TEACHER BURNOUT: THE WRITING'S ON THE BOARD.

Byline: Glenn Whipp

Film Critic

Teachers in movies are usually portrayed as saints or buffoons, but rarely as recognizable human beings. The makers of "Chalk" manage to find that middle ground, which you might not expect from a film that uses the docu-comedy format to illuminate the difficulties and delirium that come with the job.

But then, the filmmakers - director Mike Akel co-wrote the movie with Chris Mass - have served time in the classroom. Mass, in fact, still teaches world geography at an Austin, Texas, high school.

Their on-the-job experience certainly instills "Chalk" with a detailed insight that is funny and, at times, heartbreaking.

The movie focuses on three high-school teachers and a just-promoted assistant principal. (Check their names and see if you can match them to their famous film counterparts.) Earnest history teacher Mr. Lowrey (Troy Schremmer) is the newcomer, and it shows. Lacking confidence and control of his classroom, Mr. Lowrey struggles, desperately looking to connect with his students.

On the other side of the spectrum is Mr. Stroope (co-writer Mass), a sarcastic doofus (at one point, he privately admonishes a couple of kids for being smarter than him) intent on winning Teacher of the Year. The soul-patch-

sporting Stroope cares more about his image than he does teaching students, masking deep insecurity with buddy-buddy bravado.

Mrs. Reddell (Shannon Haragan), on the other hand, genuinely likes kids but has little time for them - or anything else (like sex or dinner with her husband) - since taking the time-consuming job of assistant principal. Her friendship with the pushy (and nutty and deeply lonely) Coach Webb (Janelle Schremmer) takes a turn for the worse, with the by-the-book Webb resenting Reddell for not enforcing the smallest of rules. (Like she has the time.)

There's pettiness, complaining, hints of romance and a few rewards.

The standout story follows Mr. Lowrey's growth as a teacher over the course of the school year, with Schremmer imbuing the man with a flawed nobility that proves surprisingly affecting. The movie's supporting cast of real-life teachers and students adds to its pleasing sense of authenticity.

As Lowrey improves, you assume "Chalk" is heading for the requisite happy ending, but the filmmakers never lose their clear-eyed perspective. "It really is hard," Lowrey says of the job, "and I don't know that I like it that much, to be honest."

As the movie's opening title card notes, half of teachers quit within the first three years on the job. Watching "Chalk," you can understand why.

Glenn Whipp, [phone]

[e-mail]

CHALK - Three stars

(PG-13: some language)

Starring: Chris Mass, Shannon Haragan, Troy Schremmer, Janelle Schremmer.

Director: Mike Akel.

Running time: 1 hr. 24 min.

Playing: Landmark's Nuart Theater in West Los Angeles.

In a nutshell: Docu-comedy proves surprisingly affecting in its look at why half of teachers quit their jobs within the first three years.

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New history teacher Mr. Lowrey (Troy Schremmer) struggles to connect with his students and maintain control of his classroom in "Chalk," a docu-comedy about the high burnout rate of teachers.