School Revolution 1918-1939
[Rewolucja Szkoła 1918-1939], directed by Joanna Grudzińska, France 2016, 52'
The film, based on unique archives, tells the story of the struggle for a "new school."
In a traumatized Europe, after the First World War, educators believe that a world without violence is possible. In France, Austria, Great Britain, Poland, the USSR and Italy, people such as Maria Montessori, Celestin Freinet, Ovide Decroly, Janusz Korczak as well as Alexander Neill change their thinking about education deeply, placing the child in its center. Acting against the established patterns of the wounded and rigid societies in which they live, they try to come up with a different school. The Swiss educator Adolphe Ferrière appoints the International League for New Education, modeled after the League of Nations. Twenty years later, when the heated debate of the League turns into a well-established division of pragmatists and idealists, with the advent of the totalitarian regime, the dream of change breaks down and ultimately becomes thwarted at the beginning of the new war.
Although this dream—about progressive education—was smashed by the totalitarian ideologies of the 20th century, its echo resonates within the walls of modern schools louder than ever; because now education is at the center of every social and political project.
The film is being presented as part of a cooperation between the Ujazdowski Castle Centre for Contemporary Art and the Biennale Warszawa. The event accompanies the exhibition Touch the Art, the educational series Teacher in the Center and Let's Organize Our Future Revolution School 1918-1939 – Biennale Warszawa 2019 / Endless Space.
