These best educational documentaries on Netflix streaming in 2015 are a must see for all teachers and parents. Some of them reveal the weaknesses of our educational system. Some show us the challenges children around the world face in order to obtain an education. What they all have in common is that we can learn from them and be inspired by their stories. They will show us that some of the things we take for granted are in fact very precious to other people and that education isn’t accessible to everyone.
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They also address glaring shortcomings of our own educational system. The constant pressure by parents and schools on children to perform is having a detrimental effect not only on their childhood (as if that wasn’t bad enough), but also on, ironically, stated educational goals.
To rank the best educational documentaries on Netflix streaming in 2015, we had to devise a system. Going simply by IMDb rating just wouldn’t cut it, although we did include it in our final ranking. We also scoured dozen of lists on most popular sites to get an accurate feel of public opinion. We mixed it all together and came up with a genuine Insider Monkey ranking like we did with the best Christian documentaries on Netflix streaming in 2015. We hope that this methodology is really providing you with the best documentaries on the particular topic that can be watched on Netflix. Feel free to share your opinion about it.
11. If You Build It
Site rank 3, IMDb rank 1; Overall Score = 4
Directed by Patrick Creadon
Bertie County is North Carolina’s poorest county. Bertie Early College High School reflects the condition of the rest of the county. But what happens when teachers try to involve school kids in the life of their neighborhood? A newly minted shop class, dubbed Studio H, tried to do just that. Starting from water purifiers and moving on to bigger projects like chicken coops, children in shop class finally reached a stage where they can design and build their masterpiece – a fully-fledged farmer’s market. The movie depicts one of the most vulnerable communities in America at its finest and shows us that, with a proper idea and guidance, school kids can make a significant contribution.
10. Race to Nowhere
Site rank 2, IMDb rank 3; Overall Score = 5
Directed by Vicki Abeles and Jessica Congdon
Whether it is grades, sports or community activism, school children in America today are expected to perform. And if they are serious about their future, their performance needs to be top-notch. If they plan on getting into a good college, all aspects of their lives must be perfect. Race to Nowhere explains just what exactly does that mean and the toll it takes on them. The constant pressure and zero tolerance for mistakes make for a very unhappy childhood, yet the race continues. Still, despite all the effort these kids pour into their studies, the key skills like critical thinking and problem solving take the back seat to the need to perform.
9. American Promise
Site rank 5, IMDb rank 2; Overall Score = 7
Directed by Joe Brewster and Michele Stephenson
American Promise took 14 years to make. Joe Brewster and Michele Stephenson’s son Idris and his best friend Seun are accepted into a prestigious Manhattan Dalton prep school. Idris and Seun try to reconcile two halves of their lives, a predominately white school environment and their African-American roots and neighborhood. The achievement gap in education that cripples African-American children in America provides the backdrop and sets the tone of the movie.
8. Resolved
Site rank 1, IMDb rank 7; Overall Score = 8
Directed by Greg Whiteley
Greg Whiteley’s Resolved offers us a glimpse into a world of high school debate teams. It follows to debate teams, one from Highland Park High School in Texas and the other from Jordan High School in California. The first team is using a traditional debating technique, known as spreading, where debaters fire as much as 400 words per minute. Jordan High uses a different approach. Inspired by Paulo Freire’s Pedagogy of the Oppressed, they argue that spreading is harmful to the spirit of debate. Their debate coach Dave Wiltz, who introduced them to Freire’s work, fully supports them in their endeavor to qualify for the tournament of champions.
7. Approaching the Elephant
Site rank 4, IMDb rank 5; Overall Score = 9
Directed by Amanda Wilder
Approaching the Elephant is very aptly named. The title is based on an old anecdote of three blind men trying to determine what elephant is by touching him. Depending on their approach, all three draw a different conclusion. The film does the same to us. It is documenting a year in a free school in New Jersey, called the Teddy McArdle Free School. There are no rules here, except those made by teachers and kids jointly. If you don’t like a subject, you don’t have to learn it. But how does this small society copes when a truly disruptive element in a form of a spoiled boy is introduced? The film uses fly on the wall approach and it doesn’t make any judgments. There is no narration and all conclusion we make (or don’t make) are our own, not Amanda Wilder’s, which seems to be her intention. The school has been since closed, which may serve as a final judgment on its approach to education.
6. The Wolfpack
Site rank 6, IMDb rank 4; Overall Score = 10
Directed by Crystal Moselle
The idea of homeschooling and children isolated from the outside world is usually associated with a lone homestead in remote rural location. The notion that a family with seven children can do it in one of the most densely populated areas on the planet is somewhat disturbing. The Angulo family did just that. They brought up their kids (6 sons and a daughter) in an apartment in Manhattan’s Lower East Side in complete isolation from the rest of the world. Their only window were the movies and their way of coping with their situation was reenacting the scenes from them and creating new stories for their favorite characters.
5. Girls Rising
Site rank 9, IMDb rank 6; Overall Score = 15
Directed by Richard Robbins
Some of the things people in developed countries take for granted can be very challenging for other parts of the world. One of them is girls’ education. The story follows nine girls from Afghanistan, Egypt, Peru, Nepal, India, Sierra Leone, Ethiopia, Cambodia and Haiti in their struggle to obtain an education in the face of oppression, child slavery, and arranged marriages. Each one of them is changing the world, one girl at a time, by fighting for their right not just to education, but to dream and hope and striving for better life. The movie has inspired a global initiative with the same name, aimed at providing education for girls everywhere.
4. On the Way to School
Site rank 7, IMDb rank 9; Overall Score = 16
Directed by Pascal Plisson
Getting to school can be more complicated (and far more dangerous) than simply getting into a school bus. For these children (Jackson from Kenya, Carlito from Argentina, Zahira from Morrocco and Samuel from India) it involves riding a horse, wading rivers, crossing treacherous mountain paths or traversing African savannas populated by lions and elephants. Yet, their minds aren’t concerned with the dangers on their way to school. The only thing that worries them is getting there on time. On the Way to School will make you question all the things you take for granted.
3. Mad Hot Ballroom
Site rank 8, IMDb rank 10; Overall Score = 18
Directed by Marilyn Agrelo
Ballroom dancing isn’t part of many curriculums around the world. After seeing this movie, you’ll wonder why is that. The story follows children from Tribeca, Bensonhurst and Washington Heights neighborhoods of New York. Some of them can’t speak English and dancing lessons serve as an excellent language learning and integration tool for them. The movie won several awards, among them Best Documentary at Karlovy Vary International Film Festival and Audience Award at Philadelphia Film Festival.
2. Brooklyn Castle
Site rank 11, IMDb rank 8; Overall Score = 19
Directed by Katie Dellamaggiore
With 70% of its students living below poverty line, Brooklyn’s Intermediate School 318 isn’t exactly how one would picture a chess champions’ breeding ground, but that is exactly what this school is. In the last decade, it has won more chess competitions than any other school in the country. It is the first middle school in history that won United States Chess Federation’s high school championship. In the way these kids cope with their daily life and school obligations, facing budget cuts that limit their tournament participation, they show us why in their school cool kids are part of the chess club.
1. All American High
Site rank 10, IMDb rank 11; Overall Score = 21
Directed by Keva Rosenfeld
What happens when a Finnish exchange student is plunged into the 1980’s typical American high school? “Rikki” Rauhala narrates the film and in the process reveals the suburban life her American counterparts live in a very entertaining and humorous way. The movie made noted appearances on several international movie festivals, from Sundance to Hong Kong. It is the oldest movie on our list and the best educational documentaries on Netflix streaming in 2015. It has also spun a sequel, All American High Revisited.
