Note: This is our last Film and Podcast Club for the 2024-25 school year.
“What Having a Brother With Down Syndrome Has Taught Me About Everyone Else” is a four-minute Opinion video that explores the themes of family, difference, empathy and normalcy. When the filmmaker Jonatas Rubert was a child, his parents explained to him that his younger brother Tiago had Down syndrome. Mr. Rubert didn’t really know what that meant, nor did he care at the time; he was just excited to have a little brother. But as time passed, Mr. Rubert began to notice the way people regarded Tiago with “something between sympathy and scorn.” That never made sense to him, and it still doesn’t.
In the video, Mr. Rubert poses a question to the world: With Down syndrome as common as it is, why do people see his brother as anything other than normal? How would you answer his question? What did you learn from the film about normalcy and the price of not fitting into the standard definitions of it?
Students
1. Watch the short film above. While you watch, you might take notes using our Film and Podcast Club Double-Entry Journal (PDF) to help you remember specific moments.
2. After watching, think about these questions:
What questions do you still have?
What connections can you make between this film and your own life or experience? Why? Does this film remind you of anything else you’ve read or seen? If so, how and why?
3. An additional challenge | Respond to the essential question at the top of this post: What does the video teach us about the meaning of ‘normal’?
4. Next, join the conversation by clicking on the comment button and posting in the box that opens on the right. (Students 13 and older are invited to comment, although teachers of younger students are welcome to post what their students have to say.)
5. After you have posted, try reading back to see what others have said, then respond to someone else by posting another comment. Use the “Reply” button or the @ symbol to address that student directly.
Want more student-friendly videos and podcasts? Visit our Film and Podcast Club column.
Students 13 and older in the United States and Britain, and 16 and older elsewhere, are invited to comment. All comments are moderated by the Learning Network staff, but please keep in mind that once your comment is accepted, it will be made public.
