Pay It Forward
Movie Reviewby: Mark Mattison, American University

Reflection Activity

1. The Pay It Forward Foundation, through payitforwardfoundation.org, was established in September 2000 to educate and inspire young students to realize that they can change the world, and provide them with opportunities to do so. By bringing Catherine Ryan Hyde's (the author of the book upon which the movie was based) vision and related materials into classrooms, students and teachers are encouraged to formulate their own ideas of how they can pay it forward. To date, the Foundation has provided grants in funds and/or materials to hundreds of schools in the U.S. and throughout the word. Pay It Forward Foundation grants encourage and empower children to believe in their abilities to shape the future.

The authors of the site recognize that the material in the book may not be appropriate for all ages. They have, however, selected excerpts of varying lengths appropriate for different age groups outlining and giving example to the ideas put forward in the book. Educational resources, including project ideas, activity plans, and suggestions for incorporating the project into the curriculum are provided. These would be resources that I, as a teacher, could use.

This movie inspired me, both as an individual and as a future teacher. As a citizen of this planet, I wanted to follow Trevor’s lead and do my little part to make the world a better place. Through the eyes of a teacher, I was reminded at the power behind every word that I will say and each lesson I will teach. If I were to use this lesson in a class of mine, I would hope that they too would be inspired in the same ways. I’d like for them to think about the interconnection between people and between seemingly unrelated events. To me that is one of the most important messages of this story and concept. It’s easy enough to see the immediate results of our actions, and that’s important to recognize. Of more importance though, I believe, and much more difficult to see without reflection, are the ripple effects of each of our words and actions.

2. Like most technology, the use of video in the classroom is what you as a teacher (or parent) make of it - a help or a hindrance, a useful assistant or an enabling crutch. One of the benefits of using video include that it can take students places to see and experience things they could not otherwise easily see or do. Videos can lend a credible voice to your lesson, or help convey a mood or feeling through a dramatic representation. Seeing things more clearly, hearing things in a different way, or being asked to interact with a program can help students receive and process information in the style in which they learn best. On the negative side, a video can be a waste of time if information is not presented in a clear and interesting way. They can also be used, inappropriately, as a babysitter. Just as parents have done, a busy, tired, or lazy teacher can stick in a video not to present new or supportive material, but to keep the students attention occupied while they do other things or take a break. And finally, a video that has not been pre-screened and evaluated can contain material that is either age inappropriate, or which presents ideas and information contrary to what is being taught.

3. I think it is very important to try to help students deal with the issues this film addresses: student-on-student violence, family alcoholism, domestic abuse, and parental separation. I think that because this film’s main character is an eleven year old and a middle school student, it would have the most impact on students in that same age group. Unfortunately, neither Pay it Forward the book nor the movie was made for children. Not because of the issues presented, but because of how it is presented, it may not be appropriate to show in a classroom of children younger than sixteen or seventeen. I would be more comfortable having a child watch and talk about it with a parent. If I were to use it in the classroom, it would not be to deal with these issues, but would instead be to focus on the pay it forward philosophy. If I were to use it to address social issues, I would only show parts of it, not the whole.

Follow-up Activity:Admittedly, this is not the high-tech of suggestions. My idea is, however, very practical and easy to implement on many levels. I call it Pennies from Heaven, and here’s all it takes: Start a class piggy bank. Ask students to start one of their own at home. Parents can get involved by starting their own and by keeping a separate one at work and asking their coworkers to participate. Find a penny, pick it up, add it to the pot. Return bottles and cans for recycling, add the money to the pot. Cash in rebate coupons, add the refund to the pot. The concept is built around found money and excess – all that we have that is above and beyond what we need. Each week the teacher will deposit the money into a class account, keeping a visual representation posted in the classroom so that the class is always aware of how much they have collected. Throughout the course of the year as social issues are discussed, ideas are generated as to possible recipients of the funds. An emphasis will be placed on foreign need, and the value of the bank will be tracked at different rates of exchange so that they can see the value and impact their dollars can make in other countries. The Internet can be used to acquire news items and the value of the U.S. dollar abroad. At the end of the year, or as more urgent need arises, the class will decide as a group to whom (an individual, a family, an organization) they will give the money.