Piece Comment
Commenter Profile
- Catherine Stifter
- Username: cstifter
- Location: Sacramento, California
- Joined PRX: Aug 04, 2005
Piece Information
- "The View from Room 205"
- Summary: "The View from Room 205" is a one-hour documentary that takes an unflinching look at the intersection of poverty and education in this country. It tells the story of a fourth grade classroom at William Penn Elementary, a public school in one of the nation’s poorest neighborhoods, North Lawndale on Chicago’s West Side. The documentary weaves together human stories in the school, from the children to their teacher to the principal, and pulls back to explain the big picture. It looks at poverty’s hold on school achievement and explores the unintended consequences of a core belief driving school reform today – that poverty is no excuse for low achievement.
1 comment
Thank you for this impressive work of great importance
Catherine Stifter
Posted on January 26, 2017 at 05:22 PM
Just listened to The View From Room 205. Ironically, I direct a doc series called The View From Here. LOVED this program, the tone, the analysis, the uncompromising reporting, the personal sensitivity, the voices, many voices from the school. Linda you are tough and fierce. Great job! Marianne and Cate powerful editing on this one. My series is in the midst of a year at an extremely diverse suburban school in Sacramento where the students are failing their tests miserably for so many reasons including poverty, lack of language skills, refugee status and all that brings, homelessness, hunger, crime and neglect. Ours is a visual documentary. I hope we can do our school justice the way you did with Penn's 4th grade. Congratulations. PS I'm recommending that CapRadio run this show!