We went to see the Oscar-nominated documentary shorts this afternoon. This collection of five films between 35 and 40 minutes at first seemed to be a catalog of the world's woes: a Jordanian Muslim man who lost 27 friends and family members when the Amman hotel where he was holding his wedding reception was bombed by terrorists launches a crusade to put "jihad" into its proper Islamic perspective; because their atoll is being consumed by the rising sea, 1000+ people living in the Carteret Islands must find a new home elsewhere, despite the fact that their ancestors have lived on those there with a cash-less economy for 1000 years; the residents of a small village in China must take on local officials to resolve the damages that the local chemical factory has inflicted on their air, soil, and water since the early 1970s; and a former cheerleader struggles with PTSD after her tour of duty in Iraq. Even the last documentary, which was easily the most uplifting of the five, was not without serious adversity-- a public school in Tel Aviv works hard to offer its students everything they need to learn, despite the high proportion of immigrant and refugee kids-- not surprisingly, there were some heartbreaking stories in that one, too.
What is one to do when confronted with such information? There was a part of the last film that really resonated with me-- it was the last day of school, and the audience was invited to celebrate the great gains that the students we had followed had made. It was very moving, and in a voice-over, one of the teachers said something like, each of these kids has experienced the support of at least one adult and has been successful because of it. We hope that they will carry that notion into the world with them and become people who reach out and help others.
When we talk about education and learning, let's not lose sight of that. It's not enough to fill kids' heads with facts and figures; the feeling that the people in charge care about them will engender the compassion that they will need to face the uncertain future of our planet.
What is one to do when confronted with such information? There was a part of the last film that really resonated with me-- it was the last day of school, and the audience was invited to celebrate the great gains that the students we had followed had made. It was very moving, and in a voice-over, one of the teachers said something like, each of these kids has experienced the support of at least one adult and has been successful because of it. We hope that they will carry that notion into the world with them and become people who reach out and help others.
When we talk about education and learning, let's not lose sight of that. It's not enough to fill kids' heads with facts and figures; the feeling that the people in charge care about them will engender the compassion that they will need to face the uncertain future of our planet.
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