A documentary short film

Every voter was once a student.

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“Put most simply, the future of our country will be determined by our schools. That's the thing people don't realize.”

PEDRO NOGUERA
Dean, USC Rossier School of Education

What happens in schools doesn't stay in schools.

A classroom is where a person first disagrees with someone and keeps listening. Where they meet a history that is not their own. Where they learn to tell the difference between what is true and what is convenient.

Nearly 9 in 10 students in grades k-12 attend a public school. That's 49 million kids.*

*Source: U.S. Census Bureau, 2024

Watch the film

Thirteen minutes. Free, for anyone, anywhere. Watch it, then use it to start a conversation where you live.

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Start a conversation

Democracy by Degrees raises questions that reach far beyond the classroom. Whether you're watching with friends, colleagues or an organization, choose a topic that interests you. Each offers a few questions to help get the conversation started.

“Every voter was once a student.”

Most of us spend only part of our lives in school. But we spend our entire lives in a society shaped by what people learn there. Today's students will become tomorrow's voters, coworkers, neighbors and decision-makers.

Questions for Discussion

Think about the people who make decisions affecting your life. What do you hope they learned in school?
How might what students learn today affect your community, workplace or daily life in the future?
If you don't have children in public schools, what stake do you still have in what happens there?
What is one connection between public education and your own life that you hadn't considered before?

“The future of our country will be determined by our schools.” - Pedro Noguera

Public schools do more than prepare young people for jobs. They help shape how future generations understand history, evaluate information, encounter different perspectives and participate in civic life.

Questions for Discussion

What does a democracy need its citizens to know and be able to do?
How do public schools help prepare young people to participate in a democracy?
What might happen to a democracy when people don't share a basic understanding of history or how government works?
Why might public education matter to the health of a democracy beyond simply educating individual students?

“Thinking is scary for those in control.” - Jon Turtletaub

Throughout history, access to knowledge has been closely connected to power. The film raises questions about who decides what young people can learn and what happens when those decisions are driven by political interests.

Questions for Discussion

Why might independent thinking be threatening to someone seeking or maintaining power?
What is the difference between making reasonable decisions about curriculum and controlling which ideas people are allowed to encounter?
What happens when young people have limited access to history or perspectives that challenge those in power?
Where do you see tensions between education, knowledge and political power today?

“The problem has never been books. The problem is empathy.” - Flint Del Sol

Books allow us to encounter lives, histories and experiences beyond our own. The film invites us to consider why access to certain stories becomes controversial and what may be lost when those stories disappear.

Questions for Discussion

What book or story helped you understand someone whose life was different from yours?
What do you think is meant by the statement, “The problem is not books. The problem is empathy”?
Who should decide which books and ideas young people can access, and how should those decisions be made?
What might be lost when young people have fewer opportunities to encounter unfamiliar perspectives?

“What am I allowed to talk about in my own classroom?” - Carlos

The film introduces educators who face uncertainty about what they can teach or discuss. Sometimes that uncertainty comes from formal restrictions. Other times it comes from political pressure, public criticism or fear of consequences.

Questions for Discussion

What stayed with you about Carlos's uncertainty as he prepared to become a teacher?
What happens to students when educators avoid certain topics, even when no formal restriction exists?
How might fear of controversy change the experience of teaching and learning?
What would meaningful support for educators look like in your community?

Don't see your conversation here? These questions are just a starting point. Download our Screening Guide for more ways to explore the film and facilitate a meaningful conversation.