From the Heart of Teaching & Learning

Who could have possibly conceived of the idea that hundreds of Oakwood families would gather in our gym on a Sunday afternoon in February to watch the screening of a serious contender for the Academy Award for Best Documentary Short? What an indescribable thrill to witness the accolades from across the globe, not just for the powerful and stunning achievement of the film, but also for the students, and their exceptional teacher, who gave this project life.

And yet, while it’s impossible not to feel astonished and overjoyed at their accomplishments, it’s also important to remember the remarkable educational journey that our students have taken. It’s a journey that’s unique to Oakwood – first, because it grew out of a trusting relationship between a gifted teacher and her students where all of them learned together; second, because it embraced the girls’ parents as full partners who’ve been devoted not just to their daughters but also to a vital cause; and third, because from the outset, the moral compass that’s guided this journey has pointed toward fundamental human rights and the educational partnership that’s transformed so many impassioned and courageous girls both in North Hollywood and in Hapur village outside Delhi, 8,000 miles from Oakwood.

None of us would be here today were it not for the fact that in 2013 an inspired English teacher, serving as advisor to our Girls Learn International chapter, travelled with several of our students to attend the United Nations 56th Commission on the Status of Women. That was where they were startled at first, and then captured, by a moral problem that was global in scope: the cultural taboos around menstruation and the consequent deprivation of a woman’s basic human right to education. It was where they learned about Muruganantham’s invention of a machine that would enable women to make sanitary products. And, yes, it was where that English teacher first imagined the utterly absurd notion of making a documentary to tell this story, to mobilize action, and to do all this in collaboration with generations of Oakwood students. No words could ever be adequate to thank Melissa Berton.

But Melissa, herself, is the first to shine the spotlight on others – especially the many students (several of whom are now alumnae) who’ve devoted themselves to this labor of love and purpose that’s been unmistakably political and intensely personal. Our students have been unfailingly ardent and eloquent, and they’ve been honest about, and vulnerable to, the complicated and difficult cultural challenges they’ve confronted. As they’ve learned about their counterparts in another corner of the world, they’ve learned about themselves as well. And in the process, they’ve reminded us of a goal at the heart of an Oakwood education: not just to inspire students but to be inspired by them in return. Genuine reciprocity is at the heart of teaching and learning.

Finally, from Oakwood’s earliest days, the school has flourished because of our partnership with parents. Without that partnership, Period. End of Sentence. could never have come to fruition. Although I wish I could thank them all by name, I do want to gratefully acknowledge Oakwood’s three producers, each of whose daughters – all now Oakwood alumnae – remains devoted to this project: Melissa Berton, whose daughter Helen is on our panel after the film; Lisa Taback, whom the industry knows as the “Oscar Whisperer” but we know as Claire Sliney’s mother; and the incredibly talented parent and alumnus who brought in Rayka, the gifted young director, who oversaw all aspects of shooting, and, most importantly, who is Ruby’s father: Garrett Schiff.

It’s my special pleasure to introduce one of the film’s executive producers, Anissa Siegel, whose daughter Avery is a Pad Project alumna, and who also happens to be a former co-president of our Parent Organization. Without her seminal role in managing both Kickstarter campaigns that funded this whole miraculous journey – and I’ve just scratched the surface of her many roles – Period. End of Sentence. might never have gotten off the ground, much less taken flight.