Shed a Little Light
Films are a wonderful classroom teaching tool. Children of the 1950s and 1960s have a rather unique take on this, too.
We remember the euphoria of seeing the audio-visual Projector Person roll through the door of our junior high or high school classroom. (Stern elementary teachers were on a mission, and that “most certainly did not include taking time out for movies.”) Classroom occupants sat up straighter, gave each other happy nods, and settled in for “Wild Kingdom,” the Bell System Science Series (who cared if we liked Science or not—it was a movie), a Walt Disney True Life Adventure, or some panoramic views of a foreign land.
We bonded over projector movie days. The teacher in whose class the film was being shown became our instant favorite. Mean girls stopped their petty jealousies for at least 45 minutes. The class bully took a break from picking on the usual targets. Whether they admitted it or not, even the book-smart and high-IQ and overachievers managed a smile on unexpected film days.
In teaching retrospect, my forty-four year career has spanned the 16mm reelto- reel days, the filmstrip with cassette supplements, the overhead projector era, the mounted 18-inch-TV-in-the-corner phase, the VHS and DVD goldmine, and the eventual smartboard/computer access. It’s been a technological timeline of excitement for me.
This week I used the multi-award-nominated short film “Anuja” to teach literature. The 22-minute movie may be brief, but it’s perfect for classroom instruction over inference, conflict, symbolism, irony and conjecture in terms of its ending. It’s suitable for viewing with high school classes in terms of content, too.
And how did I access this little gem? Welcome to 2025, when streaming is accessible via a Netflix account.
Instruction comes in many forms. I often read aloud to my classes, sometimes assign ones to read silently, and have also tapped into the visual when I feel it enhances the experience. “Anuja” is one of those films that does, with the added bonus of exposure to subtitles in English. I am a big believer in providing students such opportunities so that they do not miss out on beautiful stories just because they don’t understand the language.
Teaching classics like “The Ransom of Red Chief” or “The Scarlet Ibis” are vital as are new stories such as “Anuja.” Whether the material comes to us via written word or visual artistry, find the stories you enjoy and share them. We can learn so much about ourselves and others.
I am just the vessel—with a little help from technology.
Literature is the real teacher.
Snyder, Texas, native Sue Jane Sullivan is a retired schoolteacher whose thoughtprovoking commentary appears occasionally in several West Texas newspapers, including The Texas Spur and The Caprock Courier.
