When 83-year-old Sergio is sent as an undercover spy to a Chilean retirement home to track suspected elder abuse, he learns a deeper lesson on human connection. Through the lens of the hidden camera in his decoy glasses, viewers watch as Sergio struggles to balance his assignment with becoming increasingly involved in the lives

ADULT NONFICTION

Aronson, Louise. Elderhood: Redefining Aging, Transforming Medicine, Reimagining Life. London, UK: Bloomsbury Publishing, 2019.
Noted Harvard-trained geriatrician Louise Aronson uses stories from her quarter century of caring for patients and draws from history, science, literature, popular culture, and her own life to weave a vision of old age that’s neither nightmare nor utopian fantasy - a vision full of joy, wonder, frustration, outrage, and hope about aging, medicine, and life itself. The story of aging is the story of what it means to be human. It’s both a timeless tale and one that’s rapidly changing with advances in science, technology, and society.

Pipher, Mary. Women Rowing North: Navigating Life’s Currents and Flourishing as We Age. London, UK: Bloomsbury Publishing, 2019.
Women growing older contend with ageism, misogyny, and loss. Yet as Mary Pipher shows, most older women are deeply happy and filled with gratitude for the gifts of life. Their struggles help them grow into the authentic, empathetic, and wise people they have always wanted to be. In Women Rowing North, Pipher offers a timely examination of the cultural and developmental issues women face as they age. Drawing on her own experience as daughter, sister, mother, grandmother, caregiver, clinical psychologist, and cultural anthropologist, she explores ways women can cultivate resilient responses to the challenges they face.

Gawande, Atul. Being Mortal: Medicine and What Matters in the End. New York, NY: Metropolitan Books, 2014.
Medicine has triumphed in modern times, transforming birth, injury, and infectious disease from harrowing to manageable. But in the inevitable condition of aging and death, the goals of medicine seem too frequently to run counter to the interest of the human spirit. Nursing homes, preoccupied with safety, pin patients into railed beds and wheelchairs. Hospitals isolate the dying, checking for vital signs long after the goals of cure have become moot. Doctors, committed to extending life, continue to carry out devastating procedures that in the end extend suffering. Gawande, a practicing surgeon, addresses his profession's ultimate limitation, arguing that quality of life is the desired goal for patients and families.

Kidder, Tracey. Old Friends.New York, NY: Houghton Mifflin, 1993.
Old Friends introduces us to Lou Freed and Joe Torchio, strangers thrust together as roommates. They discover, as Kidder writes, that the problem of Linda Manor is "the universal problem of separateness,” and we watch as, movingly, they set about solving it, with camaraderie and friendship, and ultimately love.

Leland, John. Happiness is a Choice You Make: Lessons from a Year Among the Oldest Old.New York, NY: Sarah Crichton Books, 2018.
In 2015, when the award-winning journalist John Leland set out on behalf of The New York Times to meet members of America's fastest-growing age group, he anticipated learning of challenges, of loneliness, and of the deterioration of body, mind, and quality of life. But the elders he met took him in an entirely different direction. Despite disparate backgrounds and circumstances, they each lived with a surprising lightness and contentment. The reality Leland encountered upended contemporary notions of aging, revealing the late stages of life as unexpectedly rich and the elderly as incomparably wise.

Levintin, Daniel J. Successful Aging: A Neuroscientist Explores the Power and Potential of Our Lives.New York, NY: Dutton Books, 2020.
Successful Aging inspires a powerful new approach to how readers think about our final decades, and it will revolutionize the way we plan for old age as individuals, family members, and citizens within a society where the average life expectancy continues to rise.

Tom, Isabel. The Value of Wrinkles: A Young Perspective on How Loving the Old Will Change Your Life.Chicago, IL: Northfield Publishing, 2020.
It's time to consider how our attitudes towards aging affect our views of the elderly. Isabel Tom grew up in a multigenerational home with her grandparents before beginning a career in the senior care field. She provides amusing anecdotes and insights from these experiences to help young adults embrace aging and intentionally love the old. It's a great loss for the young and old to experience life separately - don't let lack of understanding keep you from delighting in these irreplaceable relationships.

"I had four children, leaving all my joy for my old age, but here I am, and there's not that much joy."

Petita Petronila, poet and resident of San Francisco retirement home

“ELDERLY MALE NEEDED. Retired, between 80 and 90 years old. Independent, discrete and competent with technology.”

85-year-old widower, Sergio Chamy, responds to a help wanted ad in his local Chilean newspaper, and is soon swept into a world of spy-craft, intrigue, baffling-technology, and profound--and sometimes heartbreaking--revelations.

“It's like I'm beginning to feel like the person I used to be.” – Sergio Chamy

In Maite Alberdi’s documentary film, The Mole Agent, Sergio is hired from a crowd of octogenarian candidates to infiltrate a local retirement home where private detective, Rómulo Aitken, suspects a client’s mother, Sonia, is being mistreated. Sergio is eager to take on the job of a “mole agent” -- despite his family’s concerns – to help him through the loneliness and grief following his wife’s death and to reconnect with a sense of curiosity and purpose.

During his three-month assignment, Sergio immerses himself in his new role, gaining the trust of his peers, collecting information, and taking meticulous notes that he dictates to Rómulo in (sometimes excessive) detail. As his investigation deepens, however, Sergio struggles to balance his assignment with his compassion for the women and men who have embraced him as a friend and confidant. Sergio finds himself among a community of peers who feel they have been discarded by their loved ones and a society that no longer see them as poets, thinkers, workers, lovers, care-takers, contributors, or complex adults.

“The residents here feel lonely. They aren’t being visited, and some have been abandoned. Loneliness is the worst thing about this place.” – Sergio Chamy

Sergio begins to understand that the real crime he’s uncovering isn’t theft or mistreatment on the part of staff, but the neglect of Sonia and her peers driven by entrenched ageism and ableism that devalues the lives and contributions of older people. Sergio enters the home as the eyes and ears of Rómulo and his client but soon takes on a more challenging role as a witness to and the voice for the experiences of his neglected friends.

Alberdi’s documentary frames Sergio’s journey through a blend of comedy, film noir, and cinema verite that reveals an intimate, charming, and sometimes unsettling look at the lives of people just like Sergio who have more to contribute to a world that insists on dismissing them as “old”.

In this lesson, students will challenge what they think they know about “old age” and understand the impact that ageism has on older people like Sergio and his peers in The Mole Agent. They will examine how perceptions of “old age” and myths about aging contribute to loneliness and diminished health and quality of life for seniors. The lesson will culminate with students demonstrating their knowledge by identifying opportunities for positive social change for seniors and/or identifying and correcting age-related bias in the media.

A Note from Curriculum Creator, Allison Milewski

As we continue to live longer and better, our stereotypes and expectations about aging are rightly challenged. I’ve had the privilege of collaborating with diverse and inspiring communities of learners and educators across age groups but have more than once found myself setting higher goals and provided more challenging programs for students who are 16 than for those who are 60. I’m lucky that my adult students have been willing to call me out and demanded more from me. It’s a jarring to recognize how deeply entrenched my own ageism is despite my increasing proximity to what society would call “old age”.

As an educator, I’m drawn to engage with stories of older adults like Sergio who make us question our biases about age. Sergio’s compassion and perceptiveness demonstrate the value of his lived experience provides far more insight into the lives of the residents than any spy gadgets or modern tech.

Director Maite Alberdi’s documentary, The Mole Agent, beautifully illustrates the need for intergenerational dialogue and revelatory power of storytelling. Through the daily life and intimate stories of Sergio and his fellow residents, Alberdi deftly brings into focus the pervasiveness of ageism and the physical, mental, and emotional toll it takes on those who live long enough to be dismissed as “old”.

A Note to Teachers

This lesson, and the accompanying film, address issues that may be sensitive for some students. I encourage teachers and facilitators to screen the film clips and review all of the related materials in advance of the lesson. Some students may have personal experience with these issues and their perspectives and sensitivities should inform how the lesson is presented. It might also be helpful to connect with a school social worker for resources specific to your school’s guidelines and your students’ needs.

Before the lesson, remind the class that this is a supportive environment and make time to review your classroom’s tools for creating a safe-space, including class agreements. These might include guidelines like “no interrupting,” “listen without judgment,” “use respectful language,” “share to your level of comfort,” “you have the right to pass,” etc. And remind students that when they talk about groups of people, they should be careful to use the word “some,” not “all.”

Visit Teaching Tolerance for excellent resources and strategies for tackling challenging topics in the classroom:

• Teaching Tolerance: Let's Talk! Discussing Race, Racism and Other Difficult Topics with Students: https://www.tolerance.org/magazine/publications/lets-talk
• Social Justice Standards | The Teaching Tolerance Anti-bias Framework: https://www.tolerance.org/professional-development/social-justice-standards-the-teaching-tolerance-antibias-framework

Subject Areas

• Social Studies
• Health & Human Development
• Civil Rights
• Public Policy
• English Language Arts

Grade Levels: 9-12

Objectives:

Students will be able to:

• Identify how age-related bias (Ageism) informs our perception of elders and “old age”
• Explain why the concept of “old age” is difficult to define
• Describe the real-world impact of ageism as depicted in The Mole Agent
• Explain how perceptions of “old age” contribute to loneliness and diminished quality of life for seniors
• Distinguish between facts and myths about aging and later life
• Demonstrate their knowledge of aging and ageism by identifying opportunities for positive social change and/or analyzing how age-related issues are represented in the media

Materials:

• The Mole Agent film clips and equipment on which to show them
• Student Handouts
  • Student Handout A: Film Notes
  • Student Handout B: Facts and Myths about Aging
• Teacher Handouts
  • Teacher Handout A: Film Summary
  • Teacher Handout B: Facts and Myths about Aging
• White board/markers
• Large chart paper (at least 1 sheet for each group of 4-5 students)
• Masking Tape
• Pens and writing paper

Time Needed:

Two 50-minute class periods with homework

This guide is an invitation to dialogue. It is based on a belief in the power of human connection and designed for people who want to use On Her Shoulders to engage family, friends, classmates, colleagues and communities. In contrast to initiatives that foster debates in which participants try to convince others that they are right, this document envisions conversations undertaken in a spirit of openness in which people try to understand one another and expand their thinking by sharing viewpoints and listening actively.

The discussion prompts are intentionally crafted to help a wide range of audiences think more deeply about the issues in the film. Rather than attempting to address them all, choose one or two that best meet your needs and interests. And be sure to leave time to consider taking action. Planning next steps can help people leave the room feeling energized and optimistic, even in instances when conversations have been difficult.

For more detailed event planning and facilitation tips, visit amdoc.org/engage.

The Masses is a short film that follows three seemingly divergent stories through the daily rituals of three men. It portrays the three South London neighbors’ devotion to their respective religions: Islam, Christianity and Football. By choosing these three men in particular, the filmmaker asks us to consider our assumptions about our neighbors, strangers, and ourselves.

OBJECTIVES

Through this lesson, students will:

• Identify categories that contribute to social identity
• Explore how identity relates to group affiliation, action, morals and values
• Reflect on personal identity characteristics and social behavior

MATERIALS:

• The short film, Redneck Muslim
• Teacher Resources: markers/chart, internet access
• Student Handouts: “Redneck Muslim: Film Notes,” “Redneck Muslim: Discussion Questions,” “Identity Map,” and "Journal Prompt"

ESTIMATED TIME:

One 50-minute class period, with take-home assignments

Over the course of 60 years, entomologists Charlie and Lois O’Brien amassed a collection of more than 1 million insects from nearly 70 countries - the largest private collection in the world, with a value of 10 million dollars. But, as Charlie’s battle with Parkinson’s becomes increasingly pronounced, he and Lois, 90, make the difficult decision to give away their drawers full of iridescent weevils and planthoppers. This humorous and poignant film explores the Love of Nature - and the Nature of Love - and what it means to devote oneself completely to both.

Bouchard, Patrice, editor. The Book of Beetles: A Life-Size Guide to Six Hundred of Nature's Gems.University of Chicago Press, 2014.
Celebrates the beauty and diversity of this marvelous insect. Six hundred significant beetle species are covered, with each entry featuring a distribution map, basic biology, conservation status, and information on cultural and economic significance. Full-color photos show the beetles both at their actual size and enlarged to show details, such as the sextet of spots that distinguish the six-spotted tiger beetle or the jagged ridges of the giant-jawed sawyer beetle. Based in the most up-to-date science and accessibly written, the descriptive text will appeal to researchers and armchair coleopterists alike.

Eaton, Eric R. and Kenn Kaufman.Kaufman Field Guide to Insects of North America. Houghton Mifflin Co., 2007.
The Kaufman Field Guide to Insects of North America was quickly embraced by amateur entomologists and by professional naturalists and educators for its thorough, accurate, non-technical treatment of this continent's insect fauna. Most people pay scant attention to insects (except perhaps as sources of annoyance), so they are unaware of the dazzling variety of insect life that can be found even in a suburban yard or small city park. Just in the United States and Canada there are close to 90,000 different species of insects, including nearly 11,000 kinds of moths and over 25,000 kinds of beetles, all with their own color patterns, forms, and habits.

Eisner, Thomas. For Love of Insects. Belknap, 2005.
Imagine beetles ejecting defensive sprays as hot as boiling water; female moths holding their mates for ransom; caterpillars disguising themselves as flowers by fastening petals to their bodies; termites emitting a viscous glue to rally fellow soldiers—and you will have entered an insect world once beyond imagining, a world observed and described down to its tiniest astonishing detail by Thomas Eisner. Filled with descriptions of his ingenious experiments and illustrated with photographs unmatched for their combination of scientific content and delicate beauty, Eisner’s book makes readers participants in the grand adventure of discovery on a scale infinitesimally small, and infinitely surprising.

Evans, Dr. Arthur V., National Wildlife Federation, Field Guide to Insects and Spiders and Related Species of North America, National Wildlife Federation Press, 2007 updated.
Enjoy this reference guide to insects and spiders for the beginning entomologist to explore further with detailed information on starting a collection, planting an arthropod garden, keeping insects and spiders in captivity, and learning macro photography techniques. More than 2,000 close-up color photographs by leading nature photographers distinguish each creature, with clear and concise text that accompanies each image describes the range, habitat, life cycle, and behavior.

MacNeal, David. Bugged: The Insects Who Rule the World and the People Obsessed with Them. St. Martin's Press, 2017.
Insects have been shaping our ecological world and plant life for over 400 million years. In fact, our world is essentially run by bugs—there are 1.4 billion for every human on the planet. Journalist David MacNeal takes us on an off-beat scientific journey that weaves together history, travel, and culture in order to define our relationship with these mini-monsters. MacNeal introduces a cast of bug-lovers—from a woman facilitating tarantula sex and an exterminator nursing bedbugs (on his own blood), to a kingpin of the black market insect trade and a “maggotologist” — who obsess over the crucial role insects play in our everyday lives.

McGavin, George C. Essential Entomology: An Order-by-order Introduction. Oxford University Press, 2001.
An up-to-date order-by-order introduction and reference handbook for students of biological sciences in general and entomology in particular. Covers all the important groups on a worldwide basis and explains what makes insects successful. The book is in three sections: first is a straightforward introduction to insect biology; followed by a section on field work; lastly an order-by-order catalog of the insects giving essential facts and details of life-histories, highlighting what makes each order distinct. To make the material as accessible as possible, the information for each order is presented in a standard manner and is written in a straighforward style with as little technical language as possible. Essential terms are fully explained in context with marginal notes. A pictoral guide, specially commissioned by Richard Lewington, is included to aid in the identification of the orders.

White, Richard E. A Field Guide to the Beetles of North America. Houghton Mifflin, 1983.
Over 600 drawings and 65 color paintings portray representative species of the 111 families of North American beetles. Includes information on collecting and preserving beetles.

An old shepherd and his flock live alongside a high-tech laboratory for animal experimentation. Two worlds that are two sides of the same coin. While the shepherd, afflicted with a bone disease, witnesses his profession disappearing, scientists are busier than ever researching the COVID vaccine. Fauna explores the relationship between humans, animals and science in post-pandemic times.

The Love Bugs is a love story about soulmates and science. Two renowned, married, entomologists facing their twilight years seek to pass on their knowledge--with a little help from their 1.25 million insects. Over 60 years, Lois and Charlie O'Brien, two of the foremost entomologists and pioneers in their field, traveled to more than 65 countries and quietly amassed the world's most extensive private collection of insects. Their collection is a scientific game-changer with 1.25 million specimens and more than 1,000 undiscovered species. He was the Indiana Jones of entomology, and she was his Marion Ravenwood. However, in the past few years, the O'Briens have grappled with increasingly debilitating health conditions.

Though Charlie, 85, and Lois, 91, realize that a chapter of exploration and discovery is coming to an end in their lives, they live in a time when science needs them most. They turn to their insects to preserve their legacy and in support of science. This humorous and poignant documentary short explores the Nature of Love - and the love of Nature -and what it means to devote oneself entirely to both.

In this lesson, students will examine the careers of diverse scientists, and specifically learn about the nature of the work of entomologists. Following the film’s screening, students will imagine that they, themselves, are entomologists and study “insects” and their natural environments.

Objectives:
In this lesson, students will:

• Learn that the field of science is broad and that scientists come from diverse backgrounds and identities
• Be introduced to science of entomology
• Learn about the work of entomologists
• Engage in an activity modeling the work of entomologists
• Reflect and discuss the importance of nature, insects, and relationships to the land

Materials:
For this lesson, you will need:

• Objects to use as pretend “insects”
  • Suggestions: Dried pinto beans, black beans, and/or different types of pasta (rotini, spaghetti, elbow macaroni)
• Student Notebooks
• Drawing Materials
• Separate pieces of drawing paper for each student
• Non-breakable collection container such as a plastic (tip: you can recycle take-out containers, cottage cheese containers, etc)
• English Bug Kite Instructions
• High-speed internet connection for screening the film
• A way to screen The Love Bugs (screening time: 32 minutes)

Time Needed:

Two or Three 60-minute class period with homework and an option for students to share their writing.

"You can’t write about a world if you don’t study it, and the best way to study it is to live in it."

Leila Mottley

In a love letter to the Bay Area, two teenage artists spend a day in creative and community fellowship.

HELPFUL CONCEPTS:

gentrification – The socioeconomic process whereby people who are of a higher income level, education-level, and/or racial make-up move into lower-income neighborhoods and cause increased rents and prices, changes to community character and culture, and the departure of many long-term residents, many of whom are people of color

intersectionality – a term coined by scholar Kimberlé Crenshaw that highlights the overlap between forms of oppression based on multiple identities (e.g., race and gender)

FILM PARTICIPANTS:

Leila Mottley and Ajai Kasim – two Oakland teenagers who share a love of writing and music and spend their time exploring their city and creating art together

NOTE TO TEACHERS:

This assignment invites students to explore their own identities and creative forms of expression. Writing in this way can be an intimate exercise in vulnerability, so it is important that you have established a safe, non-judgmental, and respectful learning environment. Remind students that writing and being creative is sometimes a risky task and that they should be encouraging and supportive of one another.

View the trailer hereand sign up to receive updates here.

After years of fighting injustice in Kenya, daring and audacious political activist Boniface “Softie” Mwangi decides to run for political office. But running a clean campaign against corrupt opponents with idealism as his only weapon proves challenging.

After years of fighting injustice in Kenya, daring and audacious political activist Boniface “Softie” Mwangi decides to run for political office. But running a clean campaign against corrupt opponents with idealism as his only weapon proves challenging. Special Jury Award, Sundance Film Festival. A POV co-production.

Non-Book Information

• Boniface Mwangi’s twitter
• Boniface Mswangi’s Website
• Getty Museum Boniface Mwangi Stock Pictures and Images
• New Yorker article: Kenya’s Most Famous Critic of Politicians Runs for Political Office by Tristan McConnell July 10, 2017
• Boniface Mwangi on TED | The Day I stood Up Alone (2015) and TED profile

“Kenyans do not get serviced by their government,” states Khadija Mohammed, political campaign manager to MP candidate and filmmaker, Boniface Mwangii. This lesson provides a framework for a critical analysis of elections in Kenya and how colonialism, tribalism, and voter suppression frame the political landscape of the African nation.

A Note from Curriculum Creator, Vivett Dukes

As citizens, we rely on our government to protect and provide for us. The upkeep of this sovereign contract is what fuels our collective and individual sense of patriotism and nationalism; but, what happens when one or both parties violate that contract? What happens when that contract was unequal from the start? What recourse do citizens have when their government refuses to fulfill their part of the agreement? Through the viewing of Softie, we see how one man, Boniface “Softie” Mwangi of Kenya, attempts to disrupt the status quo that is marring the lives of Kenya’s impoverished, working class, and middle class citizens, by entering the political sphere. Considering the political times in which we are currently living, this is a crucial lesson plan to teach. Teaching is never a politically neutral practice, and neither is learning or sharing knowledge.

Subject Areas

• Government and Economics
• Global History/Global Studies
• Women’s Studies/Gender Studies
• Language Arts
• Marriage and Family (and other Sociology and Psychology-based electives)
• Humanities

Grade Levels: 9-12

Objectives:

• In this lesson, students will:
• Critically analyze the hallmarks of a democracy
• Assess and evaluate aspects of grassroots organizing and social movements
• Respond verbally and in writing to a variety of questions varying in complexity (e.g., recall, basic reasoning, analysis, synthesis, and interpretation)
• Exhibit and hone active listening skills by practicing question-based, class-wide dialogue

Materials

*include relevant technology options for remote-instruction.

• Softie documentary clips
• Computer/Laptop/Tablet
• K-W-L chart
• Notebook
• Writing Utensil

Time Needed

Two to four 45-minute class periods with optional homework in between.