News

"Lessons From The Real World," a documentary about education that was filmed in Portland, will premier at 6 p.m. Thursday, March 10, at the Hollywood Theatre, 4122 N.E. Sandy Blvd.

The event is free and will include light refreshments. To reserve tickets, contact the Portland State University (PSU) box office at 503-725-3307.

Produced by award-winning filmmaker Robert Gliner, "Lessons From The Real World" challenges negative perceptions about schools, and features successful innovative lessons conducted by Oregon educators at Portland State University and eight Portland-metro schools.

"More than anywhere else I have lived, people here believe in the ‘makeability' of place," said PSU President Wim Wiewel in one of the film's interviews.

"People here believe they can really influence their environment, and I think we teach our students to be part of that by giving them a real opportunity through our capstone projects and all of the joint research that we do with organizations throughout the city."

Gliner featured PSU's capstone program, which is ranked among the nation's best by U.S. News & World Report, in his 2003 documentary "Education for What?"  The film profiled six universities from around the country known for their service-learning programs.  "PSU is one of the top service-learning universities in the country," he said.

That experience was one of the reasons he chose Portland for his latest film.

"I feel No Child Left Behind has narrowed the curriculum too much, focusing on math and reading. I was looking for schools that weaved more social issues into the curriculum, making students more informed about issues in their community.  Portland has a reputation of having schools with those qualities," he said.
    
Gliner, a sociology professor at San Diego State University, has filmed throughout the world and has 41 documentaries to his credit.  He said he plans to attend the film's opening in Portland.