Reno's Kids: 87 Days + 11

For most high school dropouts the road ahead is not even paved with intentions good or otherwise, but for potential dropouts in Daly City, California, there's some hope. They can take Reno Taini's class for a semester. Named California Teacher of the Year in 1982, Reno Taini runs an alternative Wilderness Class at Jefferson High School. Enrolling students do not systematically learn the three R's in Reno's class, but they do come away with an education. Based on the one-room schoolhouse concept, Reno's curriculum consists of teaching students a Wilderness Ropes course, which they, in turn, will teach to other students. But there's one small catch: no money. All of the money necessary to run the class needs to be raised by the students. And, sure enough, before long these students are out in the community negotiating with supermarket owners to trade work for food. Director Whitney Blake zeroes in on the students whose reactions to the course gradually move from outright skepticism to passionate commitment. (One particularly moving sequence has members of the group being taught dance steps by a Special Olympics group. When a formerly disruptive male student is able to take dance instruction from a mildly retarded man, that kid has grown some where it counts--in the human heart.) One of the final sections of the film has the class taking another group through the wilderness survival course--a serious event, which, for the safety of the individual members, requires the dedication of the group. By the finale, viewers see a miraculous change--a bunch of kids who have regained something vital: their self-respect. Highly recommended for larger school and public libraries. (Available from: One West Media, P.O. Box 5766, Santa Fe, NM 87502-5766.)