Aspects of the movies that support social emotional learning and ethics instruction are also noted in TWM Learning Guides.
PACIFIC PALISADES, CA, September 09, 2024 /24-7PressRelease/ — James A. Frieden has been selected for inclusion in Marquis Who’s Who. As in all Marquis Who’s Who biographical volumes, individuals profiled are selected on the basis of current reference value. Factors such as position, noteworthy accomplishments, visibility, and prominence in a field are all taken into account during the selection process.
Mr. Frieden, along with Deborah W. Elliott, is a co-founder of TeachWithMovies.org, an innovative and popular site on the Internet (more than 600,000 visits per year) offering curriculum materials for more than 450 films.
Access to the site is free and there is no advertising. Mr. Frieden says, “TeachWithMovies is a way of giving back for the wonderful life that this country has allowed us to live.” Mr. Frieden and Ms. Elliott have been married for over 50 years. They have three sons: the oldest is a Commander in the United States Coast Guard Reserve, the second is a physician, and the third makes his living composing music. They have two granddaughters. Mr. Frieden has made his living as a trial lawyer.
For 25 years, Teachwithmovies.org has been a pioneer in the use of popular movies in education and now offers Learning Guides to:
• 250 films that support social studies, history, and civics education: fact-checking, suggesting ways to use the films in class;
• 100 movies to help English Language Arts (ELA) teachers demonstrate the basics of literary analysis such as metaphor, symbol, plot, character development, archetype, etc. in the screen media that students are accustomed to consuming;
• 60 films supporting science-technology education;
• And even 7 movies to support mathematics instruction.
The site includes films on other topics such as: Biography, Dance, the Environment, Health, Medicine, Music, Mythology, Religion, Science Fiction, Sports and Visual Arts.
Aspects of the movies that support social emotional learning and ethics instruction are also noted in TWM Learning Guides.
Parents also find the site useful. Each Learning Guide has a “Parenting Points” section. For example, filmmakers are experts at reaching our emotions to ensure that audiences are interested in their movies. Thus, a child who is not interested in a subject in school may become more interested after seeing a film on the topic. If a child is already interested in a topic, watching an appropriate movie will confirm and extend what he or she learns in class.
An example of the innovative ways that Mr. Frieden and Ms. Elliott suggest that teachers use film is shown by the Learning Guide to the movie Selma. This film is the definitive historical fiction account of the leadership of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., and passage of the Voting Rights Act of 1965. Many teachers will want to be able to use Selma to provide context and background for studying the Civil Rights Movement and the pivotal role of nonviolent mass action in bringing important changes to American society. While accurate in most respects and providing a strong portrayal of Dr. King, Selma gets one major fact glaringly wrong: the movie portrays President Lyndon B. Johnson as an opponent of the effort to pass the landmark 1965 Voting Rights Act. According to the film, LBJ was forced into supporting the law by Dr. King and his allies. “Not so” Mr. Frieden explains. “The historical record shows that LBJ and Dr. King were full partners in the effort, working hand in hand, with LBJ leading much of the effort to build support for the Voting Rights Act.”
How can teachers use this movie to good educational effect? Teachwithmovies.org suggests that instructors: (1) correct the error of the film, explaining that most good stories, including historical fiction, need a villain; and (2) use the movie to teach one of the main principals of nonviolent mass action or, as Mahatma Gandhi called it, Satyagraha, the most important political innovation of the 20th century.
The Learning Guide shows teachers that the film is actually only six years off in its description of Lyndon Johnson’s position on civil rights. Go back from 1964 to 1958. Lyndon Johnson is the powerful leader of the U.S. Senate. For 20 years he has been a member of Congress from Texas, which was not only a western state, but also a southern state in which African Americans were subjected to restrictive Jim Crow segregation. Until 1958 then Senator Lyndon Johnson has been an opponent, or at least not a friend, of the efforts of African Americans to gain equal treatment. However, in 1958 Johnson is running for President, a nation-wide office. By 1958, the Civil Rights Movement led by Dr. King has changed the national consensus so that no national candidate can oppose civil rights and have any hope of winning. So, Johnson starts to change his position, and as he does so, he realizes that the efforts of Black Americans to be included in “… all men are created equal, . . . endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights …” is something that he agrees with to the depths of his soul. And he loves it.
And so, for the rest of his career, as a Senator, candidate for the presidency, Vice-President, and then President, Lyndon Johnson does more than just speak out for civil rights. LBJ takes political risk after political risk to support civil rights for African Americans, and thereby created an enduring legacy. LBJ is an example of a basic principle of Satyagraha (nonviolent direct action): that the protesters will develop allies among some of the leaders of the society they are trying to change because the protesters base their demands for change on basic principles of the society. The TeachWithMovies.org Learning Guide to Selma shows teachers how to take the error of the film and turn it to educational advantage. See https://teachwithmovies.org/selma
Mr. Frieden and Ms. Elliott have given lectures and presentations on the use of movies in education at the 2019 conference of the National Council for the Social Studies, the 2020 conference of the California Council for the Social Studies; the 2007 convention of the National Council of Teachers of English; the 2007 Northeast Media Literacy Conference, University of Connecticut; and the 2007 California Teachers Association, Good Teaching Conference South.
In addition to his achievements in education, Mr. Frieden worked as a litigator in the trial and appellate courts in California and Massachusetts. He is a co-author (along with Paul G. Garrity, deceased) of “Massachusetts Standardized Civil Practice Forms,” Little Brown & Co, Boston, 1986, a four-volume set with computer disks to assist lawyers in Massachusetts to prepare motions for filing in court. Mr. Frieden earned his Bachelor of Arts from Brandeis University in 1971 and his Juris Doctor from Boston College Law School in 1975. He holds a Certificate in Secondary Education from National University.
Outside of his professional life, Mr. Frieden enjoys spending time with his family and walking for exercise. After 45 years of law practice, he plans to transition into retirement and spend his time advocating for a vegan diet, pursuing First Amendment litigation to support animal rights protesters who face obstacles from law enforcement, and, of course, continue with TeachWithMovies.org.
About Marquis Who’s Who®:
Since 1899, when A. N. Marquis printed the First Edition of Who’s Who in America®, Marquis Who’s Who® has chronicled the lives of the most accomplished individuals and innovators from every significant field of endeavor, including politics, business, medicine, law, education, art, religion and entertainment. Who’s Who in America® remains an essential biographical source for thousands of researchers, journalists, librarians and executive search firms around the world. The suite of Marquis® publications can be viewed at the official Marquis Who’s Who® website, www.marquiswhoswho.com.
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