Stories of Culturally Responsive Education
Stories are powerful points of entry for new ideas and ways of being. Get to know more about Culturally Responsive Education through the stories of people who have shaped and been shaped by it.
CRE Stories Documentary Series
The CRE documentary series by award-winning filmmaker Manauvaskar Kublall examines what it would take to establish a positive school culture that respects and honors youth of all races, cultures and abilities and values families and communities as assets and experts to help build the capacity of school staff to engage cultures effectively.
Across nine episodes, we meet parents, teachers, principals and students who share their experiences of racism and bias in public school systems, and why culturally responsive education is an effective strategy to combat those forces. Our shared future must include school cultures and climates where children see themselves reflected and respected in their curriculum—in every class, every grade, every day.
Race Conversations in the Classroom
The Story
Jillian McRae and Sam North co-facilitate a course about classism, sexism, and racism at Ossining High School in Westchester County, New York that creates space for students to have courageous conversations and make intentional choices about their involvement in their communities.
How do students react when the conversation centers institutional structures rather than individual acts?
What happens when high school students frame their examination of systems around those who benefit the most from them, and are encouraged to have honest discussions about the “-isms” these systems create with their peers?
Jillian McRae and Sam North: Race conversations in the classroom
Credits
A Media Sutra production
Director: Manauvaskar Kublall
Executive Producers: Richard Gray, Natalie Zwerger, Megan Amelia Hester
Editor: Nenman Walbe, Manauvaskar Kublall
Camera: Jamal Tenth, Nenman Walbe, Manauvaskar Kublall
Sound Recording: Nadia Bourne
Music Production: Gerald Trotman
Raising a Critically Conscious Teaching Force
The Story
To what extent are we influenced by our inherent biases? Can honest, genuine, and critical human connection serve as a solution to institutional racism? If so, what does that look like in practice?
Paul Forbes and Natalie Zwerger work to develop individual school and district-wide understandings of race, power, and privilege.
Paul Forbes and Natalie Zwerger: Raising a Critically Conscious Teaching Force
Credits
A Media Sutra production
Director: Manauvaskar Kublall
Executive Producers: Richard Gray, Natalie Zwerger, Megan Amelia Hester
Editor: Nenman Walbe, Manauvaskar Kublall
Camera: Nenman Walbe, Jamal Tenth, Manauvaskar Kublall
Sound Recording: Nadia Bourne
Music Production: Gerald Trotman
A Principal's Perspective
The Story
What happens when the racial makeup of a community changes? How does the historical context of the American public education system affect students learning in a more diverse society?
When a fight occurs at a school basketball game, racial tensions run high and spill into the community. In its wake, Ann Dealy’s stance ensures that institutions respond to the needs of each and every student, particularly students of color. Using her privilege, voice, and position as a school principal, Dealy demonstrates what it looks like to hear, see, and respect students.
Ann Dealy: A principal's perspective
Credits
A Media Sutra production
Director: Manauvaskar Kublall
Executive Producers: Richard Gray, Natalie Zwerger, Megan Amelia Hester
Editor: Nenman Walbe, Manauvaskar Kublall
Camera: Nenman Walbe, Jamal Tenth, Manauvaskar Kublall
Sound Recording: Nadia Bourne
Music Production: Gerald Trotman
Relearning History, Telling New Stories
The Story
As a child, New York Times bestselling author Daniel José Olde, was unable to see the world he was experiencing represented in the books he read. As an adult, he creates characters which bring the realities of young people of color to life.
Karyn Parsons, actress, author, founder of Sweet Blackberry, saw disparities between the facts she discovered as an adult and those taught in the history classes of her youth.
How does representation (or a lack thereof) in curricula affect the way children view themselves? How much agency do students deserve in their classroom? Motivated by their own childhood experiences, Daniel and Karyn tell new stories and surface tales of the past to ensure the stories of today are a more accurate illustration of history, truth, and lived experience.
Karen Parsons and Daniel Older: Relearning history, telling new stories
Credits
A Media Sutra production
Director: Manauvaskar Kublall
Executive Producers: Richard Gray, Natalie Zwerger, Megan Amelia Hester
Associate Producer: Piper Anderson
Editor: Nenman Walbe, Manauvaskar Kublall
Camera: Jamal Tenth, Nenman Walbe, Manauvaskar Kublall
Sound Recording: Nadia Bourne
Music Production: Gerald Trotman
Practicing Culturally Responsive Education
The Story
Whose voices are heard and unheard in the classroom? What do students have to teach their teachers? How can teachers overcome taboos around race talk?
Current and former teachers share their experience learning and practicing culturally responsive education in their classrooms and beyond.
Teachers: Practicing Culturally Responsive Education
Credits
A Media Sutra production
Director: Manauvaskar Kublall
Executive Producers: Richard Gray, Natalie Zwerger, Megan Amelia Hester
Editor: Nenman Walbe, Manauvaskar Kublall
Camera: Nenman Walbe, Jamal Tenth, Manauvaskar Kublall
Sound Recording: Nadia Bourne
Music Production: Gerald Trotman