Discovering Gloria

Discovering Gloria
Directed by Boaz Dvir
Release dates
 2013
Running time
 40 minutes
Country United States
Language English

Discovering Gloria is a 2013 documentary by filmmaker Boaz Dvir. The documentary tells the story of Gloria Jean Merriex, an innovative inner-city schoolteacher who died of a diabetic stroke shortly after receiving a W.K. Kellogg Foundation grant to share her teaching breakthroughs on a national level.

The documentary captures Merriex’s transformation into an educational innovator and shows her engaging her math, reading and science students at the most effective levels through her innovations, which included hip-hop and dance routines.[1][2]

Synopsis

Gloria Jean Merriex was an average teacher at Duval Elementary School in Gainesville, Fla., until her students failed the Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test in 2002. This prompted her to overhaul her teaching methods and approach. Along with her colleagues, Merriex helped make great changes to the overall curriculum at the school.

Discovering Gloria – which north-central Florida's PBS station, WUFT, plans to air and make available to all public broadcasting stations around the country in fall 2014 – focuses on Merriex’s transformation by way of archival footage and interviews with her students, family, and colleagues.[3][4][5][6]

In one of those interviews, Prof. Elizabeth Bondy – director of the University of Florida College of Education’s School of Teaching and Learning who studied Merriex's methods – described how and why Merriex broke vital new ground.

"She didn't move to using music because she studied Howard Gardner's work about multiple intelligences," Bondy says in the documentary. "She moved to using music and movement and the other strategies that she used because she studied her students."

Discovering Gloria shows how Merriex helped Duval Elementary leap from an F on the Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test in 2002 to an A the following year.

Reception

Nearly 500 people – including many of Merriex's former students – attended the film's screening in September 2013 at her home community of East Gainesville. The post-screening panel discussion featured Bondy along with University of Texas Assistant Prof. Emily Bonner, Alachua County School Board Member Leanetta McNealy, and UF College of Education Associate Dean for Research Thomasenia Adams.[7][8]

In her book Unearthing Culturally Responsive Mathematics Teaching, Emily Bonner described the documentary as "compelling."[9]

In her op-ed in the St. Augustine Record, Pam Thor called Discovering Gloria a "fabulous documentary" and urged all teachers and policymakers to watch it.[10]

In her article in The Gainesville Sun about the documentary’s first screening, Aida Mallard wrote that Discovering Gloria brings Gloria Jean Merriex "to life." [11]

Former Alachua County Public Schools Superintendent Dan Boyd said this "powerful" documentary gives people around the country an "opportunity to learn about Gloria’s methods and her many contributions to education."

Notes

Discovering Gloria's director and producer, Dvir, also directed and produced Jessie's Dad, an award-winning documentary that captures Mark Lunsford's transformation from an uneducated truck driver to an effective child-protection activist.

References

  1. ↑ Lane, Marcia. "From failure, filmmaker finally discovered Gloria". St Augustine Record. Retrieved 10 June 2014.
  2. ↑ Hahn, Katherine. "With ‘Discovering Gloria,’ UF filmmaker Boaz Dvir explores late teacher’s life". Gainesville.com. Retrieved 10 June 2014.
  3. ↑ University of Florida College of Education. "Award-winning documentary filmmaker shines a light on innovative inner-city teacher". education.ufl.edu. COE News. Retrieved 9/4/13. Check date values in: |accessdate= (help)
  4. ↑ Thieke, James. "Duval Teacher to be Honored for Memorable Work". wuft.org. WUFT. Retrieved 2013-09-18.
  5. ↑ Mallard, Aida. "Documentary pays tribute to Gloria Merriex". gainesville.com. The Gainesville Sun. Retrieved 2013-09-18.
  6. ↑ Jester, Erin. "Documentary pays tribute to teaching icon Gloria Merriex". gainesville,com. The Gainesville Sun. Retrieved 2013-09-21.
  7. ↑ Lastinger Center for Learning. "Discovering Gloria".
  8. ↑ Mallard, Aida. "Master Teacher: The Late Gloria Merriex Comes to Life During Documentary Premiere". gainesville.com. The Gainesville Sun. Retrieved 10/3/13. Check date values in: |accessdate= (help)
  9. ↑ Bonner, Emily P (2010). Unearthing Culturally Responsive Mathematics Teaching: The Legacy of Gloria Jean Merriex. Hamilton Books. p. 66. ISBN 0761853995. Retrieved 10 June 2014.
  10. ↑ Thor, Pam. "Let's see More Innovation in Teaching". staugustine.com. The St. Augustine Record. Retrieved 2013-10-14.
  11. ↑ Mallard, Aida. "Master teacher: The late Gloria Merriex comes to life during documentary premiere". gainesville.com. The Gainesville Sun. Retrieved 10/3/13. Check date values in: |accessdate= (help)