To Kanarini Podilato

The maybe biggest question for teachers in primary schools is how to deal with the on first glance not so smart students. It has proven to be a big problem, especially in primary school where the basics are learned that often one or two students stay behind without a chance. How wrong it is, to judge students only out of the lessons, and to not give them a chance, is impressively shown in the movie “To kanarini Podilato”.

The movie “To kanarini Podilato”, in English “the yellow bicycle”, is a movie from the greek director Dimitris Stavrakas released in 1999, which’s storyline revolves around a true story. It plays at a primary school in Athens, and is about the young teacher Aris, played by Dimitris Alexandris, who starts new at this school. There he early realizes that one kid in his class, Lefteris (Giorgos Halaris), who is about 8 years old, is not even able to read or write and is also openly made fun of. He tries to get to know the kid better and starts giving him private lessons, because he is sure of his potential. But the teachers and especially the headmaster don`t support him, because they don`t see anything in the kid. Under Aris hand though, Lefteris is improving fast. When Aris also sees, that Lefteris built a bicycle on his own, he realizes, that the kid only has such big problems, because his potential is being suppressed in school and by a not caring family.

This movie is an enormous critic at the greek school system, which gives, according to the movie, bad kids out of bad family conditions etc. no chance and fails to stimulate the true potential of kids. A missing patience from the teachers is depicted as well as an open mobbing from the class, never stopped by the teachers.

"To kanarini podilato" was awarded with the price for the second best movie and the best actor at the 1999 greek state awards, on the Internet movie database it has a solid 6.6 out of 10. It is considered one of the best greek movies of the last 20 years, and it serves as a perfect movie to show to young kids about how everybody should be treated equally and with respect and should be given his chance and about that no one should be made fun of, especially not for school things, as the dramatic climax in the end of the movies shows. The fact, that this movie is based on a true story, makes the events depicted in it only more impressive.
It is definitely a movie worth to watch!