Conley-Wilson+Film+Entry+5-+Middle+School+Moment

Film/Fieldnote Word Count 1485


 * Title:** Middle School Moment
 * Director:** Mary Robertson
 * Release Year:** 2012

The central narrative of the film is describing the changing moment in Omarina Caberrea’s education for the better. The central argument in the film is that for people struggling, academically for whatever way and reason, the school is responsible for assisting this student so they can excel in the future. Because members of the staff and faculty in her school joined together to help Omarina and other struggling students create an academic plan that included aspects of her life not directly integrated in her school. For example her teacher, who was also her counselor, Catherine Miller, helped Omarina create a plan that would allow her to get to school on time from whatever family member she was staying with. They also helped her get a bus pass and other resources that helped her get into some of the most prestigious high schools in the nation. This is made by targeting the point in her middle school career in which she need the most amount of support and help and how her school provided it for her.
 * What is the central argument or narrative of the film?**

The sustainability issues the film drew out was how everything is interconnected and how a small action or event can create a big difference. This issue is typically shown with something bad like inaction for regulation causes the issues of air pollution and global warming to get worse. This movie shines a light on the positivity of cooperative action and how it can drastically change an individual’s life. Community development including the health, safety, and security of its members is highlighted in this film by reflecting on the health and well-being aspect of Omarina. Issues of transportation is mentioned in the film, however they do not find ways to restructure it they do find ways to navigate these systems in a better manner. Organizational learning was cultivated by members of School 244. Responsibility of the public schools to provide for its students along with social justice and equality were effectively tied into this film.
 * What sustainability issues does the film draw out?**

The parts of the film I found most persuasive and compelling was that she had a twin that was not received help from his school or family members to do well. I found this particularly moving both on my experience with the school system and my brother’s experience with the education system. From a young age I was always told I was gifted with intelligence, however my brother from a young age was told he needed more help than me. My brother faced a lot of discrimination starting at pre-school and throughout his academic career. I believe if my brother was encouraged to learn from the public school system, as a opposed to being labeled a “problem child”, he would have excelled in the same manner that I did in high school, allowing him to get into even more elite universities than he did.
 * What parts of the film did you find most persuasive and compelling? Why?**

I was not convinced that she didn’t try to help her brother out of a tough time neither did her family. I think from what she would have learned from the assistance her school gave her she would realize that her brother needed similar help as well. I got a sense of selfishness and entitlement from her speaking of the differences between her brother and herself and how the upbringing affected them differently. Given her circumstances I would assume she would want what’s best for her brother and try to seek out ways for him to succeed in a way like she did as well. Although she is a very young woman, I would expect one of the life lessons she would have learned from this is that cooperative action brings forth tremendous success and benefits both professionally and personally.
 * What parts of the film were you not compelled or convinced by? Why?**

The kinds of corrective action suggested by the film is that it is the school’s responsibility to keep kids in school. The film suggests that administrators and teachers take action when they see students who indicate circumstances of not having enough. For example, administration has access to see which students are often late or absent from school, these children are typically struggling with some sort of external force or event. Reaching out to these students and giving them the support they need will provide them with the structure and tools needed to succeed in the near and far off future. This also prevents lots of psychological stress on the student and brings a sense of genuine community throughout the school atmosphere.
 * What kinds of corrective action are suggested by the film? If the film itself does not suggest corrective action, describe action that you can image being effective.**

The kinds of literacy cultivated by the film are understanding of how their own actions have an array of proximate and far off effects. An understanding of potential for change, and of alternative ways of doing things and organizing society. A capacity to conceptualize complex causations without being paralyzed. A capacity to use empirical understanding of complex causations to identify specific points of interventions. Understand of the challenges and value of deliberation and cooperative action. Having creative info-seeking practices, animated analytic capabilities, and a capacity to narrate complex chains of events. A capacity to recognize and productively deal with diverse perspectives.
 * What kinds of literacy are cultivated by the film?**

The environmental educational value of the film would be improved by explaining not only how the social environment can shape a person’s opportunities but connecting that to racial issues in America as well as issues of the natural environment of the world. Explaining how pollution can affect student’s ability to be productive could give the audience a new perspective on environmental justice. Explaining the socio-economic issues surrounding inner-city youth could give people a better indication on how to solve some of these reoccurring issues in cities across the nation. The historical contexts of these issues are extremely important to understanding the root of the problem and the way it relates to sustainability.
 * What would improve the environmental educational value of the film?**

This film has compelled me to see out additional development of Omarina’s academic progress at Brooks School in North Andover MA. A follow up film released in July of 2014, entitled Omarina’s Story directed by Mary Robertson, show the respected progress of her and her brother’s progress into their paths. Like many minorities attend a prestigious school, Omarina found she had to adjust both academically and socially to the environment of the school as she did not have the type of privileges to wealth as many of her peers. She did find people had many subtly offensive comments to her appearance and background but found these spaces as ways of intersect for education of aspects of life that here colleagues may not have been exposed to. She stated that it is “Important to try [to get these curious students to understand] so that they [being minorities like herself] don’t make others feel as uncomfortable as they made me.” Academically she struggled at first at the school but then realized she needed to try harder than she did in middle school. With a good support system based both in the Bronx and Massachusetts she has started to excel as she did in middle school. I found that there are now more schools with intervention programs like Middle School 224, however they are still very rare in America’s high-poverty communities Her brother however has not had such a bright continuation these past few years, Omarlin got shot in 2014 in his left arm which grazed his rib close to his heart. Although Omarina was scared she decided to be strong and support her brother while balancing her school work. She does ask him how he is doing however he only attended school 5 times the past school year. In late February 2014 he was charged with carrying a knife; two weeks later he was charged with possession of ecstasy and marijuana. Although a getaway of school allows her to focus on things going right instead of things going wrong, I feel a concern for her disconnection from her home community and culture as she develops into a grown woman.
 * What additional information has this film compelled you to see out? (Describe what you learned in a couple of sentences, providing at least two supporting references.)**

I was also compelled to find out gender related differences in the cognitive effect of poverty in children. In a study in 2002 by Arnold and Doctoroff in the United States found that “boys are more likely to act out and cause trouble for others, their problems may receive more attention and more programs are available to help them. The problems that are more likely to afflict girls, such as underachievement, depression, and poor mental health, are less often noticed and treated.” (Mary Crawford, //Transformations: Women, Gender & Psychology// 2006) In other words the research states that underprivileged boys are more likely to act in similar ways to Omarlin, which will call for different actions from the school than girls like Omarina who typically internalize issues their facing. Clearly there needs to be better ways of intervention developed for both boys and girls experiencing trouble in school and personal lives.

Roberston, Mary. //Omarina’s Story// Film (2014) Boston. Frontline WGBH Educational Foundations. Arnold, David H., and Greta L. Doctoroff. “The Early Education of Socioeconomically Disadvantaged Children” //Annual Review of Psychology.// (2003) Accessed October 10, 2015. DOI: 10.1146/annurev.psych.54.111301.145442