Parents' Guide to Teach Us All

On a basic level, this documentary isn't teaching us anything we don't already know about the persistence of segregation in American society, and especially in education. What Teach Us All does show us, bolstered by sobering statistics that reveal the depth of this segregation, is how much work is still left to be done six decades after the landmark Brown v Education Supreme Court ruling that voided state laws mandating racial segregation in 1954, and the heroic efforts of the "Little Rock Nine" to desegregate a Little Rock, Arkansas high school by attending the school in the face of vicious bullying from the white members of the community. Discussions of de facto, triple, hyper, and triple segregation are highlighted with interviews with students who contend with these problems through no fault of their own except living in a low-income zip code.

While the problems are fully explored, Teach Us All also devotes considerable time to the everyday heroes of all ages and backgrounds who are trying to fix the problems by bringing in more diversity and inclusion into our classrooms. The kids come across as the "adults in the room" so much more than the "leaders" who have done nothing to address these issues at best, or exacerbated them at worst. The documentary highlights these students, teachers, administrators, and parents who are trying to tackle these issues head-on, because, as one of the interviewees says, "Real change happens when the people who need it, lead it." These inspirational stories leave an optimistic takeaway in Teach Us All: While the problems remain daunting, all is not lost, and we still have the power to change it for the better.