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“Films can do what textbooks cannot do.”
Rajvi Trivedi is an educator at the CHRIST University in Bengaluru, India. As part of The SDG Challenge: Advancing Global Citizenship Education Through The Power of Film in partnership with UNESCO-APCEIU, Rajvi screened Tuning the Student Mind, Future Learning, Goodwill Dumping, What Would it Look Like?, Can’t Hide Me, and Words of a Change Maker. Through the films, they encouraged students to connect with the Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) Number 4: Quality Education, Number 5: Gender Equality, Number 12: Responsible Consumption and Production, and Number 13: Climate Action.
How did SIMA Academy films resonate with your students?
It is absolutely true that documentaries can positively influence the mindsets of people. Films can do what textbooks cannot do. While the youth in India is often exposed to fictional media, wherein there is so much violence and stereotypical portrayal of various characters, I felt that there should be spaces where the youth is introduced to some of the important global issues of the present context and media that is real and grounded. These documentaries are so meaningful and they helped students think about questions that we could have never thought of in a traditional class where the syllabus is the only focus. The students felt engaged in the documentaries and had great questions and critical comments to make after each documentary was screened.
They also felt overwhelmed by some of the facts and questions put forth in the films. The students were attentive and made a note of their feelings, emotions and observations (comforts and discomforts) while watching the films. The three sessions bring out that documentaries have been really impactful in providing transformative and enriching learning experiences to the students. The students felt engaged and also said they would like to attend more of such sessions. Learning becomes connected with real life and more engaging when we take documentaries into our classrooms. These sessions can spark thoughts and questions among students which are relevant for today’s context.
How would you describe the learning experience for your students?
The students actually felt quite engaged throughout the learning process. These films helped in initiating some very important conversations surrounding sustainable development goals. Students saw themselves as citizens who can contribute to the solutions and to a better future eventually, and this was an important aspect. Students were also overwhelmed by some facts and figures and through these films, they actually got a glimpse of the real world. While the education system in India is content-oriented, these sessions with film screenings helped students engage in higher order thinking including critical
