I’ve been trying to catch up on all the good movies being considered or that should be considered for Sunday’s Oscars.  I finally saw “Where the Wild Things Are” last night. I was blown away.

I’m a bit dumbfounded that a film with such beautiful imagery, wonderful acting and such a rich interpretation of a great kid’s book would be snubbed by the Academy.  It’s one of those very rare films that get inside a young boy’s head.  Spike Jonze takes you on an engaging journey that explores the beauty, joys and struggles of growing up.  It’s a quest that reminds us of our humanity and the complexity of a child’s emotional life.

My favorite kids/education movie from last year was “Entre Les Murs” (“The Class”).  It was nominated by the Academy but did not win.  If you haven’t seen it, the film is one of the best descriptions of teaching in urban secondary school.  I’d recommend it for any would-be or current teacher.

So what great movies about kids or education come to mind for the rest of you? I’m always looking for a new one to add to my Netflix’s queue.

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The education reform community finally has an award winning documentary with a powerful message.  “Waiting for Superman” won the Audience Choice Award last week at the Sundance Film Festival.  It will be fascinating to see how it plays with the same audience that loved Davis Guggenheim’s last doc, “An Inconvenient Truth.”

I wonder if liberals will heap praise for it given the content and whether conservatives will embrace it given its bona fide liberal director.

I can’t wait to see it.

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Barring major news developments (after all, Michael Bennet was named to the U.S Senate last New Year’s weekend), EdNews will be on holiday hiatus until Monday January 4. We wish all of you a restful time of togetherness and tranquility. We look forward to resuming the vigorous debate in the new year.

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It appears an EdNews reader or readers tried to shut down the website this week. The attack occurred minutes after Alan Gottlieb sent out his weekly newsletter, and hit different servers in different places that host the site and its blog.

While it will be interesting to know whether there is a criminal investigation, or if the attack can be traced to someone, it is depressing that some reader of EdNews is so upset that they would violate EdNews’ first amendment’s rights and shut it down.

Ironically, though not surprising the cyber attack was similar to the ones recently launched from North Korean computers, the wonderful land of free press, democracy and open public discussion. 

It’s a great reminder to renew my expired ACLU membership.

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DPS has contracted with therapist Susan Heitler, who specializes in marriage counseling, to help school board members work through their issues. A friend emailed me with this thought:

Who will get custody of the kids if it doesn’t work out?

And as long as we’re injecting a little humor in this unfunny business, I have a modest proposal. The therapy session is being held at the swanky Broadmoor resort. The reasons are legitimate; the Colorado Association of School Boards is holding its annual meeting there.

But in the interests of public relations and frugality, might I suggest an alternative venue? This has long been an alluring sign along South Nevada Avenue, not far from the Broadmoor. And to save money, they probably rent rooms by the hour…

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A blog post appeared on this site earlier today that was posted without my knowledge or consent. I found the post offensive and baseless and removed it as soon as it came to my attention. I have put safeguards in place to ensure that this does not occur again. The post may be circulating by email. If you saw it, to see the email, please know that it was not sanctioned by EdNews Colorado or anyone affiliated with this website.

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Manual students at Chipotle, before seeing "Precious"

I help out once a week with the Manual High School Magazine, BOOM! Last night, six volunteers took eight students who work on the magazine to see the Denver premiere of “Precious,” director Lee Daniels’ devastating masterwork about an abused, obese inner-city girl and her travails. The event marked the launch of this year’s Denver Film Festival. The kids dressed up for social event of Denver’s evening, at the Ellie Caulkins Opera House.

Students and their parents had been briefed about the brutal nature of the film’s subject matter — incest, physical and psychological abuse, AIDS, teen pregnancy. One mom chose to accompany her daughter. Still, when the movie ended and we gathered in the lobby for a debrief, the kids appeared glassy-eyed, pulled into themselves. The mother and daughter, African Americans, like the movie’s heroine,  clung to each other.

One girl said she didn’t find the film all that shocking because she knew people — not herself — who had experienced some of those same traumas. Driving kids home after the show, volunteer and University of Denver graduate student Iman Jafarynejad, ask our three passengers for their impressions. “It’s giving me flashbacks,” one girl said. We were silent for a while after that.

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Thanks to Alexander Russo for this:

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Nancy was on the Colorado Matters program today, discussing the Denver school board races. Her interview is preceded by some background on DPS reforms. The entire segment is worth a listen; Nancy’s interview begins at about the 6:30 mark.

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