Sorry : A Short Film About Every Classroom Teacher Ever

“Do the best you can until you know better. Then when you know better, do better.”
- Maya Angelou -

I don’t think it is ever wrong for teachers to draw hard lines or hold high standards. And I definitely don’t fault them for holding their students accountable to those hard lines or high standards.

I do think, however, that all of us - teachers and administrators alike - need to constantly be aware of our misunderstanding or gaps of understanding. That we need to constantly and continuously be asking the question, “Why?”

Why are our students continuously forgetting their work or acting up in class? Why are they constantly late?

Because kids, like adults, don’t like getting into trouble or falling short of expectations. They want to do well! And often times, their misbehaviors are them just communicating their struggles.

Yet, as educators, we often forget to ask questions, to seek understanding, and to give grace. I think we want to, but with 20+ kids entering our classrooms, deadlines breathing down our necks, and the ever increasing expectations of improving test scores we often forget to sit with those who are struggling because we simply don’t have the time, the energy, or the patience.

Slapping little Johnnie’s hands is easier. And faster.

When I watch this video I know, without the shadow of a doubt, that every great educator will picture a few of their students they have disciplined and then heap on another unneeded and unbearable weight of guilt upon their shoulders.

Don’t.

Because I also know that every great educator is doing the best they can.

Teachers, keep doing GREAT things! Keep holding your standards high , keep expecting excellence, and keep holding kids accountable! But also, once you know better, do better.

And then, let that shit go.

Your kids will be there tomorrow, eager to see you, and ready to reconcile. And oftentimes, all they really need is a simple hug and a sincere, “sorry.”

Keep your head up teachers! You are doing GREAT things and your kiddos are lucky to have you.

For more on . . .

-N- Stuff  :  On Education  :  Friday Thoughts

Throat Notes, a short film by Felix Colgrave

Rarely do I understand Felix Colgrave, but always do I appreciate him.

If he were a musician playing some impromptu riff, a guitarist heading off on a solo or a drummer swinging the sticks around in a maze of sound, I would sit back and - in perfect silence - listen.

Sometimes that’s how I feel about Mr. Colgrave and his art. I have no idea how he does it, so I just sit. Because it too is awesome.

For more on . . .

-N- Stuff  :  Short Films  : Felix Colgrave

Wasted Space, A short Film

Great films have a habit of forcing me to scratch my head. And this one left a pile of dead skin on my shoulders. (gross. I know.)

Gene Roddenberry claimed at that “all art was an attempt to answer the question, ‘What is it all about?’” and I have taken that claim and held it up to almost every piece of worthy art I have come across.

For this one, I’m struggling to find an answer.

Here’s one take:

Negative Space is practically perfect. Like so many shorts I admire, the film incorporates multitudes of seemingly contradictory qualities: at a mere 5 minutes, there is really no wasted space, and yet it is exceedingly spare. Based off a celebrated Ron Koertge poem that clocks in at only 150 words, it allows for moments of subtlety and contemplation that are so necessary in visual storytelling—those perfectly blocked shots, held for an extra moment, that drive home the rich emotional interiority of its characters. It’s simultaneously one of the most humanistic films of recent memory, but it also stars no humans. Its stop-motion animation is expressive, detailed and grounded, and yet it has no compunction about taking off on flights of fancy, segueing via delightful transitions into fantastical asides that play with scale and setting.

And, most remarkably, none of these elements are simply stylistic choices, excuses for technical bravado, or kludgy compromises to the process of adaptation. They are all deep reflections of the film’s core themes, representing and enriching them. Adapting work from another medium is rare for shorts, but rarer still, in any medium, is an adaptation that exceeds the original. Negative Space fills in the subtext of Koertge’s poem, but doesn’t bludgeon it, and the insights and personal experiences the film’s creators bring to the source material prove additive rather than incongruent, elevating the work." - S/W Curator, Jason Sondhi (via).

But that doesn’t help. What themes are reflected? Enriched?

I agree that the artistic nature of the film is spot-on and “nearly perfect.” But what about the message? What is he trying to say?

And what poem does it help fill in? . . . oh. I found it. It’s called, Negative Space (huh) and is the narration to the film:

My dad taught me to pack: lay out everything. Put back half. Roll things
that roll. Wrinkle-prone things on top of cotton things. Then pants, waist-
to-hem. Nooks and crannies for socks. Belts around the sides like snakes.
Plastic over that. Add shoes. Wear heavy stuff on the plane.
We started when I was little. I’d roll up socks. Then he’d pretend to put me
in the suitcase, and we’d laugh. Some guys bond with their dads shooting
hoops or talking about Chevrolets. We did it over luggage.
By the time I was twelve, if he was busy, I’d pack for him. Mom tried
but didn’t have the knack. He’d get somewhere, open his suitcase and text
me—”Perfect.” That one word from him meant a lot.
The funeral was terrible—him laid out in that big carton and me crying
and thinking, Look at all that wasted space.

So what is the wasted space? Was it time spent apart? Wasted opportunities? Is his dad nothing more than a packed item now and no longer human . . . because he never was? Because he was only just a figure or title?

Now we’re getting somewhere.

Is he crying at his father’s funeral because he’s acknowledging that he should be thinking about something else? That he should be mourning the loss of his father and not the wasted space? That he should have a coffin full of memories to think about and talk about, rather than a phone full of simple texts that read “perfect” but which meant so much to a lonely son back home?

Should they have meant so much to a lonely son back home?

Maybe. Probably.

What do you think?

Man I love stop-motion films.

For more on . . .

-N- Stuff  :  My Dead Dad’s Porno Tapes : My Grandfather, and the tools he left behind : Short Films

The Arctic : A Short Film about the Frozen Beauty of the Arctic

THE ARCTIC from Beauty of Science on Vimeo.

THE ARCTIC began in October 2018 and lasted for about seven months. It records the crystallization processes of different salts. During this period, we explored various forms of the crystals and their wonderful growth patterns. Most of the footage was captured by time-lapse photography.

The tile of this film comes from the icy sensation of the Arctic. We hope this film can remind viewers the stunning beauty of the ice world and the importance of protecting our planet (via).

There’s something soothing about this video. Maybe it’s the lack of chaos, or the simple order and beauty of the icy world. I don’t know. But whenever I watch it, I see a brain, or a community, and the ice is ideas or imagination running wild and free in every direction, yet with purpose.

For more images, visit: behance.net/gallery/79539735/THE-ARCTIC

Neighborhood Golf, a film by Nicolas Heller

Neighborhood Golf Association from HELLER films on Vimeo.

For the past 10 years, street photographer Patrick Barr aka Tiger Hood has become a local legend known for bringing golf to the streets of NYC.

It’s a game that requires only three items: a golf club, a newspaper-stuffed milk carton, and a crate. What was initially just a way for Barr to pass time has gained traction from major news outlets and celebrities on a global scale. However, street golf seems to overshadow his true passion… photography. Barr’s archive consists of thousands of mind blowing film photographs of NYC from the 1990’s to 2000’s.

His goal was to preserve a time and place that he predicted would dissolve in the coming years. With his archive as evidence, he predicted correctly (via).

In a time that likes to embrace a, “Be content with what you have,” or, “make the best of what you’ve been given,” Tiger Hood is an example to us all.

For more on . . .

-N- Stuff  :  Inspiring films about Humans  :  Documentaries  : The Tables, a short film by Jon Bunning

The Saint of Dry Creek : a StoryCorp short film

Dont' sneak. . . if you sneak it means you think you're doing the wrong thing. And if you run around your whole life thinking you're doing the wrong thing, then you'll ruin your immortal soul.

Damn, that's good.

StoryCorps was designed by David Irsay to "preserve and share humanity’s stories in order to build connections between people and create a more just and compassionate world," and has collected well over 50,000 stories (that number is from June, 2015). 

I first heard of David Irsay and his brilliant development of StoryCorps almost two years ago while walking through the streets of Chengdu, China. He and it was the center piece to the episode The Act of Listening from the podcast TED Radio Hour. Since that night, I've listened to hundreds of podcasts. Yet, this episode has remained one of my all time favorites. 

Thank you Eric Trauger for sending me this video!

For more on . . .

-N- Stuff  :  Favorite Podcasts  :  TED Talks  :  StoryCorps films

Poilus: A short film about any one of us

The “Poilus” - infantry soldiers in the French army, especially during WWI - are waiting to leave for the battlefield. Among them, Ferdinand, a young hare, is playing the harmonica. A signal is given, the attack begins. It’s on the no man’s land that he first encounters his enemy, a horrible creature.

by ISART DIGITAL

This short film is intriguing. Why the juxtaposition of the car in the opening scene and the tank? Is it humanity and war? 

The harmonica, like Ivan Denisovich's clean spoon, is his clinging to humanity. And when he killed the soldier wearing a different color, he killed himself - metaphorically. 

But also literally. Playing in the open battlefield was, essentially, suicide. All the soldiers heard him - and one might argue, were inspired by him - but then a shot rang out. Before the whistle.

But who shot him? 

The soldier clenching his fist is in blue, just Ferdinand. Did his own commander kill him? The one who ripped his little bit of humanity left and stomped it in the dirt? Or was it the enemy?

And who is the enemy? 

Using bunnies is brilliant because any association we have with them is kind and fluffy and a perfect gift for any child of any age because they're harmless! Bunnies don't fight wars. Bunnies don't kill - our enemies do. 

Once humans are taken out of the film, everyone can be anyone, which, I think, is the point.

The line between them and us is instantly blurred. All the bunnies look the same, act the same, and twitch the same. Suddenly, any one of us can be any one of them. And anyone of us can choose to play the harmonica, or pull the trigger. 

For more on . . .

-N- Stuff  :  WWII Vets - Former Enemies, Now Friends  :  Humanity

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When 2+2 equals 5, it's time to stand

Sometimes, it's best not to believe what we're taught.

When I showed this to my students a few years back, I asked, "Why imaginary guns? Why not the real thing?"

"Because they're not killing him," a student responded, "but his mind. And his imagination."

Perhaps the same can be said for the mindless adherence to rules, ideas, and religion. 

Ethnic (or any) diversity is like fresh air: It benefits everybody who experiences it. By disrupting conformity it produces a public good. To step back from the goal of {diversity} would deprive {everyone}, regardless of their racial or ethnic background, of the opportunity to benefit from the improved cognitive performance that diversity promotes.

Because,

When surrounded by people “like ourselves,” we are easily influenced, more likely to fall for wrong ideas. Diversity prompts better, critical thinking. It contributes to error detection. It keeps us from drifting toward miscalculation (via).

Sadly, at times, it takes someone standing at the chalkboard or standing in front of a tank to remind us how far we've drifted. 

For more on . . .

-N- Stuff  :  Diversity  :  Heineken commercial - More than a drink  :  Dangers of a Single Story

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Rakka, by Neill Blomkamp

Filmmaker Neill Blomkamp (District 9, Chappie) is planning on making a series of experimental short films as proofs-of-concept for possible feature film development. His first short has just been released through Oats Studios; it’s called Rakka, stars Sigourney Weaver, and is kind of a cross between District 9 and Edge of Tomorrow (via).

These futuristic/alien takeover sort of movies, for me, are always a hit or miss. What I do like about them though, and this one seems to be of a similar cut, is that they bring humanity to the edge of extinction and then ask, "What does it mean to be human?" 

If we survive, but at the sacrifice of morals, of humanity, is life worth living?

The Walking Dead asks the same question. So does Ivan Denisovich. Because conflict - true and meaningful conflict - reveals truth. Truth about ourselves, and truth about our world. 

I'm intrigued by Amir and what part he will play. How will his fractured humanity impact the world? Will it win? Or will it succumb?

For more on . . .

-N- Stuff  :  Short Films  :  Humanity

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Human, by Yann Arthus-Bertrand

Below is a short excerpt from a film entitled, "Human" by Yann Arthus-Bertrand.

"I am one man among seven billion others" Bertand writes. "For the past 40 years, I have been photographing our planet and its human diversity, and I have the feeling that humanity is not making any progress. We can’t always manage to live together.
Why is that?
I didn’t look for an answer in statistics or analysis, but in man himself."

Yann Arthus-Bertrand was born in 1946, and has always nurtured a passion for animals and the natural world. At a very early age, he began to use a camera to record his observations and accompany his writings.

On the occasion of the first Earth Summit in Rio in 1992, Yann decided to embark upon a major photographic project about the state of the world and its inhabitants: Earth From Above. This book enjoyed international success, selling more than three million copies. His open-air photographic exhibition was shown in around 100 countries and seen by some 200 million people.

Yann continued his commitment to the environmental cause with the creation of the GoodPlanet Foundation. Since 2005, this non-profit organization has been investing in educating people about the environment and the fight against climate change.

This commitment saw him appointed United Nations Environment Program Goodwill Ambassador in 2009. That same year, he made his first feature-length film, HOME, about the state of the planet. This movie was seen by almost 600 million spectators around the world (via).

You can watch the full-length movie here.

For more on . . .

-N- Stuff  :  Humanity  :  On Living

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