This is Joe Chrest, playing the role of Jim Ovbey in Front of the Class. I had a chance to chat with Joe for a while and he was a very nice guy. He’s been in a lot of films, most recently in “The Secret Life of Bees” which is about the be released. And of course how appropriate that the real Jim is a bee lover and makes his own honey right outside his home.
I only had a chance to see a few scenes filmed with Joe but with what I saw, I was impressed.
The one picture you see was when Jim and Hilarie and the state observer come visit my classroom and see a spelling lesson I was teaching.
Jim and Hilarie gave me a chance to teach in their school as a 2nd grade teacher despite having Tourette Syndrome. 24 other administrators didn’t give me the chance to be a teacher. You’ll see some of my experiences with the interview process as well as the magic question Jim asked me during the interview! You won’t believe what he asked me. But you’ll have to watch the movie! No spoilers! Cheers
December 7th, 2008 at 10:18 pm
Brad, thank you for sharing your story and movie! For the past several years I have worked with children and adults on the autism spectrum as a teacher, and I am delighted to have a story such as yours for them to relate to. Thank you for your inspiration!