Bank Street President Speaks on HBO Series
By Tom Kertes

In the new HBO reality series Kindergarten, filmmakers Kirk Simon and Karen Goodman let their camera tell the story of an Upper Nyack kindergarten class of five and six year olds over the course of a full school year.

“What we did here is the first cinema verite-style reality series ever made about kids – and for kids,” said Goodman, during a screening of one of the episodes that took place recently at the Museum of Television and Radio in NYC.

The screening, which attracted an audience of approximately 100, was followed by a panel discussion featuring Bank Street College President Augusta Souza Kappner.

“Kids at this age really do observe things that go on around them and have their opinions and feelings about those things,” said Kappner. “The depth of the conversations among the children on this show should not be a surprise to us.”

The reality element characterizing the series becomes evident through the conversations held by the children. For example, the episode included a scene where a blond little girl assures her friends during snack time that she “believes in God.” She proclaimed, “Really! My sister has a friend who says she doesn’t believe in God. Can you believe that? But I do.”

In another scene, a little girl with a strong personality, makes an elaborate plan to get her friend Tyree, who is “awfully shy and never says anything,” to talk. A few minutes after she celebrates her success, she gets her heart broken when two other girls exclude her from their play.

“The concept of kindergarten has changed quite a bit in recent years,” said Kappner. “Historically, we used to think of it as not much more than a place where kids of a certain young age go and play. But that’s not true any longer. Due to the diversity of kids and the standardized requirements in schools, kindergarten has really become a place where you get prepared for elementary school life.”

Kindergarten attempts to gives viewers a picture of the life of 23 bright kids. “This show is a gem that kids and adults should both enjoy and learn from,” said Kappner. “I’m anxious to see the rest of the episodes. This series could possibly become a wonderful teaching tool at Bank Street.”

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