Professor Norman Cornett: 'Since when do we divorce the right answer from an honest answer?'

Professor Norman Cornett: 'Since when do we divorce the right answer from an honest answer?'

| 1 h 20 min
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This feature documentary by Alanis Obomsawin is a thoughtful tribute to Norman Cornett, a McGill University professor celebrated by scores of students appreciative of his unconventional yet powerful teaching methods who was controversially dismissed from his teaching duties in 2007.

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Professor Norman Cornett: 'Since when do we divorce the right answer from an honest answer?', Alanis Obomsawin, provided by the National Film Board of Canada

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Credits
  • director
    Alanis Obomsawin
  • writer
    Alanis Obomsawin
  • editor
    Alison Burns
  • camera
    Martin Duckworth
  • sound
    Glenn Hodgins
  • research
    Kirwan Cox
  • producer
    Adam Symansky
    Robert Verrall
  • additional camera
    Philippe Amiguet
    Chady Awad
  • camera assistant
    Sébastien Cassou
    Giulia Frati
  • narrator
    Alanis Obomsawin
  • recording
    Geoffrey Mitchell
  • digital imaging specialist
    Susan Gourley
    Philippe Raymond
    Louis-André Fortin
  • drawings
    Robert Verrall
  • rights clearances
    Elizabeth Klinck
  • sync rushes
    Hilary Thomson
  • post-production co-ordinator
    Steve Hallé
    Marysol Moran
    France Couture
    Brigitte Sénéchal
    Annie Lessard
  • digital editing technician
    Danielle Raymond
    Martine Forget
    Pierre Dupont
    Amélie Bolduc
  • sound editor
    Don Ayer
  • mixer
    Shelley Craig
  • online editor
    Denis Pilon
  • titles
    Susan Gourley
    Gaspard Gaudreau
  • still photographer
    Liam Maloney
  • production co-ordinator
    Christine Williams
  • marketing manager
    Moira Keigher
  • studio administrator
    Dan Emery
  • executive producer
    Ravida Din

  • Maripe

    Quel beau documentaire émouvant. Vous êtes un vrai professeur Dr Cornett. J'ai moi-même enseigné l'histoire pendant 30 ans. Mon enseignement rejoignait le vôtre, mais jamais aussi profondément. J'ai appris que dans la vie, dès que l'on se distingue, on dérange ceux qui ne veulent pas bouger ou qui se sentent remis en question par nos actions. Je vous souhaite bon courage, Je vais envoyer ce documentaire à tous ceux que je connais.

    Maripe, 26 Nov 2014
  • Dianna

    After viewing the film, I was shocked but not surprised...such is the life of a sessional/contract post secondary worker. Dr Cornett's situation reminds me of the Brazilian educator Paulo Freire who was considered such a threat to the old order that he was jailed in Brazil in 1964 and later exiled for six years. Education is not neutral but political and should lead to the process of "consientizacao" "to learn to see social,political and economic contradictions and take action against the oppressive elements of reality."(Freire,1994) I can see from the film that Dr. Cornett through his reflections was practicing this pedagogy,a dialogical and problem-posing education. When i completed my M. Ed. at OISE/U of Toronto, this was exactly how our professor taught the class so the loss is really to the future students of McGill. This is a true gift to have been taught by Dr. Cornett. Maybe Dr. Cornett could discuss his philosophy of education on the T.E.D lecture series. In the words of Freire," True generosity lies in striving so that these hands need be extended less and less in supplication, so that more and more they become human hands which work and working transform the world."( Pedagogy of the Oppressed,1994)

    Dianna, 12 Dec 2012

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