The following PBS documentary videos have been added to the library’s catalog:
Tavis Smiley Reports, “Education under arrest”: Tavis takes his cameras to Washington State, Louisiana, Missouri, and California to present a narrative of what is working on the frontlines of reform in juvenile justice.
180 days : a year inside an American high school: Following the day-to-day stories of students, parents, teachers and staff at the Washington Metropolitan High School (also known as DC Met), 180 Days: Inside An American High School, is an intimate portrait of a public school that attempts to make a difference in the lives of students each and every day. Whether er they are preparing for college or becoming teen moms, the students at DC Met face many challenges with spirit and resilience and welcome us to challenge many of our own assumptions as we travel with the first graduating class to commencement. Led by a charismatic and outspoken young principal, DC Met invites us in for an unprecedented first-hand account of life inside of the school reform movement.
Kind hearted woman (Frontline): Acclaimed filmmaker David Sutherland (The Farmer’s Wife, Country Boys) returns to FRONTLINE with Kind Hearted Woman, a special two-part series that creates an unforgettable portrait of Robin Charboneau, a 32-year-old divorced single mother and Oglala Sioux woman living on North Dakota’s Spirit Lake Reservation. Sutherland follows Robin over three years as she struggles to raise her two children, further her education and heal herself from the wounds of sexual abuse she suffered as a child. Viewers first meet Charboneau as she trudges across Spirit Lake Reservation in minus-eight-degree weather, returning home after a 20-day stay in rehab. “Now I’m sober, and I’m really, really scared I’m going to start drinking again,” she says. The series follows Robin as she confronts the aftereffects of the sexual abuse she suffered as a child and fights to keep her family together through a custody battle with her ex-husband over their two children, Darian and Anthony — all while pursuing her dream of a college degree and a career as a social worker. When Robin’s daughter reveals that her father has sexually abused her, echoing Robin’s own childhood abuse, it ignites both emotional turmoil and a dramatic criminal trial in federal court, during which Darian will have to testify against her father.
What plants talk about (Nature): When we think about plants, we don’t often associate a term like “behavior” with them, but experimental plant ecologist J.C. Cahill wants to change that. The University of Alberta professor maintains that plants do behave and lead anything but solitary and sedentary lives. “They’re actively engaging with the environment in which they live,” Cahill insists. “They actively communicate. They actively respond to the nutrients, and the predators, and the herbivores that are around them. It’s a really dynamic system.” By exploring the fascinating behaviors of plant life, including the dodder vine, wild tobacco plant, and Douglas fir, What Plants Talk About teaches us all that plants are smarter and much more interactive than we thought!
In addition, other new PBS streaming videos have been added to the library’s catalog.
