Edhat Staff
(Photos: Fritz Olenberger)
By edhat staff
The Santa Barbara International Film Festival’s (SBIFF) educational program, Mike’s Field Trip to the Movies, showed local school kids a special screening of Frozen 2.
On Tuesday approximately 2,000 students from 14 schools, most designated as Title 1 schools, filled the Arlington Theater for the highly anticipated animated sequel.
Named for late nature cinematographer and local activist Mike deGruy, Mike’s Field Trip to the Movies uses filmmaking to stimulate creative, confident, and culturally aware thinkers. The program is offered to 4,000 4th, 5th, and 6th grade students from throughout Santa Barbara County, and SBIFF provides free transportation to students from Title I schools.
This should never be a school activity. Why is promotion of a business enterprise such as a commercial theater and a company as wealthy as Disney considered worth taking time from a school day? If such things are offered couldn’t they be when we are not paying educators to teach kids? Just pass out a free ticket or something. (And please do not tell me this was a documentary!)
Agree with RHS in that this activity should not have been done during school hours.
AS IF they don’t watch movies on phones and tablets and TVs. Frozen 2 !!! Hardly educational. If you are going to organize transportation and take kids out of a school day I think the Zoo or the Art Museum would be far more worthy of the effort. Make it a real life experience, not more media.