Below are author-suggested movie and television clips that correspond with concepts found throughout the chapters. Think about the topics included in parentheses following each description while you watch the movie or television show. Happy viewing

» Chapter 1: Family Involvement and the Beginning Educator

Soul Food
The family tradition of a Sunday dinner of soul food stops when the family matriarch is hospitalized. Clips from this movie can lead to a discussion of personal family experiences while growing up and their influence upon beliefs and practices. (Influence of family experiences upon teacher’s beliefs about family / Self-assessment for new teachers)

October Sky
With the encouragement of a teacher and his mother, a boy from a coal mining town builds a homemade rocket and enters a science competition, against the wishes of his father. The movie presents examples of both benefits and barriers in family involvement. (Benefits and barriers to successful family involvement)

Baby Boom
Although released in 1987, the movie’s depiction of a working single mom struggling to juggle the corporate world and a baby is still relevant for discussions about today’s families. (Current trends in family demographics)

» Chapter 2: Theories and Models for Family Involvement in Schools

Riding in Cars with Boys
Numerous examples of family systems concepts are illustrated in this movie of a young man’s flashbacks about growing up with a single mother. (Characteristics of a system)

Everybody Loves Raymond
Family systems concepts are comically presented by different family members in this television series, including family roles, bonding and buffering. (Characteristics of a system)

» Chapter 3: Family Support Strategies and Standards Promoting Collaborative Practices

Hoosiers
A basketball coach gives one of his player’s alcoholic father a coaching job and a sense of self-respect, demonstrating principles of the family support model. (Family support model)

» Chapter 4: Parenting Today’s Children

Leave It To Beaver / Cosby Show / Roseanne / Married With Children
Clips from these different television shows of parent / child interactions can provide a contrast in parenting styles. (Parenting styles)

Parenthood
This movie illustrates the difficulties of raising children and provides a contrast of differing parenting styles and how they affect children’s behavior. (Effects of parenting styles on a child’s behavior)

» Chapter 5: Structurally Diverse Families

You’ve Got Mail
The scene where Kathleen Kelly (Meg Ryan) meets Joe Fox (Tom Hanks) and accompanying children, Annabelle and Matt, provides a classic description of today’s structurally diverse families, when Fox explains: “Matthew is my father's son, Annabelle is my grandfather's daughter. We are... an American family!” (Today’s American families)

ET
In the background of this movie about an alien visitor is the story of divorce, a single mom, and a child trying to understand the loss of his father in his life. (Single-parent families)

Mrs. Doubtfire
The movie provides discussion opportunities relating to topics such as father’s visitation rights and how teachers can support children and parents during custody battles. (Suggestions for families experiencing a divorce)

» Chapter 6: Culturally Diverse Families

My Big Fat Greek Wedding
In addition to offering numerous examples of how a family operates as a system, the movie also illustrates the influence of culture upon a family’s worldview and the cultural clash that can occur when a child in the family seeks to marry someone outside the culture (What is culture?)

Fools Rush In
This movie illustrates cultural differences in families when an Anglo-European man marries a Latino woman. (Similarities and differences among diverse families)

Bend It Like Beckham
This movie demonstrates how a family’s religious beliefs impact childrearing and the difficulties that arise when a child wants to participate in an activity (soccer) that goes against her family’s East Indian Sikh religious and cultural traditions. (Diversity in family religious practices)

» Chapter 7: Students of Families in Transition

Stepmom
This movie demonstrates several difficult family transitions for children and parents, such as divorce, a parent dating and remarrying, chronic illness and death (Characteristics of difficult family transitions)

Parent Trap
This Disney movie demonstrates the typical fantasy of children with divorced parents, who dream that their parents will one day remarry (Students of families undergoing separation, divorce, and remarriage)

Coming Home: When Parents Return From War (Nicklelodeon)
While this video documentary is for children, it can also help preservice teachers understand family dynamics and children’s reactions during war (Students with parents in the military)

I Am Sam
A mentally retarded father loses custody of his daughter to the foster care system and fights to regain custody, leading to discussions of judging parents’ capabilities, as well as the foster care system. (Students in foster care)

» Chapter 8: Families Overcoming Obstacles

The Pursuit of Happyness
This movie, based upon a true story, depicts a father and son struggling with poverty and homelessness (Families overcoming poverty; Students experiencing homelessness)

» Chapter 9: Families in Abusive Situations

Goodwill Hunting
Flashback scenes from Will Hunting’s (Matt Damon) therapy sessions with psychologist Sean Maguire (Robin Williams) shows the life of a severely abused child (Types of child abuse and neglect)

Kindergarten Cop
John Kimble (Arnold Schwarzenegger), a police officer masquerading as a kindergarten teacher, takes matters into his own hands with an abusive parent when he punches him outside the school; the scene offers a discussion opportunity about the role of teachers in child and spousal abuse situations. (The role of the teacher in reporting child abuse)

» Chapter 10: Teacher as Classroom Family Involvement Practitioner

Everybody Loves Raymond: Homework
This episode demonstrates how parents may view excessive homework when 5th grade Ally has a number of assignments that Ray (Ray Romano), Debra (Patricia Heaton) and other parents question at an Open House gathering, leading to Ray addressing the school board about the value of homework. (Homework and home learning activities)

» Chapter 11: Teacher as Family Communication Facilitator

Pay it Forward
A hostile parent-teacher meeting, with mistakes made by both the parent and teacher, can be used for a discussion on effective reciprocal communication and active listening strategies (Informal conferences; Nonverbal communication; Active listening strategies)

Everybody Loves Raymond: Ally’s F
Conferences with Ally’s 6th grade math teacher do not go well when Ray and Debra meet with him to discuss her poor math grade. (Barriers to effective communication)

» Chapter 12: Working With Families of Children with Special Needs

Mask
A mother of a son with a serious facial deformity is determined that he is given the same chances for happiness and success as everyone else. (Helping families adjust to having a child with a disability)

The Other Sister
A mother struggles with allowing her young adult daughter to be independent, and clashes with other family members and the school’s administrator about what is best for her child (Helping families adjust to having a child with a disability)

The Miracle Worker
Teacher, Anne Sullivan, disagrees with Helen Keller’s parents about discipline and how to teach Helen, and risks losing her job when she defies them (Helping families adjust to having a child with a disability).

Little Man Tate
The movie shows the tensions between a single mother of an intellectually gifted eight year old boy and the director of a program for gifted children, with the mother determined that his genius abilities not overshadow that he is a child (Working with families of gifted and talented students)

» Chapter 13: Teacher as a Family Resource and Advocate

Overboard
A scene with a teacher who uses educational jargon and a condescending tone, when discussing children’s poor test results with their “mother,” Annie Proffitt (Goldie Hawn), offers a good discussion springboard of what it means for teachers to be a “family resource and advocate” and how to develop parent leaders. (Asset-based and family-centered partnerships)

Everybody Loves Raymond: Homework
In addition to relating to the topic of homework, this episode also depicts some parents’ reluctance to get involved as leaders in a school, such as serving on a parent advisory council or school board. (Developing family leaders)

» Chapter 14: Preparing for Family Events

Full House: The First Day of School / Cosby Show: First Day of School
Both episodes from these 80’s sitcoms demonstrate different ways that children and parents respond to the first day of school and can lead to a discussion about effective Back to School family events that can ease the transition of starting a new school year for children of varying ages. (Back-to-School Events; Transition Events)

» Chapter 15: Schoolwide Family Involvement Activities

Everybody Loves Raymond: The Angry Family episode
Ray and Debra meet with the school counselor and priest after they realize that their constant bickering and screaming is affecting their young son. (Resource personnel to support families)

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