Working At The Edge

Make School Different: Digital leadership & Transformation

#30 of 60: How might we use film as a spark for transformation? 🤔

By

In October 2020, several organizations partnered to present an online film festival, This is Our Chance film festival. 

Spread over a period of three weeks, with each week having a unique focus, full length and short films (mostly documentaries) were curated and followed up with rich online conversations and gatherings.

While the festival is “over,” I noticed that many of the films are still accessible!

My graduate class at the time used the festival and the films to support our own inquiry into school transformation. I highly recommend visiting the site if you are inclined to be inspired by film.

Films are curated in three areas (included here along with direct links and descriptions from the site):

Confronting our history – https://our-chance.com/week-1

We can’t reimagine school without addressing the systemic racism built into our collective thinking and the policies that have shaped schools. By confronting our history and acknowledging how it has shaped our present, we can begin dismantling systemic racism and realize the equitable future for education we have always strived for.

Examining “School” – https://our-chance.com/week-2/

Compulsory education and conventional schooling have changed very little since their inception in the late 1700s. Across every living generation, we can all walk into a school building and feel a sense of familiarity. While you watch this week’s feature films and shorts, we invite you to consider the following questions: What are some of the values and assumptions that drive our education system? How do some of these values perpetuate long-standing assumptions about what success looks like and who can be successful? How do these feed into some of the broader conversations we are having today about who has power, access and opportunities?

Exploring new possibilities – https://our-chance.com/week-3/ 

Last week, we had a slight taste of what’s possible when learning is driven by the interests and passions of young people. This week, we’re filling your entire plate with stories of communities and inspiring youth who have taken learning into their own hands and created experiences and opportunities that they say have changed their lives, altered their perspective on learning, and ignited a passion they didn’t know they had. It’s time to explore what’s possible when youth lead (instead of comply); schools and educators enable (instead of control); and learning becomes purposeful and powerful.

Some of the films are “password protected,” but the passwords are listed on the site. (There was only one film I was unable to access.)

We live in a world that engages powerfully through multiple forms of media. As we transform schooling, engaging with the film medium can lead to rich, transformative conversations. It always helps to see in action what can sometimes feel abstract or theoretical.

Looking forward to hearing what films resonate with you!

—–

âť“ Provocations:

What threads of “human-centered” did you see in the films you watched? What films/topics struck you the most? Why is that? What actions might you take to spread the conversation to your own learning community? What is the story of your learning community? Might your learners turn that into a documentary?

đź’Ž Resource:

This is Our Chance film festival

🧠 Mindsets:

Equity

Challenging assumptions – growth mindset

Creativity – reimagining what is possible

đź’ˇ Areas:

Learning

Leadership

📣 Drop your thoughts in the comments, or in the Facebook group, and feel free to share resources. 🔥🔥🔥

Randy Ziegenfuss
Follow me
Latest posts by Randy Ziegenfuss (see all)