american promise

American Promise will be streaming

until March 6 at POV: to.pbs.org/1hYP00E

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find/follow the film:

 

Synopsis

 American Promise spans 13 years as Joe Brewster and Michèle Stephenson, middle-class African-American parents in Brooklyn, N.Y., turn their cameras on their son, Idris, and his best friend, Seun, who make their way through Dalton, one of the most prestigious private schools in the country. Chronicling the boys’ divergent paths from kindergarten through high school graduation, this provocative, intimate documentary presents complicated truths about America’s struggle to come of age on issues of race, class and opportunity.

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whoa.. getting to watch the screening – online – with the Joe and Michele and Idris – as they tell us little insides.

joe – he was top 2-3% in tests – so we had a lot of expectations for him..

dalton focus – pumping in self – esteem – teach them to have a voice

idris – i alsways felt i could express myself freely

joe – if you’re not able to demand a certain level of performance – they’ll never arise to the occasion

joe  -seun’s father was a boxer in the marines

idris – suspension because they think i’m lying

eee-driss

shay-on

note to joe and michele about problems at dalton with idris – goal is to focus without distracting others.. they decided our son is a problem.. michele – not so much about him but what is it about the environment

seun’s mom – there’s a lot of playing around here and i don’t know why – (they were supposed to be doing hw)

seun – i’m not really doing that well in school. they say you can’t read something when you can.. you get really frustrated

idris – some times my basketball team would make fun of me (not at dalton) – they’d say you talk like a white boy.. so i’d change my voice. i think i fit in much better at dalton.. i don’t have to change my voice..

idris – fav scene with my brother – about nba being dangerous

same scene – michele – going to get you a math book and idris cries.. no..

michele – Mentoring is such a critical intervention in the African American community as a whole, but especially for our black boys. At Big Brothers Big Sisters, we’ve learned that in order for us to help our black boys, we have to OF the community and not just IN it!

seun was diagnosed with dyslexia – and it was a relief.. now we have a better idea of what we need to do for him – dalton tutoring program

idris – gets invited to tutoring – he and seun are only two kids in entire grade taking this program.. michele afraid of a perception that these are young black boys that need extra help

joe – some parents spend up to 30000 a year for tutoring… spending 25000 for dalton – crazy thinking you spend that much and still need tutoring.. so we (michele and i) increased our helping him.. there was too much playstation, too much tv… i think the problem was – we weren’t controlling enough

michele – This enraged me. The perception that young Black boys do not individual posses the capabilities or have the parental support to ensure that they can make the necessary strides to improve academically.

seun – i hate school. i’m in 6th grade. i don’t even know how i’m dealing with pressure

anonymous comment – This part of the film was possibly the most important part, Seun is totally aware of what is a challenge right now

idris – i don’t know – they’re just doing my hw for me..

michele – We believe that everyone involved in this project has changed for the better, including Dalton. They have come to understand that the numbers are not enough. In fact that is just the beginning of the hard but important work.

joe – Most of those boys perform at a high academic level. However, at what social and emotional cost?

seun’s mom – you think there’s something wrong with your kid.. but it’s not just your kid it’s actually 95% – but it’s shhh with admin – 

as a parent as a black child – you worry – and you bring in more anxiety (parent at parent mtg)

michele –  Everything will NOT take care of itself. We must be involved as parents in all school environments

36 min – joe – he’s not aggressive michele – played bad because he was lazy

idris – he was just mad – he’s done it so many times that nothing is too critical anymore. and then on loving his dog

8th grade – seun on academic watch – next step he’s kicked out.. they are telling us this while his teacher is teaching factor trees..

idris – so many stories from traveling to and from home with my black friends that lived in brooklyn

idris – i bet if i was white i’d be better off. isn’t that true – i don’t know.. is it true…

joe – on a comment bout idris being lost through middle school – That’s not lost, that’s learning. This is a universal process, part of growing up.

idris – i think the middle school years are the toughest, and my advice is simply that it does get better

dalton is thoughtful but it isn’t peaceful – dalton admin

we don’t have the same problem with african american girls.. we see a high rate of african american boys and independent schools not being successful – another dalton staff

michele – We must focus on helping our children become resilient young adults.. everyone gets better — it’s really about how we process the experience and how we prepare our children, knowing they will experience pain.

 idris – i think dalton gave me the necessary academic tools to succeed

idris – yeah, my best friends are my friends from dalton. i formed life-long bonds with these guys

idris – another of my fav scenes – cold calling for obama –

michele – our youngest son attends a quaker school in Brooklyn — walking distance from our home. He is in 7th grade

idris – I wouldve tried to go the high school, however reconsidered going there for my middle school and elementary school years

anonymous wwfs – The role of parent involvement in Idris’ education was almost intimidating. I know few parents who have the capacity to be so involved

michele – We were dealing with a learning difference as well as questions of racial perception and self esteem. difficult moments to tease out and unpack while you are in it.

michele  – @ Angela Williams. Inerestingly, you may see Idris’ eyes glaze over during Joe’s talk about his father and about the siginifcance of Obama’s election . But in later scenes you notice Idris never takes off that Obam T-shirt. I remember how he wore that shirt down. So, some of it does sink in…

idris – i know i have problem focusing – i think i should be taking medicine – my friend took it and he changed his grades… it gives me the tools to do better

brother yells out window- bye – have a nice add test…

michele – But our boys are resilient. Can we afford to lower the bar? – (what do you mean by this michele)

debbie almontaster – teacher of seun

joe – The school (Dalton) has shown the documentary on 3 occasions. We received standing ovations during each screening. However, there was clearly a long a difficult process of struggle prior to our acceptance at Dalton. We are scheduled to work with high schoolers, this spring, for a deeper exploration on issues of race and class in this doc.

idris – finds out he has adhd and says – we should go to the dsm

commenter to joe – what’s the breaking point (basketball jv scene) – joe – I’m broke.

michele – Yes. It’s about growing from these experiences as much as we can.

many conversations about grades..

michele – you didn’t even play ball today – there’s no reason to be tired – idris – there is too.. what do you mean

joe – you can make this paper into a d or an a.

joe – I’ll dispute that controlled comment. He has more free time than most. He’s not able to watch TV (55-70 hours weekly) like most inner city boys. Where is the criticism for those families?

subliminally unifying” – product of the diaspora

idris has such a great spirit – via me

joe – 6JDX Our next film is about you!

oh my – schooling idris before his uni interview.. say it like you mean it

seun’s mom about graphic design.. then – i need to see some enthusiasm.. then she says – if i had someone holding my hand.. (drilling questions)..

michele – We have worked with America’s Promise Alliance before. Love their work! Did a workshop in Atlanta and collaborated with APA. A great success for us, working with the highs chool students out there.

seun – i’d rather be dead than my brother.. he’s the epitome of energy – i’m not that person

michele – No financial help from home for my college either. Finances were too tough. In fact my Dad borrowed money from me when I got my first job at Burger King. That hurt..

teacher – do all these nationalities make up a color? is white white? or is white white because we make it that way

michele – on why seuns family not on thread – Seun works in the evening. They have certainly particiapted in the past. It’s a big commitment to ask them to be on everything. If we get a groundswell of support maybe we can ask them to come on next time.

seun – after that – i didn’t sleep for months.. i didn’t go to school

idris is at occidental

michele – tired from what

idris – my mother’s nervous – she’s assuming everything is because i’m slacking.. but that’s not the case at all

michele – that’s not the kind of analysis a dalton student would make

idris – you’re never going to know (why i didn’t get in)

joe/michele – you are not at the top of your game.. you’re in bed.

idris – ok – so i’ll get out of bed at occidental

michele – @Anonymous WWFS In my case I think it was less about the school name than just the act of rejection. We were all dealing with rejection in a raw way.

seuns dad – i had dreams that my son was going to shake this world (about his son that died)

oh my – to seun he said – i’m not giving up on you.. you have to work..

seun – i think i’m ready for college – i can’t take life for granted.. because i’ve seen it go away

joe – we are disappointed but we are not disappointed in you. we are happy with your progress

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