How “Lost” is like Education

By heather on May 23, 2010

So here I am watching “Lost: The Final Journey,” and I heard the following exchange between the producers and cast that (as does much these days) got me thinking about education:

Carlton Cruse (Producer): The first really profound moment on the show was at the end of the first season when we had the raft launch.

Daniel Dae Kim (Jin): I thought it was pretty great. Pretty seaworthy, I mean it looked… it was a raft. Those guys made it out of materials that they found that could have been on the island.

Cruse: You know this raft was a real measure of hope for show….the idea that they could actually get off the island.

Kim: I felt it was a culmination of all the work that people had put in for a very difficult year, and I felt that it was a celebration of where the show started from and where it had come.

Cruse: It’s one of those moments when you realize that making a television series is an incredibly collaborative effort. It’s about literally 300 people doing something in unison. You know, we had written the scene, but then you see the film and you see the way Jack Bender executed the scene, you then you see the emotion that all the actors brought. Then on top of that we went to the scoring stage with Michael Giacchino and the cue was so beautiful that when it was over everyone was crying because it was playing and the images of the raft launch was going on, and they all started tapping their bows against their instruments and clapping. It was just this profound, emotional moment.

Kim: To see the magic of television make that into a scene that became as epic as it was…it’s almost mythological…it’s almost like Homer taking off on his odyssey. It’s a heroic journey. It was awe-inspiring…

And so should it be for education. So should it feel for every moment a light bulb goes off over a student’s head or a student receives a hard-earned grade, certificate, or diploma.

For education is a collaborative effort as well. To see a student toward success takes effort from thousands more than just 300 people. It takes members from families, it takes teachers, peers, administrators, members of the school Boards, support from the neighborhood and community, and funding from the government.

If only Michael Giacchino could score each of our hopeful moments and our successes as well. For there are many.