Grade Level: Producer: Smiley Guy Studios Closed Captioned: No

Running Time: 10x7:45 mins Country of Origin: Canada Study Guide: Yes

Copyright Date: 2010 Available in French: No

 

Pillars of Freedom has been developed to give educators a tool to use in and out of the classroom to engage students in government procedures and to show them how to participate in a democratic society. Children who watch Pillars of Freedom will discover two young dragons, named Spirit and Imm, who become angry when they lose the freedom to be themselves; to be dragons who are free to breathe fire and fly where and as high as they wish. With a belief that the rules and regulations fundamentally wrong, Spirit and Imm investigate how and why these laws came to be. They also investigate what might possibly be done to change the laws. In this way, viewers are brought fully into the arena of what it means to live in and to participate in a democracy.

 

Each episode is just over 5 minutes in length. At the end of each episode, wise old Abraxis appears on screen and offers three different endings. The viewer can select each one individually and see alternate endings. There is one ending that will further the dragons’ quest. The other two - while not incorrect - if followed, will stall the progress of the quest for freedom.

 

By watching and responding to the episodes in the series students are encouraged to think critically about how government influences their lives and in turn how the actions of citizens influence governments in a democratic society.

 

Many questions about citizen rights are embedded in these simple stories.  

Key questions include: