Why Do These Kids Love School? is a documentary film directed by filmmaker, Dorothy Fadiman, which examines an independent school, Peninsula School, followed by visits to eight public schools around the country (pre-school through high school) all of which have innovative programs.
Featuring the heartbreaking stories of students who have been pushed to the brink by the relentless pressure to achieve, Race to Nowhere points to a silent epidemic in our schools where cheating has become commonplace; students have become disengaged; stress-related illness, depression and burnout are rampant; and young people arrive at college and the workplace unprepared and uninspired.
A new English teacher, John Keating (Robin Williams), is introduced to an all-boys preparatory school that is known for its ancient traditions and high standards. He uses unorthodox methods to reach out to his students, who face enormous pressures from their parents and the school. With Keating's help, students Neil Perry (Robert Sean Leonard), Todd Anderson (Ethan Hawke), and others learn to break out of their shells, pursue their dreams and seize the day.
Geoffrey Canada | Education Reformer
Why, why, why does our education system look so similar to the way it did 50 years ago? Millions of students were failing then, as they are now -- and it’s because we’re clinging to a business model that clearly doesn’t work. Education advocate Geoffrey Canada dares the system to look at the data, think about the customers and make systematic shifts in order to help greater numbers of kids excel.
This film by director Davis Guggenheim investigates the public school system in the United States, and uncovers the many ways in which education in America has declined. Rather than relying largely on statistics and expert opinions, Guggenheim focuses on five students -- Anthony, Bianca, Daisy, Emily and Francisco -- portraying their own individual struggles and triumphs within problem-plagued academic settings where there are no easy solutions to the myriad issues that affect them.
Available to stream on Netflix. Available to rent on Google Play, Amazon Prime, YouTube, Vudu, & Apple TV. Be sure to also check your local public library.
The Allegory of the Cave can be found in Book VII of Plato's best-known work, The Republic, a lengthy dialogue on the nature of justice. Often regarded as a utopian blueprint, The Republic is dedicated to a discussion of the education required of a Philosopher-King.
Plato’s famous allegory of the cave, written around 380 bce, is one of the most important and influential passages of The Republic. It vividly illustrates the concept of Idealism as it was taught in the Platonic Academy, and provides a metaphor that philosophers have used for millennia to help us overcome superficiality and materialism. In this dialogue, Socrates (the main speaker) explains to Plato’s brother, Glaukon, that we all resemble captives who are chained deep within
a cavern, who do not yet realize that there is more to reality than the shadows they see against the wall.
