Educational Media Reviews Online

Claire's classroom is in a small community school in West Westminster, Vermont. A brief prologue by small-town chronicler Garrison Keillor introduces this rural setting, and the audience is immediately dropped into the opening of a new school year. What follows is a patient, intimate portrait of a model primary educator and her indelible imprint on multiple generations of learners in this close-knit community.

Claire's class brings together both first and second grade students in a common instructional space, a modern successor to the one-room schoolhouse. Yet this is not your grandmother's hardwood floors and evenly spaced rows of desks , but an open exploratory room and curriculum which tackles both literacy and diversity, cultural competency, and conflict resolution. Students even choose their own desks.

Claire describes herself as a class coordinator and emphasizes the potential of students to learn from one another. But group learning does not substitute for individualized reading and math assessments and instruction, and each child is regularly given one-on-one tutoring during group project times. There is nothing arbitrary or wasted in Claire's sparse teaching style. Her actions often speak louder than her words. The dignity and respect granted to each student during class discussions leads to the comment that "justice and fairness are not an abstraction" in the West Westminster School.

The film uses a straightforward calendar chronology to present instructional and activity samples; this format allows the viewers to see multiple approaches to a subject or theme over time. South Asian (Indian) culture is emphasized over several months in the spring, using music, writing, history, dance, artifacts, math, a South Asian visiting instructor, and field trips to a local Tamal Hindu temple. Ultimately, the students themselves construct the culture in the classroom, including both a model temple, dress and murals.

Parents are welcomed in the School environment and testify to Claire's uncanny ability to conscript them into being part of a lesson or activity. Claire's style is characterized by alumni parents as "rational authority." There is frank recognition from parents that their community lacks racial diversity and that Claire's determination to maximize cultural diversity in her curriculum is opening their children's perspective as world citizens.

Merton and Dater have been able to capture not only a generous amount of classroom instruction and management technique for students of education, but also a substantial portrait of parent faith in the instructional methodology. Among the parents, former students of Claire are quick to identify themselves and lend support to the belief that high quality childhood education can blossom in small community settings. The children themselves are remarkably accommodated to the presence of cameras and seem neither shy nor lacking spontaneity. The World in Claire's Classroom is recommended for students of pre-school and primary education and for those interested in mixed-grade classroom management and curriculum.

Highly Recommended.