Journeys in Film and the Norman Lear Center are committed to seeking new alliances and fostering partnerships that address further advancement of global education programs, as well as those promoting the power of film as a tool for teaching.

Working together, we can make a greater impact by:

• Preparing more teachers with best practices and tools
• Reaching more classrooms; thereby, graduating more competent students
• Developing more classroom materials
• Broadening film as an educational tool
• Educating future leaders for global knowledge, understanding, empathy and compassion.

Our collective goals are to:

1. Harness the storytelling power of film as a tool for engaging and inspiring students.

Everyone loves a good movie. The immediacy and power of a visual story well told can absorb students like no other media. Movies capture attention, often reaching those who resist classroom lessons. Our comprehensive interdisciplinary curriculum guides, based on a selection of films, support various learning styles and promote literacy.

2. Foster global and cultural competence

If current trends continue, by the year 2025 most job opportunities will be in Asia. In the next five years, Chinese will top English as the main language on the web. And the majority of growth for all industries will take place overseas. Nine out of ten students believe knowing more about the world is crucial to their futures.

3. Meet federal and state mandates for academic standards

As a national program, Journeys in Film uses the national Mid-Continent Research for Education and Learning (McRel ) standards system. New common core standards are available for each title. Educators can easily identify and align the corresponding subject-area standards for their states with the delineated standards provided in each Journeys in Film lesson plan.  Aligning our lessons with the new common core standards is underway.

4. Provide professional development and interdisciplinary curricular options

Journeys in Film offers professional-development workshops to ensure effective integration of program materials into various educational formats.  Custom-designed workshops include a needs assessment interview to determine the best approach for your organization.  Workshop content options include: 1) Global Education 101 – What is it, and why is it important?; 2) Effective use of film that reinforces core academic skills building in reading, writing, math, science, social sciences and the arts.

5. Present developmentally appropriate and culturally sensitive material

Journeys in Film develops quality lesson plans by enlisting the writing and editing assistance of specialists representing the issues and culture depicted in each film. Selected films examine current global issues such as environmental sustainability, conflict resolution, economic development, religion, public health and more. The curriculum guides also explore universal youth topics such as coming of age, culture change, gender roles, peer pressure and diversity.