4/2/2024

5 Documentaries Every Educator Should Watch

Documentary film offers an avenue to raise public awareness about critical issues in an easy-to-digest and shareable way. Its storytelling properties focus the audience's attention on important issues and make a real impact through memorability and relatability. 

Emmy award-winning filmmaker Harvey Hubbell V recently joined host Dr. Liz Brooke on the All For Literacy™ podcast for a firsthand look into how documentaries affect the educational system, specifically the science of reading movement. “This has been a long, crazy journey of me trying to figure out what the heck is going on with education,” Hubbell says about his path from struggling student to education advocate. 

Here are five impactful documentaries about the learning landscape every educator should watch.

5 Documentaries Working to Create Change in Education

1. “Hopeville: How to Win the Reading Wars” Hubbell’s most recent release, “Hopeville: How to Win the Reading Wars,” addresses the controversy surrounding the science of reading movement. Hubbell and his team talked to scientists, educators, and parents to show that literacy in the United States can be drastically changed for the better when the right teaching methods are employed.
   
   

   “Our hope for ‘Hopeville’ is that…it brings policy-makers together, it brings elected officials, it brings school superintendents, boards of education, and everybody into the same room and says ‘Hey, we have to do something about this,’” Hubbell explains in the All For Literacy episode.
   
   

2. “The Right to Read” “The Right to Read” shares the stories of people fighting to provide the children in this country with the “most foundational indicator of lifelong success: The ability to read.” The film heavily features the voice and experiences of Kareem Weaver, an Oakland NAACP activist and founder of FULCRUM-Oakland, who joined All For Literacy last year to discuss literacy as a human right. Statistics like 37% of fourth grade students in the U.S. reading below a basic level and 54% of adult Americans reading below a sixth grade level drive the film's exploration of the connection between literacy and long-term success.
   
   
3. “The Truth About Reading” From Emmy award-winning director Nick Nanton and literacy advocate John Corcoran, “The Truth About Reading” aims to fuel the science of reading movement and promote high-level literacy for all. The film shares the stories and research-backed conclusions of parents, individuals who learned to read much later in life, and literacy experts—including Emily Hanford, an All For Literacy Season 1 guest.
   
   
4. “Most Likely to Succeed” While not specifically centered around literacy, “Most Likely to Succeed” is a highly praised documentary about education and curriculum reform in the 21st century. The documentary follows students at High Tech High, a public charter school in San Diego, California, as they navigate the school’s project- and presentation-based curriculum. Viewers will get an insightful look into the potential shortcomings of today’s education system and what can be done to ensure higher levels of student success.
   
   
5. “Dislecksia: The Movie”Another of Hubbell’s films, “Dislecksia: The Movie” helps viewers understand the condition itself, the problems that arise for the people and families affected, and the programs and methods needed to help. Hubbell was inspired to make this film by his struggles in the classroom—“It’s kind of strange that I make educational films now,” he says, “but I kind of understand what it’s like to be those kids.”

   
   The film can help educate the wider public about dyslexia and help people understand it’s not a sign of a lack of intelligence but of a need to learn differently. Hubbell helpfully points out, “Dyslexia doesn’t discriminate and it doesn’t care if you’re a male or a female, what your religion is, what your race is,” making this documentary one for every educator to watch.
   
   

The Power of Film to Educate and Create Change

Documentary films are uniquely positioned to create change in the education system. The storytelling abilities of film give audience members a human experience to relate to, potentially leading to higher levels of relatability and impact than other mediums. 

Gain an in-depth understanding of how documentaries fuel the greater literacy conversation, how film tells stories in digestible and impactful ways, and where the next need for advocacy is by listening to Episode 6 of All For Literacy, Season 2 with documentary filmmaker Harvey Hubbell V.