A Is For Appolonia (D)

When her mother succumbs to a stroke, Appolonia “Apple” Quizon must leave her law school ambitions and pursue a different career.  She becomes a teacher at Waianae Elementary on the Leeward side of Oahu, Hawaii.  Her first teaching job, Apple brings new energy to a school limited in resources and burdened by state bureaucracy.  But despite her enthusiasm, she is faced with numerous challenges, as her principal is on her case, one of her students is being abused, and she finds herself attracted to a fellow teacher.  And when an impending teachers’ strike ensues, Apple becomes both the martyr of the state and the enemy of her peers when she decides to be the only teacher, in a union thirteen thousand strong, to show up for work!  A winning drama that comments on our educational system, “A Is For Appolonia” also showcases what it is like to live and work in beautiful Hawaii. Writer: Eric Nemoto. Pages: 134.