00:00:00.767 --> 00:00:03.236
(radio music playing)

00:00:16.082 --> 00:00:20.019
(speaking in Spanish)

00:00:28.328 --> 00:00:31.064
(metal clanking)

00:00:42.642 --> 00:00:45.945
(Spanish music playing)

00:01:08.134 --> 00:01:12.305
(metal gate creaking
and banging)

00:01:16.509 --> 00:01:19.245
(sirens wailing)

00:01:29.789 --> 00:01:32.859
(students clamoring)

00:01:38.832 --> 00:01:40.066
- All right guys.

00:01:40.066 --> 00:01:43.303
We have testing all
this week and next week.

00:01:43.303 --> 00:01:44.437
The tests are gonna be hard,

00:01:44.437 --> 00:01:45.672
but that's all right,

00:01:45.672 --> 00:01:46.506
because we're gonna
try really hard.

00:01:46.506 --> 00:01:48.308
Isn't that right Camryn?

00:01:48.308 --> 00:01:49.108
- Yes Ms. Peterson.

00:01:49.108 --> 00:01:49.943
- Okay great.

00:01:49.943 --> 00:01:50.910
Everyone listen up.

00:01:50.910 --> 00:01:51.711
So we are gonna work all week,

00:01:51.711 --> 00:01:53.012
from the answer.

00:01:53.012 --> 00:01:54.547
And then from the station story.

00:01:54.547 --> 00:01:55.482
Okay?

00:01:55.482 --> 00:02:00.019
(words garbled)

00:02:04.457 --> 00:02:06.793
First open up on page three.

00:02:17.303 --> 00:02:18.938
- We gonna take
notes from the story.

00:02:18.938 --> 00:02:20.907
And we're gonna turn
it into a math problem,

00:02:20.907 --> 00:02:22.175
and we're gonna walk
through it together.

00:02:22.175 --> 00:02:23.209
Okay?

00:02:23.209 --> 00:02:26.746
(music tone playing)

00:02:26.746 --> 00:02:30.049
(heels clanking)

00:02:30.049 --> 00:02:32.685
So the boy ran three blocks.

00:02:32.685 --> 00:02:34.821
So everyone write three blocks.

00:02:37.257 --> 00:02:39.993
How long did it take
him to run three blocks?

00:02:39.993 --> 00:02:41.361
(footsteps)

00:02:41.361 --> 00:02:42.161
Michelle?

00:02:42.161 --> 00:02:43.096
- Six minutes.

00:02:43.096 --> 00:02:44.397
- Very good, six minutes.

00:02:46.966 --> 00:02:48.434
All right.

00:02:48.434 --> 00:02:50.103
So then we're gonna take
three blocks and six minutes.

00:02:50.103 --> 00:02:51.170
Right?

00:02:51.170 --> 00:02:54.374
(speaking in Spanish)

00:02:54.374 --> 00:02:57.143
(Enrique laughing)

00:02:57.143 --> 00:03:00.013
- How long will it take
him to run 20 blocks?

00:03:00.013 --> 00:03:01.114
What do we do?

00:03:02.749 --> 00:03:05.652
How many minutes
is that per block?

00:03:07.687 --> 00:03:09.188
- Eight minutes.

00:03:09.188 --> 00:03:10.156
- Try and remember to raise
your hand if you wanna answer.

00:03:10.156 --> 00:03:11.090
Okay?

00:03:11.090 --> 00:03:12.125
No it's not eight minutes.

00:03:12.125 --> 00:03:12.926
Michelle?

00:03:12.926 --> 00:03:14.060
- 18 minutes?

00:03:14.060 --> 00:03:15.862
- Nope, not 18 minutes.

00:03:19.832 --> 00:03:21.167
- Yes Enrique?

00:03:21.167 --> 00:03:22.001
- 40?

00:03:22.869 --> 00:03:24.137
- 40, yeah very good.

00:03:24.137 --> 00:03:25.138
- How'd you get 40?

00:03:26.306 --> 00:03:27.440
- I don't know.

00:03:27.440 --> 00:03:28.374
- You don't know?

00:03:28.374 --> 00:03:29.275
Well 40 is the right answer.

00:03:29.275 --> 00:03:30.810
How did you get it?

00:03:30.810 --> 00:03:31.711
- I forgot.

00:03:31.711 --> 00:03:33.079
(students laughing)

00:03:33.079 --> 00:03:34.180
- You forgot?

00:03:35.381 --> 00:03:38.051
Okay, does anyone
know how we get 40?

00:03:44.557 --> 00:03:45.391
Yes, Moises.

00:03:53.866 --> 00:03:55.335
- 40?

00:03:55.335 --> 00:03:57.503
- Yep that's right, very good.

00:03:57.503 --> 00:03:58.771
Great.

00:03:58.771 --> 00:04:00.039
Can you tell us
how you got that?

00:04:00.974 --> 00:04:01.808
- 40?

00:04:01.808 --> 00:04:02.642
(students laughing)

00:04:02.642 --> 00:04:04.143
- Yep, very good.

00:04:04.143 --> 00:04:04.944
But can you explain to the
class what you did here?

00:04:04.944 --> 00:04:05.445
How you got that?

00:04:10.883 --> 00:04:11.851
- 40.

00:04:11.851 --> 00:04:13.086
(students laughing)

00:04:13.086 --> 00:04:13.886
- All right you
guys, settle down.

00:04:13.886 --> 00:04:15.121
- That kid's so dumb.

00:04:15.121 --> 00:04:17.256
- Joe, do you wanna
lose your recess?

00:04:17.256 --> 00:04:18.825
- No.

00:04:18.825 --> 00:04:19.659
Okay then.

00:04:30.270 --> 00:04:33.172
(student giggling)

00:04:41.814 --> 00:04:43.216
Thank you Moises.

00:04:45.918 --> 00:04:48.655
(paper rattling)

00:04:50.323 --> 00:04:52.025
- Can you help me please?

00:04:58.097 --> 00:04:59.599
- Can you take a walk with me?

00:05:02.568 --> 00:05:03.403
Okay come.

00:05:07.206 --> 00:05:08.775
I don't want you to
worry about the test.

00:05:08.775 --> 00:05:10.376
- Okay Moises?

00:05:10.376 --> 00:05:14.380
(speaking in Spanish)

00:05:16.616 --> 00:05:17.617
- Just try your best.

00:05:17.617 --> 00:05:18.418
Okay?

00:05:18.418 --> 00:05:19.719
Do you understand?

00:05:19.719 --> 00:05:23.623
(speaking in Spanish)

00:05:27.960 --> 00:05:29.862
- You're right Moises,
it is important.

00:05:32.265 --> 00:05:33.966
(bell ringing)

00:05:33.966 --> 00:05:35.134
I have to go.

00:05:35.134 --> 00:05:35.935
I'm sorry.

00:05:40.039 --> 00:05:42.809
(heels clicking)

00:05:44.877 --> 00:05:48.881
(speaking in Spanish)

00:05:51.584 --> 00:05:52.418
Are those are the tests?

00:05:52.418 --> 00:05:53.252
- Yes they are.

00:05:54.353 --> 00:05:55.188
- They used to be in Spanish,

00:05:55.188 --> 00:05:56.022
right?

00:05:56.022 --> 00:05:56.856
- Yes they used to be.

00:05:56.856 --> 00:05:58.624
(speaking in Spanish)

00:05:58.624 --> 00:06:01.060
Can we translate it?

00:06:01.060 --> 00:06:02.795
Just the math part.

00:06:02.795 --> 00:06:03.730
I have this one student Moises,

00:06:03.730 --> 00:06:05.565
and he would totally ace it.

00:06:05.565 --> 00:06:07.033
- C'mon, you know we can't.

00:06:07.033 --> 00:06:08.301
You know we're not supposed

00:06:08.301 --> 00:06:10.703
to talk to the kids in
Spanish technically.

00:06:10.703 --> 00:06:11.804
I like Moises.

00:06:11.804 --> 00:06:13.005
He is a good kid.

00:06:13.005 --> 00:06:14.640
But we need to focus
on the kids that are...

00:06:14.640 --> 00:06:16.142
(speaking in Spanish)

00:06:16.142 --> 00:06:17.310
Michelle.

00:06:17.310 --> 00:06:18.244
- She's very-

00:06:18.244 --> 00:06:18.978
- Close to being proficient.

00:06:18.978 --> 00:06:20.046
- Right.

00:06:20.046 --> 00:06:22.582
Listen, 5%
proficiency this year.

00:06:24.183 --> 00:06:25.651
Now we don't do any
better this year,

00:06:25.651 --> 00:06:27.353
I don't know what's
going to happen.

00:06:27.353 --> 00:06:29.489
So just please make sure that,

00:06:30.690 --> 00:06:33.292
Michelle follows the directions.

00:06:33.292 --> 00:06:35.428
Okay. I have to.

00:06:35.428 --> 00:06:37.029
I'm sorry, excuse me.

00:06:38.531 --> 00:06:41.100
(door banging)

00:06:42.602 --> 00:06:45.605
(students cheering)

00:06:55.348 --> 00:06:57.116
- You're out.

00:06:57.116 --> 00:07:00.953
(speaking in Spanish)

00:07:08.094 --> 00:07:10.830
(Moises running)

00:07:12.498 --> 00:07:16.402
(speaking in Spanish)

00:07:29.849 --> 00:07:30.683
- Hey Luis,

00:07:30.683 --> 00:07:32.285
some trash here.

00:07:32.285 --> 00:07:36.222
(speaking in Spanish)

00:07:40.159 --> 00:07:42.929
(paper rattling)

00:07:45.531 --> 00:07:49.468
(speaking in Spanish)

00:09:07.146 --> 00:09:08.648
(knocking on the door)

00:09:08.648 --> 00:09:10.216
- Find what you're looking for?

00:09:10.216 --> 00:09:13.052
- No, I'm trying to
find a test in Spanish,

00:09:13.052 --> 00:09:14.253
for one of my kids.

00:09:15.187 --> 00:09:16.188
I know we used to have them.

00:09:16.188 --> 00:09:17.123
I thought they'd be down here,

00:09:17.123 --> 00:09:18.524
with the old bilingual stuff.

00:09:19.992 --> 00:09:22.561
(bell ringing)

00:09:38.978 --> 00:09:41.280
(door slamming)

00:09:41.280 --> 00:09:43.282
(bell ringing)

00:09:43.282 --> 00:09:45.518
(wind sound)

00:09:45.518 --> 00:09:46.352
- Moises.

00:09:47.486 --> 00:09:48.321
- Moises.

00:09:48.321 --> 00:09:50.990
(speaking in Spanish)

00:09:53.326 --> 00:09:56.095
(jacket ripping)

00:09:56.095 --> 00:09:58.297
(wind blowing)

00:10:18.184 --> 00:10:20.853
(water running)

00:10:22.655 --> 00:10:23.489
- Okay.

00:10:25.358 --> 00:10:28.094
(metal clanking)

00:10:31.664 --> 00:10:35.568
(speaking in Spanish)

00:11:05.931 --> 00:11:08.534
(kid coughing)

00:11:13.639 --> 00:11:16.308
(seat creaking)

00:11:28.921 --> 00:11:31.757
(pages shuffling)

00:11:59.752 --> 00:12:00.519
- Moises.

00:12:12.331 --> 00:12:13.833
- Am sorry Moises,

00:12:15.234 --> 00:12:16.735
I have to take this from you.

00:12:16.735 --> 00:12:17.570
Okay?

00:12:18.871 --> 00:12:21.807
But if you have any questions,

00:12:21.807 --> 00:12:22.908
you can ask me.

00:12:22.908 --> 00:12:23.742
Okay?

00:12:32.251 --> 00:12:33.419
- Ms. Peterson.

00:12:50.569 --> 00:12:53.973
(knocking on the window)

00:13:09.955 --> 00:13:13.292
(Spanish music playing)

00:14:20.192 --> 00:14:22.094
- When I first decided
to become a teacher,

00:14:22.094 --> 00:14:24.630
I was volunteering in
a fifth grade class.

00:14:24.630 --> 00:14:27.499
And there was this
amazing inspiring teacher,

00:14:28.467 --> 00:14:30.336
with a class of 30 students.

00:14:30.336 --> 00:14:32.938
That she really managed
to keep very engaged.

00:14:32.938 --> 00:14:35.841
But one boy came in the middle
of the year from Mexico,

00:14:35.841 --> 00:14:37.610
and he spoke no English.

00:14:37.610 --> 00:14:39.345
And so most of the time,

00:14:39.345 --> 00:14:40.613
most of the day,

00:14:40.613 --> 00:14:42.147
he was sitting at the
back of the classroom,

00:14:42.147 --> 00:14:44.883
not able to participate and
not able to learn anything.

00:14:44.883 --> 00:14:46.352
- So she told me the story.

00:14:46.352 --> 00:14:49.088
- I found that I couldn't
get it out of my head.

00:14:49.088 --> 00:14:50.489
I kept wondering,

00:14:50.489 --> 00:14:53.158
what was gonna
happen to this boy.

00:14:53.158 --> 00:14:55.261
I wondered what his
home life was like?

00:14:55.261 --> 00:14:57.129
What his community
life was like?

00:14:57.129 --> 00:14:59.164
How did he come
here from Mexico?

00:14:59.164 --> 00:15:02.067
And what was eventually
gonna happen to him?

00:15:02.067 --> 00:15:04.770
And it got me motivated
to write a screenplay,

00:15:04.770 --> 00:15:06.438
that was based on the story.

00:15:06.438 --> 00:15:08.073
And fill in for myself,

00:15:08.073 --> 00:15:09.775
as much as for anyone else.

00:15:09.775 --> 00:15:12.845
Just the story
behind that story.

00:15:14.647 --> 00:15:19.118
There's a very strong
English only movement,

00:15:19.118 --> 00:15:21.620
in education at the
moment in this country.

00:15:21.620 --> 00:15:23.289
And specifically in California.

00:15:24.490 --> 00:15:27.726
And I think it's a
little simplistic.

00:15:27.726 --> 00:15:29.728
- We should replace
bilingual education,

00:15:29.728 --> 00:15:31.463
with emergence...

00:15:31.463 --> 00:15:33.532
with immersion in English.

00:15:33.532 --> 00:15:36.402
So people learn the common
language of the country.

00:15:36.402 --> 00:15:39.071
So they learn the
language of prosperity.

00:15:40.272 --> 00:15:42.574
Not the language of
living in a ghetto.

00:15:43.842 --> 00:15:46.445
(wind blowing)

00:16:00.793 --> 00:16:02.094
- While playground English

00:16:02.094 --> 00:16:03.829
gets picked up rather quickly.

00:16:04.963 --> 00:16:07.199
Academic English
can take as long as

00:16:07.199 --> 00:16:10.336
seven years to really master.

00:16:10.336 --> 00:16:11.570
- We're setting
up these students

00:16:11.570 --> 00:16:12.838
to fail in a lot of ways.

00:16:13.772 --> 00:16:16.308
This film really shows how,

00:16:16.308 --> 00:16:19.345
we need to rethink how
we're structuring schools,

00:16:19.345 --> 00:16:21.747
to make it really
equitable for all students,

00:16:21.747 --> 00:16:24.083
no matter what
language they speak.

00:16:24.083 --> 00:16:26.051
- It's very very hard.

00:16:26.051 --> 00:16:27.519
When you come from
a different country,

00:16:27.519 --> 00:16:29.421
and try and learn the
ways of the United States.

00:16:29.421 --> 00:16:30.222
It is tough.

00:16:30.222 --> 00:16:31.056
It's really tough.

00:16:36.028 --> 00:16:39.965
(speaking in Spanish)

00:17:23.542 --> 00:17:24.743
- Immersion does what,

00:17:24.743 --> 00:17:26.311
only a narrative film can do.

00:17:26.311 --> 00:17:27.679
And it takes you essentially,

00:17:27.679 --> 00:17:30.649
through the experience of,

00:17:30.649 --> 00:17:31.583
these children.

00:17:31.583 --> 00:17:33.452
Of these students.

00:17:33.452 --> 00:17:35.087
- I think it's an original idea.

00:17:35.087 --> 00:17:36.488
And it's an important idea.

00:17:36.488 --> 00:17:37.756
And it's a story

00:17:37.756 --> 00:17:39.425
that should definitely be told.

00:17:45.964 --> 00:17:47.800
- Hi my name is Richard Levien.

00:17:47.800 --> 00:17:50.169
I'm the director of Immersion.

00:17:50.169 --> 00:17:51.470
- My name is Zareen
Poonen Levien.

00:17:51.470 --> 00:17:53.739
I'm the producer of Immersion.

00:17:53.739 --> 00:17:57.443
- And we shot
Immersion back in 2008.

00:17:57.443 --> 00:18:00.779
And we shot a lot of
it in your classroom.

00:18:00.779 --> 00:18:01.980
- Yeah it's fun to go back,

00:18:01.980 --> 00:18:04.983
and look and see my
classroom in this movie.

00:18:04.983 --> 00:18:06.285
That was back when
I was a teacher,

00:18:06.285 --> 00:18:07.786
at Cesar Chavez
Elementary School.

00:18:07.786 --> 00:18:10.889
And it was fun to be able
to shoot it in my classroom.

00:18:10.889 --> 00:18:12.291
- Our research for this film,

00:18:12.291 --> 00:18:14.860
involved not only reading
academic articles.

00:18:14.860 --> 00:18:18.664
But also just talking to
people in our neighborhood.

00:18:18.664 --> 00:18:20.532
We live in the Mission District,

00:18:20.532 --> 00:18:21.700
in San Francisco.

00:18:21.700 --> 00:18:24.670
Which has a very strong
Latino population.

00:18:24.670 --> 00:18:26.972
And I also did a
bunch of research,

00:18:26.972 --> 00:18:29.975
in the Fruitvale
neighborhood in Oakland.

00:18:29.975 --> 00:18:31.777
And that's where I met Nabor,

00:18:31.777 --> 00:18:33.445
who's the soccer coach you saw

00:18:33.445 --> 00:18:35.614
in the short video just now.

00:18:35.614 --> 00:18:37.883
And his son Gerardo

00:18:37.883 --> 00:18:39.985
ended up playing the
friend of Moises,

00:18:39.985 --> 00:18:44.289
that tries to persuade
Moises to skip school.

00:18:44.289 --> 00:18:45.824
- For all the movie,

00:18:45.824 --> 00:18:48.527
we strived to make it seem
as realistic as possible.

00:18:48.527 --> 00:18:50.128
So we used all local kids.

00:18:50.128 --> 00:18:52.030
We talked to dozens of kids,

00:18:52.030 --> 00:18:53.532
in the neighborhood
in San Francisco.

00:18:53.532 --> 00:18:55.067
And in Oakland.

00:18:55.067 --> 00:18:58.070
We went to libraries, and
to schools, and to churches,

00:18:58.070 --> 00:19:00.506
talked to a lot of families
to both do research,

00:19:00.506 --> 00:19:03.342
and to find the right
kids to be in the class.

00:19:03.342 --> 00:19:05.177
We were really lucky
to find Moises,

00:19:05.177 --> 00:19:08.514
who was actually a
student at my school.

00:19:08.514 --> 00:19:10.282
His name is Luis Bautista.

00:19:10.282 --> 00:19:12.284
Luis had never acted before,

00:19:12.284 --> 00:19:14.653
but he had such a
deep understanding of

00:19:14.653 --> 00:19:15.954
the community we're in.

00:19:15.954 --> 00:19:17.689
And the struggles we're facing,

00:19:17.689 --> 00:19:20.292
as a community of
Latino immigrants.

00:19:20.292 --> 00:19:23.395
He just really embodied
the character of Moises.

00:19:23.395 --> 00:19:27.466
So it was really exciting to
see him dive into that role.

00:19:28.600 --> 00:19:30.135
Many of the students
at Cesar Chavez,

00:19:30.135 --> 00:19:31.503
came from bilingual families.

00:19:31.503 --> 00:19:33.205
And we did have a
bilingual Spanish,

00:19:33.205 --> 00:19:35.173
track at my school.

00:19:35.173 --> 00:19:37.743
And just being entrenched
in that community,

00:19:37.743 --> 00:19:39.578
I saw many of the successes

00:19:39.578 --> 00:19:40.646
and many of the challenges

00:19:40.646 --> 00:19:41.880
those families went through.

00:19:41.880 --> 00:19:44.416
Trying to navigate
speaking both languages,

00:19:44.416 --> 00:19:47.085
maybe their parents
favoring one language,

00:19:47.085 --> 00:19:49.454
and the kids learning
a different language.

00:19:49.454 --> 00:19:51.757
When I did my master's
degree at UC Berkeley,

00:19:51.757 --> 00:19:53.425
I studied bilingual education,

00:19:53.425 --> 00:19:55.160
and learned about a
lot of the research.

00:19:55.160 --> 00:19:56.495
It might be counterintuitive,

00:19:56.495 --> 00:19:59.031
but learning more in English

00:19:59.031 --> 00:20:00.432
doesn't necessarily mean

00:20:00.432 --> 00:20:02.067
that students will
be more successful

00:20:02.067 --> 00:20:05.737
at learning and acquiring
proficiency in English.

00:20:05.737 --> 00:20:07.205
Actually having a really

00:20:07.205 --> 00:20:10.008
strong linguistic knowledge
in their native language

00:20:10.008 --> 00:20:13.378
is the thing that leads to
the most success for students.

00:20:13.378 --> 00:20:16.014
So when California
and other states

00:20:16.014 --> 00:20:18.050
outlawed bilingual education,

00:20:18.050 --> 00:20:19.551
it was terrible
for those students.

00:20:19.551 --> 00:20:21.086
And we saw it in
the test scores,

00:20:21.086 --> 00:20:23.655
and we saw it in their
affect in school,

00:20:23.655 --> 00:20:25.724
and how they could communicate
with their families,

00:20:25.724 --> 00:20:27.826
and how they could really
communicate in the world.

00:20:27.826 --> 00:20:30.629
- In 2008 when we
made Immersion,

00:20:30.629 --> 00:20:32.698
there were three
States in the country

00:20:32.698 --> 00:20:35.300
that had banned
bilingual education -

00:20:35.300 --> 00:20:39.071
California, Massachusetts
and Arizona.

00:20:39.071 --> 00:20:41.974
Those three States
accounted for 40%

00:20:41.974 --> 00:20:44.977
of the country's English
language learners.

00:20:44.977 --> 00:20:47.646
So 40% of the English
language learners could not...

00:20:47.646 --> 00:20:51.550
were not allowed to learn
in their native language.

00:20:51.550 --> 00:20:54.353
Fortunately since then, things
have improved quite a lot.

00:20:54.353 --> 00:20:57.789
California overturned
the English only law,

00:20:57.789 --> 00:20:59.558
and in Massachusetts as well.

00:20:59.558 --> 00:21:02.227
So now Arizona is the
only state left in the US

00:21:02.227 --> 00:21:03.795
with an English only law.

00:21:03.795 --> 00:21:05.230
Even in that state

00:21:05.230 --> 00:21:07.532
they've been winning
some important victories,

00:21:07.532 --> 00:21:09.534
but there's still a
lot of work to do.

00:21:09.534 --> 00:21:11.403
- When bilingual
education was outlawed,

00:21:11.403 --> 00:21:14.139
then there weren't as many
spots for teachers either,

00:21:14.139 --> 00:21:16.441
and now we don't have as
many bilingual teachers.

00:21:16.441 --> 00:21:18.644
So hopefully we are
ramping back up,

00:21:18.644 --> 00:21:20.979
so that we can have more
bilingual education programs

00:21:20.979 --> 00:21:22.347
for our students,

00:21:22.347 --> 00:21:24.483
and we have enough
teachers to play that role,

00:21:24.483 --> 00:21:25.784
that very important role,

00:21:25.784 --> 00:21:28.887
to develop our students
into their whole selves.

00:21:28.887 --> 00:21:30.889
Thanks so much for
watching Immersion,

00:21:30.889 --> 00:21:33.058
and we hope you can
spread the word as well.

00:21:33.058 --> 00:21:35.027
So check out our website
that has more links

00:21:35.027 --> 00:21:36.495
on how you can get involved.

00:21:36.495 --> 00:21:37.663
- To find out more,

00:21:37.663 --> 00:21:39.564
and for concrete
actions you can take,

00:21:39.564 --> 00:21:43.368
check out www.immersionfilm.com