CHILDREN WILL LISTEN Screen Education

In a world where we all too often sit our children down in front of a screen to learn-be it TY or computer-Charlene Gilbert’s documentary shows us how well the old adage of “learning by doing” can still work.

Almost 150 children in the Washington, DC, public-school system most of whom had never seen a play before-work together to produce and perform the Broadway junior version of Into the Woods, written by Stephen Sondheim and James Lapine. The film shows us what an empowering journey this is for all the students involved-how it makes them feel special, useful, intelligent and driven.

The excitement we see in the eyes of the children as they discuss their hopes for the play, and what it means for them to be performing at the Kennedy Center, could melt the heart of any politician still looking to cut funding for the arts in public schools.