EIU Media Relations

'Must-See' Education Documentary to Make U.S. Premiere at EIU

Apr-10-2007

The producer/director of a thought-provoking Canadian documentary on high school education will introduce the first U.S. showing of the film Monday at Eastern Illinois University.

"Imagine a School...,” which looks at contemporary classroom life from students’ perspectives, will be shown in EIU’s Buzzard Auditorium at 7 p.m. Monday. The event is free, and the public is invited.

Producer/director Kathy Gould Lundy, an internationally recognized drama and literacy specialist who has provided workshops for EIU students participating in the Toronto for Teachers Study Abroad program, will attend.

In addition, Lundy will also present open drama/literacy workshops in two classes in Buzzard Auditorium on Tuesday. For details, please contact the EIU Department of Early Childhood, Elementary and Middle Level Education at 217-581-5728.

Lundy will be joined by two of her colleagues from York University’s Faculty of Education: Tove Fynbo, coordinator of International Education; and Marcela Duran, coordinator of Community Practicum.

The documentary shows the behind-the-scenes creative process of students and teachers involved in the play “Imagine a School...,” written and performed by inner-city high school students from Toronto, Halifax and Vancouver.

The film was commissioned by the Canadian Education Association (http://www.cea-ace.ca/home.cfm).

Belarie Zatzman, associate dean of York’s Faculty of Fine Arts, calls the documentary “a dynamic and moving testament to the lived experience of students as they encounter the everyday experience of schooling. If you are interested in the intersections of young people’s social, academic and artistic identities, of how we might imagine ourselves forward differently in policy and practice, then ‘Imagine a School...’ is a must-see.”

The film and speakers are being brought to EIU by the Education Scholars program through the efforts of Judy Barford and Dan Carter, coordinators of EIU’s Summer Toronto for Teachers Program.