Bullying and violence against transitioning children and youth within the Canadian educational system still continues to be a serious cause of stress for children. This paper supports a short documentary film (29 minutes), which includes interviews with children, parents, and teachers about a weeklong program called Gender Splendour that has been held for the past seven years at The Grove Community School in Toronto. Amid workshops during a week in April, non-binary-conforming and cisgender identifying children have the opportunity to ponder, question, and defy gender stereotypes, which are prevalent in society, culture, and the media. A background of the director of the film informs his trajectory as an activist communicator. In addition, some of his inspirational sources are included. Notions playing in the documentary related to activism, reflexive ethnography, performativity, and participatory dynamics, are explained. Producing a documentary on the subjects of sexuality and children surely poses difficulties related to ethics, consent, and representation, on which the author comments.
Exploring the Impact of a Community School Reform Initiative on the Literacy Achievement of Middle Level English Language Learners