A Touch of Greatness
by Leslie Sullivan
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DVD Cover Information
Actor: Albert Cullum, Laurie Heineman, Leslie SullivanDirector: Leslie Sullivan
DVD: Region Code 1
Audio: English (Original Language)
Format: Black & White, Color, DVD-Video, NTSC
Picture Format: 1.33:1
Running Time: 54 minutes
DVD Release Date: 2005-03-22
Audience Rating: NR (Not Rated)
Studio: FIRST RUN FEATURES
Movie Reviews of A Touch of Greatness
Movie Review: Great Students Make Great Teachers
Summary: 5 Stars
A Touch of Greatness documents the 20 year career of Albert Collum as an elementary school teacher. His imaginative methods are revealed and discussed, as well as his impact on former students.
I watched this DVD with a family circle of psychologists, all of whom were ravished by the "developmental" approach of the subject, Albert Collum. It was an enjoyable hour of watching, and an even more enjoyable discussion that the film provoked.
I have serious doubts that Mr Collum's methods are exportable. As another reviewer with teaching experience has pointed out, Mr Collum was fortunately placed in a "functional" community. Here's my rap: good teaching results from good students, and good students result from good communities. I got confirmation of that opinion not long ago from Frank McCourt's book Teacher Man. McCourt was by his own account a lousy and unsuccessful teacher in challenged communities, but then became a creative comet in a privileged community.
But hey, although I grew up entirely in challenged communities, I know I would have responded with joy to Collum's teaching. I wish I'd had the opportunity.
I also have doubts whether Mr. Collum's methods of classroom management are reproduceable by anyone without his earnest charisma. Even good methodologies and receptive students don't ALWAYS produce good teaching. Until such time as good teachers can be cloned, I suspect to would be wise to treat them well, pay them well, and keep them in the classroom.
Summary of A Touch of Greatness
{Winner! GOLDEN STARFISH AWARD: Best Documentary- Hamptons Film Festival}{Winner! AUDIENCE AWARD: Best Documentary- Denver International Film Festival}
As an elementary school teacher for more than twenty years and a pioneer in teacher education, Albert Cullum galvanized students and shook up parents through the use of poetry, drama and imaginative play. Cullum championed a radical educational philosophy that spoke directly to his student's hearts through his passionate use of poetry and drama including literary masterpieces from Shakespeare, Sophocles, and Shaw. Cullum went well beyond the textbook and instead allowed his students to find their own inspiration in the works while discovering new heights of originality and joy in learning.
Sullivan's one-of-a-kind film weaves rare archival television broadcasts and remarkable vintage footage from films documenting these projects (several recorded in the early 1960's by Robert Downey Sr., the director of the 60's independent classic Putney Swope), as well as recent interviews with Cullum, Downey, and Cullum's students. What emerges is an inspiring portrait of a maverick teacher who transformed a generation of young people by enabling them to discover their own inner greatness through the power of learning. At a time when the American educational system is under scrutiny, this film is an important look at where it has been and an inspiration for where it can go.
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