Stan Siebert. As graduation day approaches, some of the faculty and Principal Kaufman begin to worry that Siebert will not simply deliver his speech that won the competition, but instead use the valediction to make a fiery denunciation of the school and the older generation.
- Jason Allen becomes smitten with a girl from the school named Elaine Harris. Elaine and Jason hit it off, but their attempt at a first date is spoiled by her uptight, somewhat conservative father, who doesn't take to Jason's laconic style and apparent lack of ambition. Then Jason comes up with an elaborate plan to use Richie Lane, the buttoned-down class overachiever, as a go-between to get Elaine out of her house for a date -- but things don't go quite as Jason hoped.
- Liz McIntyre has two students needing guidance. Craig feels unable to live up to his family's academic achievements and become a minister while Judy acts out in anger over her home life. A chance meeting cutting class helps both of them.
- 1969–197430m6.4 (22)TV EpisodeNew student Mathew Palmer, a naive country boy, is taken advantage of by the class wise guys --until he learns to fight back.
- Someone has been committing acts of vandalism, such as dumping a bag of trash on some students during lunch, to call attention to the growing problem of pollution. The culprit disguises himself as "Paul Revere," and signs notes taking credit for the actions with Revere's name. Pete Dixon, however, figures out that the perpetrator is one of his students who holds Revere in high esteem. When Pete guesses the truth, the student swears him to secrecy -- but Pete has trouble abiding by his promise when the vandalism escalates to more serious -- and potentially criminal -- acts.
- A class lesson on the stock market inspires Miss Johnson and some students to invest so they can buy extra school equipment. But the fluctuations preoccupy them and Mr. Kaufman tells them to sell.
- The students protest against a word being censored out of a fictional story written for the school newspaper.
- 1969–197430m7.9 (19)TV EpisodeMatt is a recent arrival from the mountains adjusting to city life. He gets the other students excited about fixing up a local park but ignores getting permits despite Pete Dixon's warning. The city must dismantle all the hard work.
- Pete Dixon teams with pilot Fred to help at risk students but Principal Kaufman has his doubts. It particularly works for almost drop out Eddie who is angered when administrator Cramer has no funds available for it's continuance.
- Herbie has come up with another scheme, this one involving jobs that is tied to eating a record number of bananas. Kaufman has his doubts but Miss McIntyre is encouraging. The media shows up turning it into an event.
- Marie is a new teacher at Whitman and Mr. Kaufman develops a romantic interest in her. But after he learns she has recently left her vocation as a Catholic sister he has second thoughts.
- Chuck is an overachiever at Whitman and looking forward to a receiving a scholarship Mr. Kaufman hands out. But he handles the stress by drinking excessively and Pete Dixon tries to help him see that's a losing situation.
- A student is sold a defective motorcycle and the class decides to do something about it.