Education Documentaries
Documentary movies on education and educational system
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- DirectorSusan RaymondStarsSusan RaymondDeanna BurneyClary JanssonFilmmakers Alan Raymond and Susan Raymond document Philadelphia teachers facing challenges at an inner-city school.
- DirectorEli Akira KaufmanStarsRichard BaranuikNtiedo EtukSal KhanStudents are the future, but what is the future for our students?
- DirectorBob BowdonStarsBob BowdonBill BaroniRick BermanAmerican public schools have been growing progressively worse. According to the U.S. Department of Education national testing, only 35% of American high school seniors are proficient in reading, based on 2006 data. And fewer than one-in-four, 23%, are proficient in math. On the global stage, America ranks last in educational effectiveness among large industrialized countries despite the highest spending per student in the world. It presents a conundrum: How has the richest and most innovative society on earth suddenly lost the ability to teach its children at a level that other modern countries consider "basic"? If the problem is that we're not spending enough on schools, which many people believe, it's instructive to study the U.S. state that spends more than any other per student: New Jersey With spending as high as $483,000 per classroom (confirmed by NJ Education Department records for 2005-06), New Jersey students fare only slightly better than the national average in reading and math, and rank 37th in average SAT scores. And not even half of NJ's high school freshmen, despite the state's enormous "investment," are academically ready for college four years later. The fact is much of the public considers teacher salaries and overall education budgets to be the same thing -- if you're for raising one, you must be for raising the other. But as the film shows, in many cases 80-90% of the spending goes somewhere besides teacher salaries. In fact billions of dollars, as confirmed by independent audits, are wasted. "The Cartel" investigates what is causing this vast underachievement and what can be done to turn things around.
- DirectorVicki AbelesJessica CongdonA silent epidemic, cheating, has become commonplace in our schools; students have become disengaged; stress-related illness, depression and burnout are rampant; and young people arrive at college and workplaces unprepared and uninspired.
- DirectorCevin SolingStarsRandy CassinghamLaurie A. CoutureShows how American public schools have failed in their mission to provide education, erode the country's democratic foundation by denying the most basic civil rights to youth, and often resemble prisons.
- DirectorVanessa RothBrian McGinnStarsErik BennerNeil CavutoMatt DamonWeaving interviews of policy experts and startling facts with the lives and careers of four teachers, American Teacher tells the collective story by and about those closest to the issues in our educational system -- the 3.2 million teachers who spend every day in classrooms across our country.
- DirectorMadeleine SacklerStarsCory BookerGeoffrey CanadaCandice FryerFour children enter a high-stakes lottery. If they win, they can attend one of the best schools in New York. A look at the crisis in public education, The Lottery makes the case than any child can succeed.
- DirectorJames O'KeeffeGO PUBLIC: A Day in the Life of an American School District follows fifty different subjects, ranging from teachers and students to administrators and community volunteers, for one full school day. This documentary provides an in-depth look into a racially and economically diverse urban school district and shines a light on the many dedicated people, the myriad of opportunities available and the complexity of effectively serving the needs of all students.
- DirectorLeah EdwardsPrecious LambertDoing it for Me is a unique documentary, exploring the dropout crisis in Washington, DC from a young person's point of view. Doing it for Me offers audiences the opportunity to empathize and engage with the complicated circumstances that lead young people to drop out. Across the 2011-2012 school year, only 61 percent of the city's young people graduated high school within four years and 1,953 youth left school without indicating if they were enrolling in another program. One in 10 DC youth aged 16-24 is not in school and unemployed. Jessica, Victoria and Precious' journey to better their lives, their education, and their friendship is an inspiring story that offers hope in the power of education, art and storytelling to change lives.
- DirectorRussell LongRoom to Breathe is a surprising story of transformation as troubled kids in a San Francisco public middle school are introduced to the practice of mindfulness meditation. Topping the district in disciplinary suspensions, and with overcrowded classrooms creating a nearly impossible learning environment, overwhelmed administrators are left with stark choices. Do they repeat the cycle of forcing tuned out children to listen, or experiment with a set of age old inner practices that may provide them with the social and emotional skills that they need to succeed? The first question is whether its already too late. Confronted by defiance, contempt for authority figures, poor discipline, and more interest in 'social' than learning, can a young meditation teacher succeed in opening their minds and hearts?
- DirectorMarylou Tibaldo-BongiornoHow to save the inner city.
- DirectorVicki AbelesVicki Abeles'Beyond Measure' follows a new vanguard of educators across the country who are pioneering a fresh vision for American schools. Pulling from expert research in education, child development, and cognitive and neuroscience, these leaders are creating a new type of classroom. They're leading schools that redirect our focus away from homework, prizes, top grades and test scores. And they're making room for curiosity, engagement, creativity, collaboration and independent thinking. By putting innovative models into practice, they're finding inspiration in doing things differently - and changing how and what we teach.
- DirectorGreg WhiteleyStarsLaszlo BockBrian CessonScott SwaaleyA powerful documentary examining education in America and inspiring school communities to re-imagine what students and teachers are capable of doing.
- DirectorMichael MooreStarsMichael MooreJohnny FancelliChristina FancelliTo learn what the USA can learn from other nations, Michael Moore playfully "invades" them to see what they have to offer.
- DirectorDavis GuggenheimStarsCharles AdamsJonathan AlterRobert BalfanzAn examination of the current state of education in America today.
- DirectorDavis GuggenheimStarsLindsay ChinnAce Antonio HallShelby HarrisExplores America's education system through the eyes, minds and hearts of its most essential resource, teachers.