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Secondary Education (17)
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1999Samara Grace Chadwick 2018 1 h 33 minWhen death haunts a high school in a small town in the late 1990s, everyone is forever transformed. In this gentle, prismatic film, Samara returns to the town she fled as a teen to re-immerse herself in the memories still lurking there, in its spaces and within the dusty boxes of diaries, photos and VHS tapes. 1999 is not a ghost story, but the ghosts are palpable at every turn. The snow-covered streets, the school’s hallways and lockers are preserved as in a dream. The absences left by the relentless teenage suicides still shimmer with questions, trauma and regret. Samara encounters people who are as breathtaking as they are heartbroken, and, finally, 16 years later, the community strengthens itself by sharing the long-silenced memories. Ultimately the film weaves together multiple voices in a collective essay on how grief is internalized—and how, as children, we so painfully learn to articulate our desire to stay alive. -
Colour BlindJinder Oujla-Chambers 1999 25 minThis film shows kids that being racist is not cool and that even subtle racism can explode into violence. Shot in Vancouver and Toronto schools, the film features teens from a variety of backgrounds. The students speak from personal experience, providing a startling look into the average high school--a place where the kids themselves create de facto segregation by hanging out only with others of the same colour.
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Dreams of EducationNoura Kevorkian 2003 10 minDreams of Education sees a group of young high school students as they express their anxieties about life after high school and their ability to afford a post-secondary education.
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Eye Witness No. 231950 11 minThe Magic Isle in Toronto Bay: A short ferryboat ride brings steaming Torontonians to Centre Island where sandy beaches and cool parks help them forget the heat as they swim and canoe. Nature Conscripted in War on Worms: The spruce budworm, which yearly destroys much valuable timber, is itself destroyed by the parasitic dipterous fly, bred for the purpose in a Belleville laboratory. Students Learn Lessons in the Sky: High school students at Buckingham, Québec, put their study of aerodynamics into practice as they pilot gliders at the local airfield.
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Eye Witness No. 96Tim Wilson , Hector Lemieux , … 1957 10 minSchool Timetable Suits Rural Students: The composite high school at Red Deer, Alberta, offers farm students a semester system that allows time both for farm chores and for education. Where Old Dolls Never Die: At Lew Chernick's doll hospital in Winnipeg broken dolls come by the thousands to be restored to their former charm. Nothing Stops the Scoot: A cross between launch, snow sled and airplane, the "Scoot" provides a versatile means of winter travel and recreation for residents of the Georgian Bay area.
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GuidelinesJean-François Caissy 2014 1 h 15 minThis feature documentary explores the world of adolescence in rural teenagers' interactions with various authority figures. Outside the classroom, though, the teens enjoy more control of their world; in this playground, they can test the limits of their temporary freedom. A work of patient observation relying mostly on uninterrupted long takes,Guidelines emphasizes the contrast between adult and adolescent, between the regulated classroom and the great outdoors, gradually revealing the interior drama of adolescence with its shifts from fragility to reckless abandon.
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Happiness Is Loving Your TeacherJohn N. Smith 1977 27 minThis short dramatic film describes the harrowing first assignment of a physically disabled substitute teacher confronted with a classroom full of unruly pupils. Tony is particularly hostile, and is given a detention that increases her hostility. One day at home, the teacher receives a call of apology from Tony, asking him when he will be returning to the school.
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If at FirstGilles Gascon 1969 22 minIn learning a language such as French or English it is certainly a matter of trying again and then again. This film, made with the cooperation of teachers and students, takes a sympathetic look at the application and perseverance required in mastering all the idiosyncracies of a foreign language. It shows the methods of a language laboratory and, most important, the value of venturing into situations where expression in the language being learned must be attempted.
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K.C.I.: Beyond the Three R'sScott Barrie 1982 27 minKitchener Waterloo Collegiate and Vocational School embodies some of the best features of public secondary education today. The school encourages students to learn beyond the classroom through innovative programs like Cooperative Education or Community Involvement, and welcomes adults into the school to complete their education or upgrade their skills. Through candid views of school activities, classroom discussions, and interviews with staff and students, the film takes its audience through a busy day at a large urban high school. It approaches many of the questions in the current debate on education.
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Lessons in LivingBill MacDonald 1944 23 minThe community of Lantzville, British Columbia, is a cross-section of nationalities and industrial groups--farmers, fishermen, lumbermen and railroad workers. Its spirit and its public school were down at the heels, but both community and school were transformed. An adjoining barn was converted into a community hall for the parents, to serve at the same time as a school gymnasium and as a workshop for the farm mechanics class. With the improved building, the whole school program was broadened.
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The New BoysJohn N. Smith 1974 27 minThis short documentary takes us to St. John's Cathedral Boys' School, at Selkirk, Manitoba, one of the most demanding outdoor schools in North America. As the school can’t accommodate every student wishing to enroll, boys of 13 to 15 years old are put through an initiation tougher than they have ever faced. They paddle canoes through some 500 kilometers of wilderness in 2 weeks, portaging and camping all the way, thereby learning vital outdoor lore, cooperation and self-confidence. The school opened in 1962 on the former Dynevor Indian Hospital, which was operated by the Anglican Church from 1896-1957. In the decades following the release of this film the school was the subject of multiple lawsuits pertaining to sexual assaults that occurred there and even student deaths due to its arduous outdoor activities.
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The New SchoolteacherJocelyn Rehder 1995 9 minThe New Schoolteacher describes the life of Ella, a young teacher in the 1850s. Not much older than the senior students in her charge, she is responsible for everything in the school from teaching all grades, all subjects, to discipline and housekeeping. It is a difficult job but Ella proves that she can do it and starts a baseball team too.
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Pen-Hi GradSandra Wilson 1975 27 minThis documentary short is about Penticton, BC, and what happens when students from the only high school in town graduate. Most know that job opportunities and higher education lie elsewhere, most likely in Vancouver. So, for one memorable week, they go through a whirlwind of formal ceremonies, wild celebrations, hi-jinks and farewells that involve the whole population of this Okanagan Valley community.
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Ridley: A Secret GardenRobert Lang 1981 26 minThis short documentary invites us inside Ridley College, a private boarding school founded in 1889 and located in St. Catharines, Ontario. This film goes beyond the walls and groomed lawns of this institution to show how it molds its students into the leaders of the future. Although the private school system has its critics, Ridley continues to uphold a strong British tradition with its emphasis on moral training, strict supervision, a strong academic education, conformity, sports and relative isolation from the community.
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SummerhillDennis Miller 1966 27 minA visit to a school without fixed rules, where students study as they wish, and are their own masters. A co-educational English boarding school, Summerhill was founded by Alexander Neill a half-century ago. In the film he explains his objectives, and from the activities of the children at work and play can be seen how his methods work. School, he says, should put preparation for life ahead of learning.
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A Trumpet for the ComboMorten Parker 1965 8 minIn a city high school, a jazz combo needs a trumpet player. Randy is the natural choice since he is the most talented, but the music teacher favours Bruce, a black student. What should come first? The band? The opportunity it affords to Bruce? The teacher's pleasure? These are questions for the audience to decide.
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Places to Gather and LearnDarlene Naponse 2018 10 minA day in the lives of Indigenous students at N’Swakamok Alternative School, Places to Gather and Learn emphasizes the value and necessity of Indigenous alternative and community spaces. This short follows students as they learn and share their stories, aspirations, obstacles and accomplishments. Run in partnership with the N’Swakamok Indigenous Friendship Centre, and as a satellite of Sudbury Secondary School, N’Swakamok Alternative School offers students a supportive and culturally activated space to gain life skills as they pursue their academic and personal goals.
