Oscar Contender ‘Young Plato’ Stars Dynamic School Principal Kevin McArevey, Who Teaches Kids In Northern Ireland How To Question Violence
14.12.2022 - 19:25
/ deadline.com
Young Plato comes last, alphabetically, on the list of documentaries qualified for Oscar consideration this year. But it may come in first in the hearts of many Documentary Branch voters as they cast their ballots determining the feature shortlist.
The film directed by Neasa Ní Chianáin and Declan McGrath follows the dynamic principal of the Holy Cross Boys Primary School in Northern Ireland, who has shown remarkable success teaching philosophy to boys ages 4 to 11. If that sounds impossible, you have to see Kevin McArevey in action.
“To find yourself think for yourself!” McArevey quotes Socrates in a pinned tweet on his Twitter feed. That ancient bit of wisdom is the crux of what he imparts to his pupils, gently guiding them to use their minds to work out difficult questions instead of passively adopting another person’s conclusions.
The headmaster gathers students into what he calls a Socratic Circle, then offers them a conundrum to ponder, for instance, “Should you ever take your anger out on someone else?”
“Once he puts the question out there, he steps out of the circle,” Chianáin tells Deadline, “and he allows the children to talk it out among themselves, which is much more powerful, because obviously the children learn from each other. He always makes it very clear to the children there is no wrong answer. And I think that gives them a greater sense of freedom. They’re not afraid of getting it wrong.”
There’s another thing McArevey and his colleagues do that distinguishes their approach.
“What I witnessed from Kevin and the staff is that they listened to the children. They really listened,” Chianáin notes. “They gave them that space, and they heard them, which is something that is not really that common, because