SAIL Film Series Overview

Posted by Jim on May 31st, 2017
2017
May 31

The high school where I work has piloted a new alternative education series named SAIL, which is an acronym for Student Adventures In Learning. What appeals to me about this program is that non-educators are encouraged to lead sessions. That means a systems administrator like me can share my love of film in an educational setting without a teaching degree! [I’ll let the admins and union reps work out how people like me teaching students for a few days works with the teachers’ collective bargaining agreement.]

My plan for the SAIL sessions is to share with students a thematic collection of films that we can watch together and then discuss, much like a book group would do with the printed word. Currently, SAIL takes place over two and a half days. I’ve created a ridiculous number of possible screening lists—many more than I could ever hope to actually put on. So, I’ve decided to share them here on my blog.

The opening half day is about three hours long, but in a few cases I’ve selected films that run a little longer than that. The two full days need to include a lunch break. The current HS schedule can be split between two three hour sessions, or one four hour block and one two hour block. I alternate between these two schedules depending on the lengths of the films I’ve chosen. Most series also include a selection of films to be screened in the evenings, allowing students optional additional exposure to some films I find important and/or relevant. It also allows me to greatly expand my number of selections.

I will begin posting these theoretical film schedules, along with any notes about the films I have and my reasoning behind the selections.