Intimately and exuberantly, AUGUST TO JUNE is a voice for values we are on the brink of losing in the single-minded pursuit of higher test scores for our students! In the era of No Child Left Behind rigidity, we spend a year in a public school classroom happily going against the current. The film follows 26 8-10 year-olds as they write poems, raise chickens, resolve differences, and find their own voices. With humor and poignancy AUGUST TO JUNE reveals some of the complexity involved in a meaningful education, and gently asks audiences to stop and consider how we achieve the goal of curious and creative adults able to support a democratic society.—Amy Valens
AUGUST TO JUNE builds the story of one school year in a class NOT marching to the drumbeat of high stakes testing and rigid curriculum, and deeply invested in teaching "the whole child." We start by meeting the teacher sitting amid piles of boxes and furniture. Her thoughts about how to turn this hodge-podge into a vibrant place of learning, swirl us to the same space, a few days later, filled with 26 3rd and 4th graders.
Hands-on activities abound. The many poems that we hear in the course of the film allow us to experience the students' development as writers and their perceptions of themselves. Their expressive self- portraits are used in many contexts throughout the film. Not long into the year we participate in a problem solving: 4 girls with different versions of who did what to whom, with the teacher facilitating. Our growing involvement with the real struggles these children experience gives the film poignancy and depth.
Alani enters in January, having come from a nearby city to live with her grandparents. She is the sole African American in the class. Emotions build when she confronts Lauren, who has made fun of her brother. Tension eases when she and Anne figure out how to complete a project together.
Spring arrives with a touch of spring fever. The chicks that the children have been raised are now chickens laying eggs! Miles writes the first story that excites him. Alani has become a leader. All their issues are not resolved, but we can indeed see real growth. Could it have bee measured by a standardized test?
