People Need People

Ioana Ionescu

 

The teacher used movies to start a reflection among secondary school students about prejudice and the harm it causes. The students watched several movies over the course of six months but the ones that had the most significant impact were Sophie Scholl – The Final Days, La vita e bella and The Wave. After watching each movie, the teacher created a space for discussions and written reflections so that the students could integrate the messages from the movies and could better understand how their attitudes and behaviors towards other people might become more open, respectful and inclusive. The teacher even proposed an experiment in which, for a week, all students were prompted to do as many good things for others as possible. The experiment was very successful among the students. After watching the movie about Sophie Scholl and the White Rose, they made a small exhibition of white roses painted by themselves. After discussing about Anne Frank’s The Diary of a Young Girl, the teacher encouraged her students to keep a diary of their own and write down the things they find important and inspirational in their lives.