As a child, Norwegian- Turkish filmmaker Nefise Lorentzen sent balloon letters to Allah—messages filled with all manner of questions and concerns. Still looking for answers today, she sets out to examine the status of women within Islam. Traveling to Cairo, Istanbul, and Oslo, Lorentzen has tea with Egyptian feminist Nawal El Saadawi, finds inspiration in the life of 90-year-old author Gamal Al-Banna, conducts an eye-opening interview with a fundamentalist cleric, and searches out her grandmother’s Sufi- influenced spiritual path, which steered clear of extremism and male dominance. As Lorentzen struggles through this maze, she finds that some questions extend beyond Islam and that there is a link between the three Abrahamic religions and the oppression of women. Contains brief nudity. (58 minutes) 2011

Recruiting foster families is a difficult task even under the best of circumstances, and most agencies are not blessed with the best of circumstances. Yet agencies can significantly increase their chances of successfully finding foster families and volunteers by designing a carefully planned strategy for engaging the community in foster care. This handbook was developed for that purpose. It provides tools to craft effective messages for the public, tips for working with the media, and other research ideas. This title is a must-have for foster care agencies and professionals striving to provide quality foster care to all youth in need.

Like far too many children in foster care, Maisie has suffered abuse and neglect almost all her life. She desperately wants to be adopted, but early experiences have left the 7-year-old with a vast store of anger, confusion, and distrust. Several families have tried to adopt Maisie but found her behavior too challenging, so she was bounced again and again back into the foster care system. Maisie’s luck changed when she met Jim and Sue, a couple who had already adopted eight troubled kids. With the help of an agency that specializes in counseling the most damaged children, Jim and Sue hope to help Maisie overcome her traumatic past. This film follows their journey over a one- year period, documenting the many obstacles that all three must overcome in their bid to give Maisie a home. A BBC Production. (58 minutes) 2011

Statistically speaking, why have men and women not proved equally adept at the same things? In this program, researchers debate whether differences in brain architecture lead to a division of talents and aptitudes between the sexes—and draw some startling conclusions. To illustrate these differences, children are observed in classrooms, on the playground, and at home. 51 minutes

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

Encourage students to explore biases and stereotypes with this group of ABC News segments. Each scenario puts actors into exchanges with unwitting bystanders, generating a wide range of responses—from overt hostility towards other races and cultures to acts of genuine compassion. Scenes include a bakery clerk’s refusal to serve a Muslim woman wearing a headscarf; cruelty towards an overweight woman seated on a boardwalk; a very public argument that threatens to become violent; and a purse-snatching in a crowded square, after which witnesses are asked to view a suspect lineup. Repeating the two latter situations, producers achieve varying reactions among onlookers by switching the races of the actors. (37 minutes

China’s global influence has grown enormously since the turn of the new century. Now the second- largest economy in the world, its citizens are buying up consumer goods both domestically and from abroad in record numbers. In this collection of 12 ABC News segments, anchor Diane Sawyer travels from Beijing to Shanghai exploring life in the Asian nation and the part the U.S. has played in shaping its economic initiatives. Clip duration ranges from 2 to 5 minutes. Video clips include… • Overview of the Growth in China: With an economic growth rate of ten percent per year, the goal of the Chinese government is to build the nation’s infrastructure. • The Chinese Factory Worker: Many young people leave home for factory jobs, living in workers’ dormitories and sending half their wages back to their families. • Chinese Billionaire Jack Ma on the Power of American Ideas: The founder of China’s largest e-commerce Web site has changed the way his country does business. • China Embraces the English Language: By 2015 all schools will begin teaching English, “the language of international competition,” in kindergarten. • China Goes Green: In the race to be the world’s leader in green technology, China is ahead of the pack with solar power and energy- efficient, high-speed bullet trains. • Educating China: Chinese students receive 30 percent more hours of instruction per year than do American children, but focus more on memorization than creativity. • Two Taras—Same Name, Different Lives: Two college-educated women, one living in China, one in the U.S, are pursuing their professional and personal dreams. • One of China’s Most Talented: A popular competitor on China’s Got Talent is a young boy who lost his arms in an accident but learned to play piano with his toes. • American Businesses Booming in China: Half a million Mary Kay workers, three new McDonald’s opening every week, and a partnership with GM to sell electric cars—all in China. • China Helping Boost U.S. Economy Despite Currency Concerns: In 2009 $70 billion-worth of American goods were sold in China to an emerging middle class, creating 437,000 new U.S. jobs. • China Imports from Washington State: From apples to salmon and almond roca candy, Washington state exports nearly $6 billion-worth of products to China every year. • What They Liked Most about China: Diane Sawyer, David Muir, and Clarissa Ward share their favorite memories of the trip to China. 2010

Cognitive development in young adults is covered in our second section video as we study adult thinking and contrast it with patterns in adolescence. Major theories on stages of adult cognitive development are presented, alongside a discussion of how life events and the pursuit of a higher education influence adult thinking.

The third video in the series treats areas of special concern during early adulthood, including a discussion of why young adults are especially at-risk for eating disorders like anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa, substance abuse due to violence or risky behavior.

This program addresses teachers’ efforts to level the educational and social playing fields for their students by examining public school reform and its relationship to social change. Educators who taught on the western frontier in the late 19th century and in the South during desegregation are spotlighted, along with contemporary instructors working with Native Americans in New Mexico and inner-city youth in New York. Visionaries including Joseph Abeyta, of the Santa Fe Indian School; Ann Cook, of Urban Academy; and retired North Carolina school principal Kat Crosby consider cultural identity, teaching for diversity, performance-based assessment, and other topics. (54 minutes, color)

Regulators, policymakers, and commercial bankers are the insiders who define American financial structure, and others are effected tremendously by their decisions— especially when reckless short-termism such as oil speculation negatively impacts their assets. In this program Hazel Henderson talks with banker Steve Waddell, author of Societal Learning and Change, about steering modern economics away from what they call a greed-based system to one that allows “outsiders” to have a voice, and that serves the common good. Waddell and Henderson also challenge the assumption that human nature is based on self-interest, and conclude that poverty, trade wars, and resource depletion are not necessarily inevitable. Part of the series Ethical Markets 3. (29 minutes) DVD 2010

This program explores alternative approaches and explanations of learning, including latent learning, learning sets, insight learning, ethology, social learning, and neuroscience. The program emphasizes the recent move towards a cognitive theory of learning and examines research in this area. The program includes archival film featuring B. F. Skinner and Dr. Robert Epstein, who demonstrated apparent "insight" learning in pigeons using behaviorist techniques. Skinner, speaking just before his death, claims that reinforcement rather than higher mental processes is at work in learning. The cognitive behaviorists think differently! (57 minutes, color)

This engaging video teaches basic skills for getting along with others. Six "problem" personality types are identified, along with ways to deal with them. Healthy behaviors are explored in the context of several principles of positive communication: following the golden rule; accepting differences; not expecting too much; and compromising. This program is full of fast-paced vignettes illustrating techniques for more effective living while keeping the viewer interested and amused! A Cambridge Educational Production.

Using video diaries and workshop discussions, today’s teens explore issues of bias and tolerance in their own lives. Giving Voice weaves interviews with this diverse group of teenagers with the testimonies of Holocaust survivors and witnesses. Equipped with mini-DV cameras, seven young people document their surroundings at school and at home, with friends and family, and share their emotional responses to viewing survivor testimony. In the process, they make candid and poignant observations about the examples of intolerance and bigotry they see every day and offer eloquent examples of how each of them strives to take responsibility for building a better, more tolerant world. When young adults see the faces and hear the voices of men and women who suffered what others can only imagine, they make the connection between history and the moral choices they confront in their own lives, opening up the possibilities for profound change. Survivors of the Shoah Visual History Foundation After completing the Academy Award-winning film Schindler's List, Steven Spielberg established Survivors of the Shoah Visual History Foundation to preserve the testimonies of Holocaust survivors and witnesses. Ten years later, the Shoah Foundation has created Giving Voice, a new educational product for students. This is the legacy of Schindler’s List: a vehicle for facilitating a "dialogue" between students and the testimonies, this extraordinary three-part set is an immensely powerful tool for launching a meaningful discussion about the causes and effects of hatred and prejudice. Student Video Diaries & Workshop This half-hour reality TV-style video illustrates how the participants grew, changed, and rethought their own closely held assumptions over the course of the filming project and the daylong workshop that brought it all together. The video weaves student video diaries with first-person, primary-source interviews with Holocaust survivors and witnesses. (25 minutes) Survivor & Witness First-Person Testimonies This video, a compilation of the actual testimonies the students watched, can be used as a part of an in-class re-creation of the workshop—or on its own to deliver a transformative experience that will open eyes, minds, and hearts. (43 minutes) Standards-Driven Teacher’s Guide This modular, standards-driven teacher’s guide provides educators with all the materials they will need to utilize both videos to maximum effect—and, if desired, to conduct the entire student workshop in their own classrooms. Ideal for curriculums involving character development, conflict mediation, and human rights. (36 pages)

Reports from reputable medical sources reveal a statistical correlation between healthcare issues and poor academic performance in Hispanic communities nationwide. In this program, the National Council of La Raza’s Raul Yzaguirre, former Surgeon General David Satcher, the Hispanic Dental Association’s Nelson Artiga, and other experts address the pervasive health concerns—most notably dental problems and pediatric obesity—and insufficient access to healthcare that plague America’s Hispanic population, significantly undermining Latino children’s education as well as long-term well-being. Health initiatives in California, Texas, Florida, and New York are featured, along with case studies from those states. (58 minutes, color)

Aligned with the 2011 USDA Dietary Guidelines for Americans and the new "plate" food guidance logo! In an age of fad diets, ultra-processed foods, body image issues, and rampant obesity, clichés like “You are what you eat” just aren’t enough to educate teens about smart eating. This five-part series explores food-related issues with the energy, complexity, and engagement needed to reach today’s young adults. Using eye-catching animation sequences and commentary from nutritionists, dieticians, and trainers, the series conveys detailed, real-world knowledge about basic nutrition, weight management, physical fitness, eating disorders, and food safety. Viewable/printable instructor’s guides are available online. A Meridian Production. 5-part series, 25 minutes each.