What ultimately determines a person’s gender? Is it chromosomes, hormones, genitals, or an innate sense of self? In this Telly Award-winning program, five transgendered individuals between the ages of 20 and 50 speak openly about what it has meant to them to be transgendered—their first experiences of gender confusion, life after coming out, family responses, and more. Advice for others who may be questioning their own gender is provided, and the process of sexual reassignment surgery is addressed. Contains clinically explicit language. An expanded version of Becoming Me: The Gender Within with graphic operating room footage of male-to-female and female-to-male SRS performed by Dr. Marci Bowers included on DVD only. A viewable/printable instructor’s guide is available online. (40 minutes). Copyright date: ©2009

Zaki al-Arsuzi School is a girls-only secondary school. Jaramana School is a boys-only middle school. Focusing on two new students—Du’aa, a teenage Muslim girl who has transferred to secular Zaki al-Arsuzi from a Sharia school, and Yusif, a teenage Christian boy from Iraq who is attending Jaramana as a war refugee—this program maps their experiences against the broader picture of Syrian society, modern Islam, and political instability in the Middle East. Topics include the observance of Ramadan and the Festival of the Cross, wearing the hijab, Baathism, the evolving role of women, the trauma of life in a war zone, Syria’s growing entrepreneurialism, and matters of school governance. Produced by the Open University. (Portions in Syrian with English subtitles, 59 minutes)
Copyright date: ©2009

Address the often uncomfortable topic of physical and mental disability with firsthand accounts from teens with cerebral palsy, spina bifida, juvenile arthritis, and Down’s syndrome. Watching these teens struggle to achieve a sense of independence while living with inhibiting conditions, students will learn the value of perseverance and compassion in the challenges these teens face in their pursuit of freedom. This award-winning program will inspire students—both disabled and able-bodied—to evaluate stereotypes related to living with a disability. A Further Learning Web site supplements the program, providing learning objectives, Internet resources approved for content, an online teacher’s guide, and more. ©2003 Live - 14 min - J, S

Going more deeply into conflict/communications issues, we learn here a practical process for conflict management and resolution. Conflict about discipline, children’s privacy, and self-feeding is role-played, and subtle power plays can be seen. The only “how to” video of the series, this lays out a process – a structure – for ways to open up communications between parents and teachers of caregivers, and to discover mutual understanding and respect. The seen. conflict management process shown is called RERUN – Reflect … Explain …Reason … Understand … Negotiate.

Parent relations deepen when childcare staff can explore contrasting perspectives and spark dialogue. This video depicts variations on themes of independence, interdependence and individuality in the delicate issues involved in day-to-day care giving. What we believe about the best learning environment depends on our experience and what we understand about what children need. For some, interdependence – helping others and being helped – matters more than the independence stressed in most programs. Questions addressed: Are there rights and wrongs when it comes to sleeping, eating, playing and learning? How can teachers “educate” parents when there are so many ideas on how to do things?

What’s best for children? As child care went from babysitting to a profession, standards were put into place. Standards are important, but can also cause problems. Parents who put their children into child care may disagree with the standard program about what’s best for children. This video moves beyond compromise and boldly asserts that it is possible to resolve contradictions without anyone giving in, by finding a larger view that embraces diversity and incorporates it into the standards. Is it okay to draw pictures for children instead of just letting them do it? Is it okay to toilet train a baby too young to sit on a potty alone? Using role play, this video considers such questions and proposes answers.

A notorious lothario, Dom Juan is the despair of his longsuffering servant, Sganarelle. He carries on his many seductions without a care, deceiving and leaving woman after woman—including the noble Elvire, whose brothers promptly swear vengeance against him. After successfully eluding them, Dom Juan mockingly invites to dinner the statue of a man he had recently killed. When the statue’s arrival prompts him to fake a repentant change of heart, an overtaxed Providence cuts the scene short by opening a flaming abyss at his feet and dropping him into Hell. Not available in French-speaking Canada.

Evoking the spirit of 19th-century abolitionism, this program enters the lives of three anti-slavery activists in today’s developing world. Symphorienne Kessouagni works to protect vulnerable children in rural Togo, keeping them away from traffickers and helping young slaves escape. Sunitha Krishnan is a former Hindu nun in Hyderabad, India, who runs 17 schools for former brothel workers and lobbies officials to enforce anti-slavery laws. Ansar Burney is a Karachi attorney who retrieves Pakistani boys forced to perform as jockeys in the brutal sport of camel racing. Each activist speaks in eloquent detail about his or her experiences and the psychological scars—as well as the resilience—of those freed from slavery. (Portions in other languages with English subtitles, 54 minutes)

In October 1998, Wyoming college student Matthew Shepard was brutally beaten and left to die. His shocking murder pushed Laramie into the media spotlight and sparked a nationwide debate about homophobia, gay-bashing and hate crimes. Filmmaker Beverly Seckinger, a Laramie native, returns home to the site of her own closeted adolescence to investigate the impact of Shepard's murder. She encounters students, teachers, parents, and clergy suddenly moved to speak out and take action. An inspiring story of personal discovery and the meaning of community.

Name-calling and bullying have reached epidemic proportions in schools today. Let's Get Real gives young people the chance to speak up in their own words about the real issues behind the problem. With amazing courage and candor, the students featured in Let s Get Real discuss racial differences, perceived sexual orientation, disabilities, religious differences, sexual harassment and more. From the youth who are targeted to the students who pick on them to those who find the courage to intervene, Let s Get Real examines bullying from the full range of perspectives. This poignant film educates audiences of all ages about why we can no longer accept name-calling and bullying as just a normal rite of passage.

Let s Get Real is now widely used to jump-start violence-prevention and multicultural educational programs all over the United States, and throughout the world. And it is a must-see for any adults who work with young adolescents.

Light in the Shadows is a frank conversation about race among 10 women who participated in the ground-breaking video The Way Home. These American women of Indigenous, African, Arab, European, Jewish, Asian, Latina and Mixed Race descent, use authentic dialogue to crack open a critical door of consciousness. What lies behind it is a perspective on race that is often unseen/unnoticed within the dominant culture. With clear language, open hearts and a willingness to engage - even when it gets hard - these women travel over roads that demonstrate why valuable discourse on race is so laden with emotion, distrust and misunderstanding. Light in the Shadows is a springboard for critical self-inquiry and inter-ethnic dialogue. This video is recommended for those who are ready to take a next step.

Manuela and Ben Aparicio, sister and brother, brought by their parents in search of a betterfuture, arrived in the United States from a rural village in Mexico to an ethnically divided
community in California. Twenty years later, they share their stories of dislocation and their determination to succeed. They sensitively portray their struggles to learn English, resist efforts to be pushed into vocational programs, go on to universities, and help other immigrants achieve and
find balance in the changing demographics of American society. Their story of claiminga place poses critical questions about identity, adaptation and survival in a multicultural world.

A tender portrait of an old, vital, Jewish neighborhood.

Expose students to the stark reality of the Native American battle with alcoholism. This program visits Gallup, New Mexico, a small southwest town with a large reputation for its alcohol-abusing residents. Students will learn about the frustrations of Native American life and how these frustrations can lead to poor decisions and a cycle of substance abuse. Focusing on the Navajo people, students will see how a community comes together, determined to rehabilitate and triumph. A Further Learning Web site supplements the program, providing learning objectives, Internet resources approved for content, an online teacher’s guide, and more. ©2003 Live - 28 min Navajo Nation: The Native American Battle with Alcoholism

Promote disability awareness in the school and classroom. This energetic program presents accounts from three children living with disabilities, surveying sign language, prosthetics, assistive technology, and Braille. Viewers will see how they accomplish everyday tasks and adapt to an able-bodied world. The perseverance exhibited by these children will inspire other students with disabilities as well as non-disabled people, and students will foster a strong appreciation of individual differences and abilities upon hearing these stories. A Further Learning Web site supplements the program, providing learning objectives, Internet resources approved for content, an online teacher’s guide, and more. ©1998 Live - 21 min

People from diverse backgrounds should learn to get along with one another and should celebrate their differences. Find out why prejudice is such a negative force and learn why it is better if people accept one another as individuals. Learning Objectives: 1) Students will think about the damage that is created by prejudice. 2) Teens of various ethnic backgrounds will discuss prejudice. 3) Students will learn that diversity makes the world a better place. Length: 13 minutes Copyright: ©1999