Sean Shekhman knew a little bit about the Institute of Living when he started a recent documentary project for his middle school, but didn’t know how much the organization had helped lead progress in behavioral healthcare throughout its history.
“I had been to the Institute of Living before,” Sean said, “but I never realized the Institute of Living was one of the first hospitals in Connecticut, and one of the first mental hospitals in the United States. I didn’t realize how much history was here.”
Sean’s documentary was presented at Irving A. Robbins Middle School’s “Paideia Day,” an event where eighth-graders who have completed their first-ever research projects share their work with peers, parents and members of the community to show off their accomplishments and gather feedback.
During the research project, students choose a topic from a range of categories, including industry, education, weather, transportation, women and health. They then research a Connecticut individual or institution that had an impact on that topic. Shekhman’s research involved interviews with Hartford HealthCare Behavioral Health Network President Pat Rehmer and Harold I. Schwartz, MD, psychiatrist-in-chief at the Institute of Living and vice president of behavioral health at Hartford HealthCare.
“Our learning target is for students to inform a public audience about events and developments that have influenced our community’s history,” said Evan Belisle, an eighth-grade social studies teacher at Irving A. Robbins. “We encourage them to understand not just what happened in history, but how things become a part of our shared history.”
After they write a research paper, they are tasked with creating a media-based presentation. Students make posters with a digital component, create websites, exhibit a performance or create documentaries.
“I’m a bit of a tech geek and I really enjoy technology, so that’s why I decided to do a documentary.” Sean said. “It was really exciting to write the script and then edit it during the month I had to make it.”
Paideia Day happens a few weeks after the project is due so they have time to prepare their presentations. As a result, the event has become a celebration of the learning and an opportunity to be proud of the work they did.
More than 300 eighth-graders participated in Paideia Day, but only about 10 percent of the students created a documentary on their research subject.
“Sean did a really good job,” Belisle said. “He did an excellent job with his voiceovers and transitions. He also went beyond focusing just on the history of the Hartford Retreat for the Insane and how mental health treatment has changed; he looked at the work they’re doing now and why it’s important. That’s a great thing to see.”