A diverse group of educators "Media Specialists, Counselor's and Language Art Teacher's" comment on Film Clips.

Wisconsin Middle School Teacher
"The kids relate easily to these scenarios from their world; the world of visual media. Some lively discussions ensue. Obviously, the eight graders have a more adult discussion that the sixth graders. But, I found the fact that middle schoolers were discussing these things at all was remarkable. Getting them to talk about serious issues is a lot of work. There is often dead silence."

Laura Gary-Michelz~Media Specialist     
Lockheed Elementary Leadership Academy~Marietta, Georgia
"We use the videos during our morning news broadcast. We show the cilp that represents the character word of the week and then the anchors talk about it. I do think the clips are effective when teamed with a lesson plan, great discussions soon follow. The students relate well to the clips, giving them a starting point to kick off conversation."

Laura Miller~Media Center
West Jackson Middle School~Georgia
"I have used them during summer school to teach theme. This idea is very abstract, I wanted to give students something they could relate to and in turn apply when they read a book or passage. For example, I used a clip from Shrek to talk about the theme of Friendship. It helps them stay focused on the subject, while visually learning in an exciting way."

Diane Griffin~Counselor
Yargo Elementary School~Winder, Georgia
"As the counselor here, I work with some of our students on Character Education for our weekly school wide newcast. Our character education theme this year is: We are building character at yargo. Our virtues this year coincide with the film clips in Episodes 1-3, although in a different order. The students write a script each week based on the theme fo the particular clip. They use a variety of methods to present the weekly theme, including puppets, students who were chosen to represent that virtue. At the end of the clip, they will comment on it or ask questions that can facilitate discussion in the classrooms. Based on the feedback we have received from faculty and students, we feel the clips are very effective in demonstrating the examples of the virtue since the students are often familiar with the movies. On occasion, when we haven't used a clip in the newscast, the kids will inquire as to why. The length of the clips is great because it provides an opportunity for the students to add material without the entire presentation being too long. In closing, thank you for providing these DVDs and continuing to pursue a grant for their use in middle schools throughout the United States. It would be extremely beneficial if all elementary schools could also have these resources since character education needs to begin with the youngest of students."

Sarah Klein~Language Arts Teacher
East Coweta Middle School~Senoia, Georgia
"I'm showing one in my class as I write this comment. They have been useful to spark some interesting conversations. I give the students some questions to answer that go along with each clip."

Peggy Milam Creighton~NBCT Media Specialist
Compton Elementary School~Powder Springs, Georgia
"We are using the character ed DVDs as part of our Monday morning routine. Every week, we show a character ed video on closed circuit television in place of our morning news.The character clip helps to set the tone for the week and leads to discussion groups led by our counseling team with individual students, small groups or classes."

Noel Hiers~LCSW, Director of School Based Youth Services
Cape May County Technical High School~New Jersey
"Part of my job is to facilitate psycho-educational and life-skill groups for high school students. It is an ongoing challenge to find educational and character building materials that are not dry or outdated. Another challenge is finding videos that can be used in a 30 minute period and that keep the students attention. I used your film clips with a classroom full of freshman a few weeks ago and they loved it! We used two of the clips to stimulate a conversation on stereotypes and the students were begging us to show more of the clips. The clips are absolutely perfect because they are versatile and can be used to introduce an endless number of topics. The format gives facilitators a wide array of flexibility. Using movie clips is brilliant because the pieces will not become outdated; they will become classics."

Kelly Parkin~Graduation Coach
Factory Shoals Middle School~Douglasville, Georgia
"I have been using the FilmClip videos in several aspects. First, I'm using them with our students that have been placed in an alternative learning environment. We are viewing the clips and following it with a discussion of the character education trait. I have also used the videos in various small groups that have to deal with anger management issues. I deeply feel that the videos have been very beneficial because most of them are from a recent movie the students can familarize themselves with. This sets us up with an open door for discussion. I LOVE the video clips and can't wait to see more!"

Becca Wilson~RMS Counselor
Riverview Middle School~Dawson County, Georgia
"RMS has a character education program called Respect that meets once a week for 30 minutes. We have used these DVDs on closed circuit during that time. They have been wonderful! The kids enjoy the clips, hold their attention and initiate some great conversations. I really have enjoyed these clips as an educational tool that has greatly filled a void. In fact, I'm planning to implement these DVDs as the basis for our Character Education Program."

Jan Reed~Media Specialist
Sequoyah High School~Georgia
"We have had a really positive response to the Character Education DVDs. We check them out through the media center in our library. They have been used by health teacher's, social studies teacher's, special ed teacher's and many counselor's."

Gloria Jenkins~Counselor
John Johnson Elementary School~Georgia
"I don't know who to thank but feel that I must thank someone because they have been a valuable resource to me for guidance. I am not a "movie goer" and would have remained ignorant of the lines actors say with whom children readily relate. They have been very valuable to use as a spring board to discussions about character education topics. We watch the clips and then each week I set guidance lessons with the students. The students respond highly to the material by way of Film Clips. Thanks again!"