Premiere Date: September 6, 2005
Synopsis
Teacher Rafe Esquith has a point of view — a very strong one — about educating children of immigrants. Teaching in Los Angeles at one of the nation's largest inner-city grade schools, Hobart Elementary, Esquith leads his class of fifth graders through an uncompromising curriculum of English, mathematics, geography and literature. He inspires them with cross-country trips to learn history first-hand. And at the end of the semester, every student performs in a full-length Shakespeare play: in this case Hamlet, with advice from actors Ian McKellen and Michael York. Despite language barriers and poverty, these Hobart Shakespeareans move on to attend outstanding colleges, motivated by a teacher honored with a National Medal of Arts. A co-presentation with Thirteen/WNET New York.
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Average Review
| based on 3 reviews
former homeschool mother/ ed advocate
Every student hoping to teach in this country should see this. Mr. Esquith's books should be required reading. If a fraction of our teachers were this dedicated we would live in an entirely different and vastly better society.
by Janet Moyers Bowmer
June 6, 2009, 10:23 PM
Community Support Worker Student
This man is amazingly inspiring!! As a CSW student we watched this documentary in our class and it was so moving to see one individual who has made such a difference in the lives of so many children. His ideas are brilliant and should be copied by others on our western society. What a difference it would make if everyone cared even a fraction as much as this man does!
by Katrina
August 17, 2009, 12:19 PM
Instructor of Theatre
I show this documentary to both my Children's Theatre and Arts Management students. It clarifies for them the importance of the arts in education as well as the offering a brilliant example of inspired educational dedication.
by Ann Wilkinson from Pella, IA
September 30, 2009, 5:19 PM