Searching For Superman - Innovative Education Documentary

This is about extraordinary simple people who are transforming education

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OUR RESEARCH GUIDELINES
Learn from Europe's best education experts

TAKE ME TO INSPIRING INTERVIEWS

About the project

Searching for Superman is a documentary film project about inspiring, alternative & innovative educational projects and schools.

For about three years we are traveling Europe searching for people (teachers, school leaders, social entrepreneurs, young people themselves…) who are changing the world through education. In 2021 we will produce a feature length documentary film with the best insights.

Our goals are to share their stories and testimonials and to connect them to generate a movement of global change in education.

THE PROJECT IN NUMBERS UNTIL NOW (MAY 2019)

european COUNTRIES

France, Germany, Switzerland, Austria and now Italy

SCHOOLS visited

Public and private schools, from kindergarten to university, educational projects/programs and personal initiatives

INTERVIEWS

Students and former students, teachers, school leaders, experts, parents, social entrepreneurs

MONTHS ON THE ROAD

Sleeping, cooking, traveling, working… just living in a van!

Help us make the dream real

Searching for Superman is a non-profit project funded 100% with our personal savings and the money we make from other jobs. All the contents that you see on the web have been generated for free with the collaboration of the people who is behind the schools & the projects we visit. If you believe in our work and share the values of the project, we will appreciate any financial contribution you want to make. The contributions will be used to cover expenses such as the web hosting, equipment, travels to schools and hours (& more hours) of editing the interviews and blogging.

Explore the projects

The Hundred languages of children: Reggio Emilia Approach

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We visit the Loris Malaguzzi International Center in Reggio Emilia (Italy) to interview Claudia Giudici, president of Reggio Children. Claudia explained us the main pillars of Reggio Emilia educational approach. The interview is in Italian language. You can turn on … Read More

27 junio, 2019 Featured Post

Building strong learning communities to foster change: Ashoka in Puglia (Italy)

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Paolo Stufano is the regional coordinator of Ashoka in Puglia (South Italy). On May 13th they celebrated a co-creation workshop about change maker education with the final goal of creating a strong learning community in the region, gathering teachers, school … Read More

25 junio, 2019 Featured Post

How does a Reggio Emilia inspired preschool work?

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Silvia Conti is a pedagogue at the childhood school Girasole Palomar, a Reggio Emilia inspired school, born in Castelnovo di Soto (italy) in the year 70. In this interview Silvia explains us how the school works and the main values … Read More

20 mayo, 2019 Featured Post

How is Montessori education with young adults?

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We talk with Karen Reisbeck, the school principal at MOS München Fachoberschule, about how the school puts into practice Maria Montessori’s ideas with young adults and about many other educational issues. According to Karen, the biggest difference with other state … Read More

18 mayo, 2019 Featured Post

Critique is not enough

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For Ruggero Poi, Cittadellarte Fondazione Pistoletto project manager & also Montessori Trainer, education is something that links one person to other person, to the local and global environment. Ruggero explain us how they designed an exhibition based on Montessori ideas, … Read More

5 mayo, 2019 Featured Post

Five characteristics of a Change Maker School: Liceo Attilio Bertolucci

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We speak with Aluisi Tosolini about the five main characteristics of the high school Atilio Bertolucci, an Italian scientific, musical and sports school, born 10 years ago in the city of Parma, and chosen as Change Maker by Ashoka Italia. … Read More

5 mayo, 2019 Featured Post

Erasmus programs in middle School: Istituto Comprensivo San Giorgio Mantova

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We talk with Maria Rosaria Grasso teacher at Istituto Comprensivo San Giorgio di Mantova (Italy) recognized by Ashoka as one of five the Change Maker schools in the country. One of the most interesting innovations of the school is its … Read More

4 mayo, 2019 Featured Post

Big Picture Learning Italy: students at the center of their own learning

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Fabio Pirola started looking for something innovative because he was worried about the results at the school. He was absolutely sure that there was a school in the world that works. In a book called “Drive” by Daniel Pink, he … Read More

3 mayo, 2019 Featured Post

Fab Lab: Making brings your ideas to life

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Fab labs are spaces that offer democratic access to high tech machines that were normally not reachable and understandable by normal people. Nowadays these machines are really easy to understand and the software for 2D and 3D design has become … Read More

23 marzo, 2019 Featured Post

Inspiring conversations

Insights, opinions and vision from teachers, school leaders and educational experts from all over Europe

Free time for kids should interest both schools and cities

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What does play mean? For Francesco Tonucci, also known as “Frato”, it is adventure, discovery, surprise, pleasure, obstacle, risks, transgression, doing things that parents can not know … Playing needs some conditions. The conditions are autonomy, free time and adequate … Read More

24 junio, 2019 Featured Post

Get to know our students on a deeper level to strengthen relationships

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We interview Chiara Jorioz, co-founder of Big Picture Learning (BPL) Italy. Everything began when Fabio Pirola the other co-founder, discovered BPL in a book and they bet for bringing it to Italy. They were trained for two years in the … Read More

16 mayo, 2019 Featured Post

The key to Steiner-Waldorf teaching: never stay where you are

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Janice Hill is an English teacher at the Steiner-Waldorf school of Reggio Emilia. We talk with her about the main characteristics of Waldorf education and how this pedagogy is put into practice. As Janice told us in Waldorf schools generally … Read More

6 mayo, 2019 Featured Post

Making smart choices and hard work to make a difference despite limited autonomy

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Maria Saponaro, english teacher and Erasmus coordinator at Liceo Attilio Bertolucci explains us how schools can make a difference despite the limited autonomy due to the centralized control from the Ministery. The frame is given by the Ministery so the … Read More

5 mayo, 2019 Featured Post

Education is about more than academics

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At the MOS München, students don’t feel like a number, they feel like themselves because teachers are interested in them as people, they make them feel as people. It’s not only what happens in classes but the interpersonal contact that … Read More

11 marzo, 2019 Featured Post

The Arts in Waldorf education

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What makes us humans is that everything inside us is in connection with each other: what I think can be judged by my feelings: “is this right or is this wrong?”, and what I can think and feel, I can … Read More

28 febrero, 2019 Featured Post

Handling freedom and learning to take responsibility

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For a child to handle freedom is difficult. There are some students that have more difficulties to do it than others that are better structured inside. At the Freie Aktive Schule Stuttgard (FAS) all of them learn step by step … Read More

26 febrero, 2019 Featured Post

From hierarchical to flat structures: growing real respect

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We talk with Carl Mirwald, headmaster at MOS Munchen about the development of the Montessori pedagogy with young adults. The most important thing for Carl is to be respectful, the students have freedom of choice, not the subjects (mandatory by … Read More

23 febrero, 2019 Featured Post

Intrinsic motivation for lifelong learning

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Isabel Kaufhold is teacher at the Freie Aktive Schule (FAS) in Stuttgart. We talk with her about the teaching & learning strategies and the pedagogy which is behind the free schools in general and the FAS in particular. The inner … Read More

11 febrero, 2019 Featured Post

Chatting with students

JA Alumni: building a network to support young entrepreneurs

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The past May 23th we interviewed Mateo Minoya JA (Junior Achievement) Alumni Network Director in Italy, during the event “Entrepreneurship Fair” organized by JA in Gallipoli (South Italy). Mateo explained us what the program JA Alumni is about. You can … Read More

26 junio, 2019 Featured Post

“Schools should give us more opportunities to develop our entrepreneurial skills

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We talk with Lucrecia, member of Junior Achievement (JA) Alumni Italy Community in Puglia (South Italy), about the reasons to take part in this community, the JA event “Entrepreneurship fair” held on May 23rd in Gallipoli and the State Schools … Read More

26 junio, 2019 Featured Post

My personal experience as students and teacher at a Free school

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Giulia is a former student and teacher at the Freie Aktive Schule (FAS) Stuttgart. In this interview we talk with her about her time at the school, what she liked most about the school, what she would change and how … Read More

21 mayo, 2019 Featured Post

Young refugees: Towards the next horizon

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Yassin, former student of SchlaU-Schule and student of MOS München, shares with us his personal story. He moved from Afghanistan to Germany looking for the opportunities he couldn’t find in his country. The opportunity to go to school, to go … Read More

17 marzo, 2019 Featured Post

Learning takes time

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Teresa is a former student of the Free Active School of Stuttgart. In this interview we talk with her about her stay at the school. She explained us that at the school, she had the time to learn the things … Read More

13 febrero, 2019 Featured Post

Articles & other contributions

The great adventure of a whole learning community fighting together against Climate Change in Senegal

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Students, teachers and relatives from Santa Apolonia school (Galicia, Spain) travel to take part in the Great Green Wall initiative to prevent the Sahara extends to the south in Senegal. This trip and all the related activities are part of a project developed by the … Read More

12 febrero, 2019 Featured Post

Decent communication for avoiding conflicts in learning communities

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In a divided learning community communication is the key, not only for solving conflicts but also for avoiding them. We talk with Mister Hartmut Kay Hirsch about the fundamentals and strategies of Decent Communication approach and its benefits for growing … Read More

30 enero, 2019 Featured Post

Have you seen superwoman or superman?

Help us discovering where superman or superwoman is in Europe

One of the hardest part of finding superwoman or superman is the research process. We have at the moment an amazing network of people guiding us across Europe in our search. Anyway any additional contribution giving information about inspiring educational projects and schools anywhere in Europe (including contact person information) will be most welcomed!

Send your contribution via email to contact@searchingforsuperman.es.

You can contribute to the project

Searching for Superman is a co-creation project. We offer different ways of collaboration specially designed for a variety of organisations and individuals.

Become Sponsor

Support the production and distribution of the film and all the related activities.

Become Collaborator

Share your school/project work with the world and connect with other people.

Become Informer

Help us finding superwoman or superman around Europe

Become Ambassador

Spread the word about the project and put all the ideas and insights in action in your school and community.

About us

During the last six years David has been teaching educators from all over the world how to improve their teaching methods focusing on growing happy, conscious and solidary children. As a freelance filmmaker he started in 2012 the ikaia project, documenting innovative educational projects with the aim of motivating and inspiring others.

Amaia has been working as freelance social photographer during the last 10 years. With special sensitivity to portray people naturally and spontaneously, the travel and the project are for Amaia an opportunity to help people doing what she loves and to develop new skills.