In a single-room Bushwick storefront, one man is fighting to give the children of New York’s hispanic immigrant community a chance at a better education. What started as a Saturday afternoon reading group in Stephen Haff's narrow Brooklyn apartment has turned into an inspiring after school program that is teaching ESOL kids reading, creative writing, and Latin. Now, filmmaker Peter Gordon is crowdfunding a documentary about Haff’s vision.
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Fed up with New York’s public education system, Haff opened Still Waters in a Storm with the hopes of creating a sanctuary for his community's underprivileged youth. Six years later, Still Waters is struggling to stay afloat. Still Waters, the film, looks at Haff’s life and philosophies on education, as well as the program's day-to-day operations. Of course, the documentary is set against the backdrop of the egregious Brooklyn gentrification that is pushing these kids' families out of their homes.
Haff believes the public school system is failing these children. Drawing from his experience teaching at a high school in Bushwick during the early 90s, he recognizes how New York's public education not only ignores creative work, but actively discourages it in some schools. As a result, mindful reading and creative writing have become integral proponents of the Still Waters curriculum. Still Waters now fills a classroom of students ages 5 to 15, Monday though Thursday after school. Haff has them write about a range of issues: “One week the children might write an 'Ode to A Pizza,' the next about their biggest fears: poverty, violence at home, or how it feels to be an immigrant in a rapidly gentrifying Bushwick.” One girl says, of her experience in Haff’s class, “I didn’t think I was good enough for anything. He taught me how many ways to take that all that stress out, all that darkness out and by writing it in stories.” The program’s special Saturday sessions has attracted guest speakers including award-winning novelists Michael Ondaatje, Zadie Smith, and Peter Carey.
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Community building and mutual respect are critical to the Still Waters philosophy. “We are like our own little village, where everybody takes care of everybody,” says Haff. "Everyone listens to everyone.” The film not only seeks to give the program and its families a voice, but to demonstrate how creative learning can help a young person better understand their environment. Brief interviews with the children show how perceptive they are to the changes happening in their community. One student says, “I don't want to be racist, but there’s some white people coming from Manhattan to Brooklyn. And mostly they want more money.” Another remarks, “I have a landlord that wants to take us out for good.” Haff says the children feel exposed as Latin Americans in their community. “They see the anxiety,” Haff says.
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