Hi everyone!
I want to spend some time today talking about an amazing and inspirational story I encountered last night. I had a chance to watch the documentary film "Strangers No More" that was broadcast yesterday on HBO. "Strangers No More" won the 2011 Academy Award for Best Documentary Short Film and chronicles the efforts of a really special school located in the heart of Tel Aviv. The Bialik-Rogozin School is unlike any I have ever encountered. It opens its doors to refugee children from all over the world and helps them achieve academic success (regardless of educational background) while working to acclimate them to their lives in a new country and culture.
The film takes a year-in-the-life approach by focusing on a select group of students--a seventeen year-old boy from Darfur, a girl from South Africa, a boy from Ethiopia, etc.--and traces their progress over the course of one academic year. The students and teachers are interviewed throughout, interspersed with scenes of the children in classrooms, with their parents/guardians, and interacting with each other. What is amazing is that none of these children enter the school speaking Hebrew and are often haunted by the unspeakable traumas they left behind in their home countries. As individuals, these children are inspirational. As a collective entity, they demonstrate that all children, regardless of their backgrounds, cultures, or upbringing, can learn and thrive as long as they are provided a safe and nurturing academic environment with educators who believe in what they are doing and have committed themselves to bettering the lives of the world's young people.
As an educator myself, I was often moved to tears as it reaffirmed my commitment to helping those who cannot always help themselves.
The Bialik-Rogozen School's website is in Hebrew with no translation function. This is unfortunate for those of us who cannot read Hebrew. However, their Facebook page provides links (in English) to additional stories and short films about the school and the work this special group of people do every day. The film's accompanying website www.strangersnomoremovie.com is also a great place to learn more about the film, the students and teachers, and the school itself. I am not sure when HBO will be rebroadcasting the film but I am sure it will be available online and through Netflix soon. I encourage everyone who cares about education to check it out!
There is indeed a lot of good being done in the world today despite what the news might have us believe. So I am sending a shout-out today to the teachers and students at Bialik-Rogozen and to the film's directors/producers Karen Goodman and Kirk Simon. A wonderful story well-told. Thank you!
Ciao.
QUESTION OF THE DAY: "What can YOU do today to help improve the lives of the world's neediest children?"
No comments:
Post a Comment