Standing Tall

Filmmaker Peggy Stern's Standing Tall documents a workshop held by teachers and fourth and fifth-grade students of New York City's Public School 3. After they witnessed the destruction of the World Trade Center from school windows on September 11, 2001, one of the teachers--increasingly concerned over her students' preoccupation with that tragic day's events--invited a drama therapist from New York University to conduct a children's theater program, with the aim of helping the children to express their anxieties through an interactive and creative educational outlet. Conducted over a four-month period, the program brought the kids together to act out various roles--as the heroes, villains, and victims of 9/11--and these self-produced skits were then incorporated into a final production written by the drama therapist titled “Standing Tall.” Also featuring footage of the teachers and coordinators debriefing after the various sessions, as well as interviews with several of the students as they discuss their experiences both collectively and individually, this is recommended primarily for educators looking for examples of alternate pedagogic approaches. Aud: E, I, C, P. (A. Cantú)