Common Sense Media Review
By Brian Costello
,
based on child development research. How do we rate?
Uplifting docu explores school journeys around the globe.
Parents Need to Know
Why Age 8+?
Any Positive Content?
Where to Watch
Videos and Photos
On the Way to School
What's the Story?
Jackson is an 11-year-old boy from Kenya who must travel two hours to school with his little brother. Zahira is a 12-year-old girl from Morocco who must travel four hours to school every Monday with her friends. Carlos is an 11-year-old boy from Argentina who rides 18 kilometers to school on horseback with his little sister. And Samuel is a disabled 13-year-old boy in India who's wheeled and carried the four kilometers to school by his two brothers. ON THE WAY TO SCHOOL shows the tremendous challenges and difficulties many kids in remote parts of the globe face simply to attend school and get an education. Whether it's running across open spaces to avoid getting trampled by elephants, finding rides from strangers after spraining ankles on rocky mountainous terrain, or carrying your brother in a wheelchair through irrigation canals, the situations in this earnest documentary should put into perspective something that many people take for granted.
Is It Any Good?
This uplifting documentary celebrating the human spirit (and the importance of education) should provide plenty for families to talk about. While it will most certainly give much-needed perspective to those who might complain about commutes to school or work, what makes On the Way to School stand out is its kid subjects, who are resilient, determined, and generous. The challenges and difficulties they endure are intense, even life-threatening, and they underscore the problem of access to education that so many kids face.
While this documentary shows the kids' "can-do" attitudes, it only marginally touches on the inherent barrier placed on children and families living in these places where education is inaccessible, or where kids must work to help provide food and sustenance. An argument could also be made that for all its implications about how it's relatively easy for the viewer to make their commutes, the difficulties of kids trying to attend school in, say, Paris, or Chicago's toughest neighborhoods could be equally as illuminating and worthy of investigation.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about the kids in On the Way to School and the kids where you live. What are some similarities? Differences?
Think about how you get to and from school. Did you take anything for granted before seeing this movie?
What are some of the obstacles the kids run into on their way to school? How do they overcome them?
How do the main kid subjects demonstrate curiosity, perseverance, and courage? What about humility and teamwork? Why are these important character strengths?
Movie Details
- In theaters : February 6, 2015
- On DVD or streaming : September 25, 2013
- Cast : Jackson Saikong , Salome Saikong , Zahira Badi , Samuel J. Esther
- Director : Pascal Pilsson
- Studio : Winds
- Genre : Documentary
- Topics : Family Stories ( Siblings ) , School ( Elementary School , Middle School )
- Character Strengths : Courage , Curiosity , Humility , Perseverance , Teamwork
- Run time : 77 minutes
- MPAA rating :
- Last updated : October 20, 2026
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