“… when a child is doing something she’s passionately interested in, she grows like a tree—in all directions." ~ John Holt

“I’m alive!” ~ Miles

After 30 years of watching the public open classroom where his wife taught, and admiring at a distance the model for learning that evolved, Tom Valens couldn’t miss the opportunity to film her last class from beginning to end.  And so he was there the day school started and many days thereafter: one man with a camera and a tripod, trying to stay out of the way as kids skipped from one activity to another, listening on headphones for events in other parts of the building, and sometimes rushing, tripod in hand, only to arrive at the action just as it ended.

Slowly but surely kids came into focus.  Tom captured their relations with each other, with their teacher, with learning.  The film is not meant to suggest there is one right way to teach.  Instead, it shows how one unconventional classroom puts schoolwork inside a larger picture, bringing into focus a broader vision of what education should and can be.

Improving public education in America is considered a high priority by most of our leaders.  Policymakers associate this almost solely with increased accountability as measured by student performance on standardized tests.   The isolated focus on so-called “basic skills” that has resulted has caused an outcry in the community of public educators.  Many note a loss of children’s joy in learning, sense of belonging, creative expression, and self-confidence.  These are not easy things to measure, but they are visible and palpable in a vibrant community of learners, and are vital for maintaining a lively democratic society.

Few would say that they want a one-size-fits-all model of education, yet as decisions about schooling are made further and further away from children, parents, and teachers, there is less and less flexibility in classrooms.  Educational leaders, teachers and parents all over the US are resisting this direction.  Whether they describe their approach as progressive, humanistic, holistic, democratic, alternative, or just good practice, they have in common a desire to nurture the fire in each child, to recognize and support the whole child.  Their classrooms are alive and well, but often either under attack or under the radar in this time of testing and standardization.

The intention here has been to make a film that can be watched for the sheer pleasure of the experience, but that also will raise awareness of what a public school can accomplish when the goal is not just discreet skills. Viewed from this intimate angle, one is really rooting for these kids: experiencing the range of abilities and backgrounds that is found in schools everywhere, and seeing up close how this particular classroom becomes a supportive community.

AUGUST TO JUNE asks viewers to stop and reconsider how we achieve what we really value for our children and society.  That it will look different in different communities is a given.   We cannot legislate how to teach or rely on multiple choice measurements of success.  Give communities well-prepared and supported teachers in schools that are well-equipped and well-staffed, then let those communities create the learning environments best suited to their needs.