I received a phone call from a teacher in Fresno, California last week. The teacher told me that the class was going well and they were about to begin the week on loyalty. She wanted to know if I had a “black” movie recommendation for that week because the movie on the list was, “A Walk to Remember.” She told me that she didn’t have one white student in her class and that the students get easily bored and roll their eyes when a “white movie” is shown, saying her students just can’t relate.
I receive a phone call like this about once a semester. My usual response is to get out the list of recommended character movies that come with the curriculum. With “The Help” replacing “The Majestic” for week 7 last year, I point out that 9 of the 18 movies have minorities as the lead character. This leaves 9 of the 18 movies as “white movies” with mainly white actors. I do this to show the diversity of the movies (list below).
https://characterandleadership.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/06/chapter_dvds.pdf
This usually leads to a pleasant conversation about ethnicity, and diversity. I usually end by saying that I don’t have a list of “black” movies for predominantly black schools, “Hispanic” movies for predominantly Hispanic schools or a list of “white” movies for predominantly white schools. This is a national program and I try to pick the best movie that exemplifies that particular trait, regardless of the ethnicity of the actors. I encourage the teacher to find replacement movies if they feel it is appropriate, but we usually close by talking about the importance of students learning from people who don’t necessarily look like them or have a shared background.
Author’s Perspective: My wife and I have conversations about these phone calls. We understand the importance of diversity and the importance of providing material that students can relate to based on shared experiences. However, with half of the movies being based on the lives of minorities, this doesn’t appear to be an issue of diversity. The question, to me, seems to be the ability to learn from and be inspired by people who don’t look like you and come from different backgrounds. When I watch Coach Carter or Lean on Me, I don’t roll my eyes and say, “I just can’t relate to these black or Hispanic kids.” To the contrary, I am inspired by their stories!
My wife says this better than I write it. Here are her thoughts – https://vimeo.com/60199614
A Walk to Remember is a story of a troubled boy who is headed down the wrong path. He meets a girl who changes his life for the better. He learns compassion, courage, empathy and develops the capacity to put someone else before himself. It is an inspiring film and I always cry when she dies at the end. I hope you do too – whether your skin is white, brown, black or green. I think that if you give the movies and the actors the benefit of the doubt, you will find the themes and lessons of these movies are universal.
Your Turn:
1) Do you think I should have 3, 4 or 5 lists of movies available for schools based on the ethnic background of their students? Why or why not?
2) If you agree with this philosophy, this means that white students should only watch “white” movies and not watch films with black actors as they will not be able to relate or learn anything, right? What happends to diversity if that happens?
3) If you were the person who selects the movies, what changes would you make?
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1. NO it’s not important for students to think we jugding them by there background and play only movies like that.
2. It makes kids think that there is a difference bettween color.
3. I would pick movies by the leasons in it not the diversity.
1. No, I do not think you should have movies based on someone’s background. I think that movies should have different backgrounds and diversity in them as well.
2. I do not agree with this philosophy at all. I think that these students would feel that there is a difference between colored and white people.
3. I would select movies based on what I am teaching my students and not worry so much about showing diverse movies.
1. NO it’s not important for students to think we judging them by there background and how they think of things and there background.
2. It makes kids think that there is a difference between color and they should not be in tow different groups they should all be in one place.
3. I would pick movies by the lessons in it not the diversity on the people.
1.)No, I do not think you should have lists of books for kids with different ethnic .It is not okay to show kids different movies just because they have different backgrounds,that is mean and not tolerable to me.
2.)I do not agree with that philosophy so I don’t think only white kids can watch movies with only white actors.If that did happen then the effect on diversity would be that kids would think that there is a difference in kids with colored skin then kids with white skin.
3.)If I was the person who selected the movies the difference I would make is that I would have one list of movies,and they would have all colored actors in the movies.
1. i think you should not have those different movies based on ethnics. Some kids like some things and that is stereotypical if you can even separate movies by ethnic background
2.i don’t agree because kids believe everything they hear and i don’t think it’s a good idea to stick into their head that they need to like this certain stuff because of their background
3. If i were picking the movies, i wouldn’t have any categories, just one long column of movies for anyone to pick
1. you should not have those different movies based on ethnics. Some kids like some things and that is stereotypical if you can even separate movies by ethnic background
2.i don’t agree because kids believe everything they hear and i don’t think it’s a good idea to stick into their head that they need to like this certain stuff because of their background
3. If i were picking the movies, i wouldn’t have any categories, just one long column of movies for anyone to pick
1. No, I do not think you should have lists of books or movies for kids with different ethnics, just because you have a certain ethnic background doesn’t mean they should be closed minded to all races
2. no, I don’t think only white kids should only watch movies with only white actors. The effect on diversity would be that kids would think that there is a difference in kids with colored skin then kids with white skin.
3. If I was the person who picked the movies the difference I would make is that I would have all types of movies, not just movies based on one type of race .
1. No, I don’t think you should. I think the kids should have the same books and movies.
2. No, every kid should watch movies with different races of actors. This helps them accept others.
3. I would make sure their is all types of movies that aren’t based on race.
1. No, I don’t think you should. I think the kids should have the same books and movies.
2. No, every kid should watch movies with different races of actors. This helps them accept others.
3. I would have all types of movies that aren’t based on race.
1.)No, I do not think you should have lists of books for kids with different ethnic. That will only caus more stereotyping ain’t students.
2.)I do not agree with that philosophy so I don’t think only white kids can watch movies with only white actors. That would make kids only think that white people are made for movies. And would cause more segregation.
3.)If I was the person who selected the movies the difference I would make is that I would make all the movies have a mixture of race in them
1. No, I do not think you should have lists of books or movies for kids with different ethnics, just because you have a certain ethnic background doesn’t mean they should be closed minded to all races
2. no, I don’t think only white kids should only watch movies with only white actors. The effect on diversity would be that kids would think that there is a difference in kids with colored skin then kids with white skin.
3. If I was the person who picked the movies the difference I would make is that I would have all types of movies, not just movies based on one type of race .
If I was the person who selected the movies the difference I would make is that I would make all the movies have a mixture of race in them
I think the kids should not have different stuff
I would just be friends
1. i think you should not have those different movies based on ethnics. Some kids like some things and that is stereotypical if you can even separate movies by ethnic background
2.i don’t agree because kids believe everything they hear and i don’t think it’s a good idea to stick into their head that they need to like this certain stuff because of their background
3. If i were picking the movies, i wouldn’t have any categories, just one long column of movies for anyone to pick
1. Yes I think that 3,4,or 5 movies movies available for students because student love watching different types of movies
1.)NO it’s not important for students to think we judging them by there background and how they think of things and there background.
2.)I do not agree with that philosophy so I don’t think only white kids can watch movies with only white actors. That would make kids only think that white people are made for movies. And would cause more segregation.
3.)If I was the person who selected the movies the difference I would make is that I would have one list of movies,and they would have all colored actors in the movies.
1) No, because it would be unfair to other students that would actually like to see any of the movies, and others feel they might be judged by their backgrounds.
2) I do not agree with this philosophy because white people should’t just watch movies with just white actors and black people shouldn’t watch movies with just black actors. Because it would confuse children and other people on how they should treat each other and how to be friends with one another.
3) If I was the person who got to pick the movies I would only have one list to select from and all the movies that I have, would have all colored actors in the movies.
1. I personally don’t think you should have 4 or 5 lists of movies rather 1 or 2, because just because they’re African American doesn’t mean they don’t want to watch a movie that has a white person as the main character.
2. I mean I know lots of “white” people that grew up around “black” people and tend to relate more and feel more comfortable with them. I also have a lot of black friends that don’t hang out with other black people they would rather hang out with their people.
3. I would probably use an assortment of movies with black and white main characters.
1. No, students background shouldn’t determine the type of education they get.
2. I do not agree with this philosophy. If this happens there will be no diversity.
3. I would just select the best movie there was for the topic we are on.
1. No, because the kind of education a student is getting should NOT be determined by the color of their skin.
2. By doing this, it separates kids based on skin color which is something we should be striding to not do. Also, by only showing kids movies about people that are the same race as them, we are limiting their ability to see what is happening in the world around them. This results in ignorant kids.
3. I would base the movies off of what I am teaching. The skin color of the people in the movie should not have any effect on my choice.
1. I don’t think that you should choose different movies or books based on every ethnic background because ethnic background should not determine what education they are getting because I think that will cause more separation between backgrounds. Everyone should be treated the same no matter the color of their skin.
2. I don’t agree with this philosophy because if white students only watch movies with white actors and the same for black students then I feel like their mindset will be to only associate with their own people and not be with people of different backgrounds. If this was a thing I think it would cause separation.
3. I would choose movies based on the topics being discussed because when I watch a movie I don’t think about the color of the actors but the story behind the movie.
1. I don’t think you should have different lists for different schools
2. I don’t believe you should have different lists because it will just lessen the diversity
3. I would pick movies based on the impact of the movie not by the person that plays the role
1) Do you think I should have 3, 4 or 5 lists of movies available for schools based on the ethnic background of their students? Why or why not? I think I would have more than one, maybe 5. It produces a numerous amount of options. I would mix the races up so which ever list is selected can represent all groups and teach and every one of the students a lesson.
2) If you agree with this philosophy, this means that white students should only watch “white” movies and not watch films with black actors as they will not be able to relate or learn anything, right? What happens to diversity if that happens? They will only assume that they can learn from “white” actors or people, and ignore the value that african-americans can provide. Diversity becomes almost extinct.
3) If you were the person who selects the movies, what changes would you make? I think I would introduce movies that had a variety of races, and teaches important values. I would also choose some cartoons that could get these same lessons across, depending on the age range.
1. No, you shouldn’t make different lists for schools based on the ethnic background of students because to me, someone refusing to watch a movie with actors of different ethnicity than themselves and saying that they “can’t relate” isn’t tolerable of other people. People should be able to learn lessons from people and their choices, not based on color/religion/ethnicity.
2. I don’t agree with this philosophy at all. I feel like diversity between people is recognized to show that yes, we are all different, but we can use our differences to bring all kinds of people together. If this philosophy was used, our diversity would no longer bring people together, but would drive people apart.
3. If I were the person who was choosing the movies for students, I would choose based off of the movie that teaches the lesson I am aiming to teach the best.
1. NO it’s not important for students to think we judging them by there background and how they think of things and there background.
2. It makes kids think that there is a difference between color and they should not be in tow different groups they should all be in one place.
3. I would pick movies by the lessons in it not the diversity on the people.
I believe schools could have at least one movie for the students background but not to favor any child of a certain race just to let them know that the school doesn’t care about race like that. It’s good to include something that each kid could relate to especially with race. No kid should say they can’t relate because they don’t have the same skin color it’s about the situation and how they were able to handle it. When the teachers decided to end the movie with talking about why it doesn’t matter if they relate to the skin color was smart.
1) I think you should have a selection of different movies but the students should connect to the movies you have chosen
2) If a white student watches only white movies then that student or person can’t see how the other races struggle because racial diversity is a big thing and if you can’t see the other side of the story you can’t really fix anything
3) If you were the person who selects the movies, what changes would you make? I would make choices for other movies for the other students to watch but still recommend the main movies.
I believe that they could have something that the kids can relate to but also include things that they may not. It’s good to show everybody movies with people of a different race in it regardless of their own. I feel as though that separates people more than not.
1) No I think there should more movies.
2) No I don’t agree with this philosophy I think anyone can watch any movie they want or like.
3) I don’t know what changes I would make.
1. I think there should be a variety of movies for all schools. I think this because it allows students to be tolerant of all ethnicities.
2. If “white” students only watched movies with white actors then they would not witness the diversity of people.
3. If I were to pick out the movies, then I would pick movies that had a variety of actors from all ethnicities to show students diversity and to help them develop tolerance.
This post was about how some students can’t relate to certain movies and that they want black movies.
no it’s not important for students to think we judging them by there background and how they think of things, theres always a backround
It makes kids think that there is a difference between color and they should not be in tow different groups they should all be in one place.
I would pick movies by the lessons in it not the diversity on the people, people should be able to see movies with varitity of characters
This post was about how different races of students can’t relate to a different race of people. It is good to show other races movies with different races.
Those are my exact same answers! 😀
1. idk why people have to make everything about race? if your class was only one race and ethic background it would sound better to not be so stuck up and learn about different cultures and backgrounds of different people for students.
2. Again I don’t know why it has to be about surrounded around race when you watch a movie and not to just learn from it or enjoy the movie itself.
3. put on national geographic or cat videos or something at this point