I met teacher and filmmaker Laurie Gabriel while live streaming the Public Education Nation event earlier this month. We needed a cameraperson and she jumped right in to help. We also featured a trailer for her new film “Hear Our Teachers” before the event. I wanted to know how a filmmaker takes on corporate education reform. Here’s what she had to tell me and a brief bio.

–Vincent Precht

VP: How did come to make your film? What motivated you?

LG: I started teaching in 1984.  This takeover is not new. I’ve watched my profession erode for three decades as for-profit outfits have slowly infiltrated our schools.  Millions were spent each year on new programs only to have them abandoned every couple of years to bring in some new untested program. When NCLB began, it really picked up.  I was asked to do things that I equated with abuse of my students.  It broke my heart to leave them, but I knew I couldn’t support what was happening. I was tired of the fact that teachers’ expressions of dismay never made it outside the teachers’ lounge.  I turned my attention on bringing all of this to light, because I don’t think many people realize how dangerous this trend could end up being. Our freedom is at stake.

Is the project finished?

After whittling down about 100 hours of footage, we have a two-hour first draft which we largely self-funded, with help from some very gracious Indiegogo contributors.  We would like to edit the length down a little, and we are now raising the money for post-production (audio sweetening, music, stock images, graphics, etc.).  The sooner we can raise the funds, the sooner we can get it out there.

How do you plan to roll the film out?

In addition to plans to sell it directly from our website, I already have several requests to do community screenings across the country.  I would like to use community screenings and festivals to fire up conversations across the country and plant the seeds for change.  I’d also like to show it at universities in tandem with panels about what can be done. A television broadcast would be wonderful as well. It’s important that we get this information not only to our current advocates, but to people who aren’t necessarily seeking it out. Too many people are unaware of what’s happening.

What do you think is missing in the current discourse about school reform?

The message that teachers can be trusted. The discussion is not really being led by teachers, because so many of them are afraid to speak up. Sadly, the films that have gained the most notoriety (Waiting for Superman and Glenn Beck’s We Will Not Conform event) are those that continue to mislead the public and raise further mistrust of teachers and public schools.  There are some great ones out there that hit the mark (Race to Nowhere, The Inconvenient Truth Behind Waiting For Superman), but since we still aren’t seeing change, we still need more teacher-produced films. It’s like Horton Hears a Who – if we all keep screaming, someday we will break through with a mighty YOPP and hit the tipping point we need for real change to occur.

What will your film add to it?  

My film, though it does expose the current problems, is very solutions-oriented. Teachers know how to fix the schools.  We already have Supermen and Superwomen on salary, but they are silenced and their hands are tied, even though they are held 100% responsible for student outcomes. We just need to ask the teachers what they need and support them.  One of the film’s highlights is the exposure of successful teacher-led schools (no administrators and no high-stakes testing!) that have a radically wholistic approach.  People need to know about these. I include interviews with teachers from all over the country. And I’ve gathered a lot of well-known advocates into one film – Diane Ravitch, Jonathan Kozol, John Kuhn, Nancy Carlsson Paige, Diane Levin, Jose Luis Vilson, Kelly Flynn, Kwesi Rollins, and even a piece from Matt Damon.

In what future activism—filmic and otherwise—do you see yourself participating?

I am really dedicating my life to this.  I don’t want to just put the film out there and hope for the best.  We are in a very exciting time as so many parent/teacher communities are rallying around putting and end to Common Core, high-stakes testing, and other forms of public school profiteering. I want to add to that.  But my number one goal is to be an inspiration to teachers that they CAN stand up. I’m someone who has always stood up in staff meetings to protest things that are wrong.  I used to use all my sick days to refuse testing.  I’ve quit four different schools in one protest or another.  Teachers are always thanking me for being so “brave,” but if we all stood together, bravery would not even be a factor. If all three million of us said, “We’re not doing this,” what do you suppose would happen?  The Chicago teachers had it right, but it has to be country-wide.

What direction do you feel the pro-public school movement should take?

Ask teachers what they need and give it to them.  What would they ask for?  Smaller class sizes.  Freedom to direct their own curriculum.  Resources to support varying ability levels.  Rich curriculum that includes the arts, social sciences, history, physical education, and vocational education.  Fair forms of evaluation conducted by actual experts. Support from administration and parents.  Trust. Early childhood education to help close the achievement gap that has already formed by kindergarten. Staff development that actually means something. True neighborhood schools. We could give them all of this for a fraction of what we’re spending on the current nonsense.

What is your favorite documentary? Why?

If we’re talking all types of documentaries, not just education, I’d have to say Robert Reich’s  “Inequality for All.”  It kind of parallels what we’re talking about here, and it’s a real wake up call about the dangers of letting a few people with money control our country.

What is the hardest and/or best thing about making a film?

Worst part – it has taken much longer to finish than I thought it would! It’s very time-consuming.  Best part – the outpouring of support from everyone who cares so deeply about this.  When I get warm hugs, sweet messages, and donations from people who don’t even know me, I get a lump in my throat every time.  We are truly all in this together, and I am grateful that I can be a part of it.

Laurie Gabriel is a teaching veteran of 27 years who has taught grades K-12 in everything from struggling inner-city schools in Denver, CO to rich private schools in Potomac, MD. This experience has given her great insight into the problems our schools face. She has produced videos for classroom use, including the series, “Why You Should Listen to Your Orchestra Teacher.”  Laurie has teamed with her film maker husband, Ethan Gabriel, to create Hear Our Teachers, in which she combines her on-camera skills, knowledge of the teaching profession, and intense passion for social justice.

If you’d like to help Laurie finish her film follow this link.