Rethink, Reform, Rebuild, Reanimate
Lots of parents in LA are talking about Waiting for "Superman," Davis Guggenheim's scathing portrait of public education, and many most likely watched in horror last week when School Pride aired, with a portrait of Compton's Enterprise Middle School in total disrepair. If you're wondering about next steps, the Waiting for "Superman's" website links to news and specific strategies for reform, and Guggenheim also points to another platform for school reform with Redu. Indeed, Guggenheim lent his voice to a terrific short animation created by the Brooklyn-based design firm Hunter/Gatherer.The clever short uses stop-motion animation and wooden blocks that you might find in your child's kindergarten classroom to tell a story of the steady decline in education, ending with a plea for involvement. Redu's tagline is "rethink, reform, rebuild education," and it's a great sign that the effort understands the power of visual communication, and knows to turn to design geniuses like Hunter/Gatherer for assistance.