MISS KIET’S CHILDREN: Meet Your New Favorite Class

We are constantly hearing about a refugee crisis that’s happening in various countries across mainland Europe. What comes to mind is an overloaded ship of people trying to escape certain death and being taken in by countries who have already accepted thousands of others from the same place. It is a heartbreaking image.

Who are those people running away from their home? Many of them are children – and apart from their terrible experiences, they are completely normal children. They are children that we know and have spent time with ourselves. They are children who are silly, get cranky, want to make friends, have bad dreams, want to learn, but mostly are incredibly sweet.

A Small Town Hero

In a Dutch village, there is an elementary school where Miss Kiet teaches a group of immigrant children, several of whom are from war-torn countries, particularly Syria. In Peter Lataster and Petra Lataster-Czisch’s Miss Kiet’s Children, we get to see how her class acclimatises and adjusts to their new environment. From learning a new language to playground drama, this documentary is a charming and insightful glance at migrant and refugee children just being themselves.

Our introduction is watching Miss Kiet prepare the classroom for her students, coffee in hand and ready to start the day. Thank goodness she had that coffee because the day begins with a weeping child, Haya, who is upset because she fell and got her pants dirty. As it is with some children, Haya remains upset about her pants even when Miss Kiet offers a few solutions. Of course, Miss Kiet is continuously calm and patient through the little and big problems her children face.

Not All Heroes Wear Capes

The moments that Lataster and Lataster-Czisch pieced together to share were perfect. It is moments like these, a child falling and getting unnecessarily upset, that are the most honest and true if you’ve ever spent an extended period of time with children. Every mid-shot and close-up of their little faces reveals a purity like no other. Not just when they are in a cheerful moment, but when they are crying, picking on another kid, or even being naughty.

Much of Miss Kiet’s Children is footage of the young students with Miss Kiet’s voice in the background. Sometimes their teacher is standing behind them, helping them with math or learning the Dutch alphabet. We see the faces of the future but are constantly aware of the person giving them that push forward. It makes you realize that this is what education should be: the student’s own journey with guidance from a dedicated educator.

Being an educator for young children is more than teaching them their multiplication tables, frequently you are their confidant as well. What if your student isn’t getting enough sleep? What if the reason is that they still hear the shooting and bombs they heard at night before they left their country?

There’s also the matter of introducing your immigrant students to students who are natives of your country. It is scary to put yourself out there and make friends in any situation, so to encourage children to make friends who speak another language is a whole other challenge. Miss Kiet gives her children the confidence and reassurance to go for it.

The Classroom Through an Honest Lens

One thing that stands out about this documentary is how it was assembled. It would seem natural to interview the students to find out in their own words how they like their new home, what they find most difficult about their move, or if they are enjoying school. It would also seem natural to interview Miss Kiet and ask what she thinks about her job, what she loves and what she finds challenging. Miss Kiet’s Children has no interviews at all, it is plain observation.

We get something from plain observation that we may not get if these students acknowledged the camera at any point. We see how the students feel without asking them directly. We recognize their struggles in a much more intimate way. The same goes for Miss Kiet, except this documentary of her teaching shows no sign of struggle. It only shows that she is an outstanding human being and an educator that these children deserve.

Miss Kiet’s Children: To the People Who Shape Our Future

Miss Kiet’s Children is a genuine film, the kind that is hard to come by. At the end of the movie, you know these children, and you cannot help but remember that one teacher you had yourself. That one teacher that only encouraged you and saw your strengths. The one that knew how clever you are.

If you never had that teacher, it is not you, it’s them and the system which placed an uncaring person as your educator. And if you did have that teacher, they should be acknowledged. This film does just that. But not just that, it puts faces and stories and personalities to the “refugee crisis” that Americans are so scared of.

If you watch this movie, you will have no fear. Only love for the children and teachers that will shape our future.

How can we show teachers like Miss Kiet how much we appreciate them? Does this documentary do her justice?

Miss Kiet’s Children was released in the USA on 13 December 2017.