Homework (1989) - full transcript
In this documentary, Kiarostami asks a number of students about their school homework. The answers of some children shows the darker side of this method of education.
Institute for the Intellectual
Development of Youth
Cinema and Theater Department
Excuse us, sir.
-What's the film?
-It's called Homework.
-What school do you go to?
-Martyr Masumi.
-Did you do your homework?
-Yes.
You sure? Go on to school.
We'll be along.
Take my picture.
It's a film... for children.
Take his picture.
Is it a fiction film?
No, it's a docu—
I don't know.
We have no idea yet.
It isn't a fiction film.
Sorry, we're filming.
What's the film?
Homework.
What school do you go to?
Martyr Masumi.
It's a film about homework.
Did you do yours?
Yes.
I did it the best.
Go on. We'll be along.
Good-bye, sir.
I like cinema.
I know your films, Mr. Kiarostami.
I saw one of them on TV.
It took place in a classroom.
First Graders.
Is this in the same style?
We don't know the style.
There's no script, just an idea.
It's our first day filming.
I had problems
with my own child about homework.
Homework is supposed to be
for the children,
but parents end up
more involved than the kids.
So I took my camera
to come investigate
and see if the problem
is due to my son or to me...
or if it's the educational system.
We're going to observe
the situation in other homes.
To be honest, I should say
it's not really a film,
more a piece of research.
Research through images
about students' homework.
-Good luck.
-Good-bye.
Islam is victorious!
East and West are vanquished!
Blessed be Mohammad
and those close to him!
One, two, three, four!
We are brave!
Two, three, four, five!
The warriors will win!
Three, four, five, six!
Saddam's men will be annihilated!
One, two, three, four!
We are brave!
Two, three, four, five!
The warriors will win!
Three, four, five, six!
Saddam's men will be annihilated!
Saddam's men will be annihilated!
Islamists are victorious!
-The first imam?
-Ali.
-The first imam?
-Ali.
-The brave lion?
-Ali.
-The pillar of the faith?
-Ali.
What's your name?
Focus the light.
Is that okay? Let's go.
Sound?
Camera?
Why wasn't your homework done?
My brother keeps saying —
My mother's busy.
I always have to tell my brother
to write his dictation.
I dictate for him and write mine
at the same time.
You dictate and you write?
There's only you two?
My sister got married and left.
That leaves my big brother.
Why doesn't he do the dictation?
He works.
There's just the two of us.
Who dictates for you?
I go to my sister's.
Is it far?
She lives near Pars.
What about your little brother?
My mother and little brother
come with me.
Can't your parents dictate for you?
My father's busy. He's a potter.
My mother does the cooking.
-Your sister dictates for you?
-Yes.
-She's not busy?
-No.
She doesn't cook?
She knows how,
but she doesn't cook dinner.
But I go before it's evening.
You go, she dictates,
and you return home?
Why don't you do your homework?
I usually do it.
How come sometimes you don't?
Sometimes our teacher
gives us too much,
especially on weekends.
He gives us three assignments.
Copy the same lesson three times,
as well as math and dictation.
-You can't do it all?
-No.
-Can your father read and write?
-No.
-And your mother?
-No.
-Who helps with your homework?
-What?
Our landlord.
How's that?
When I have dictation to do,
I go see him.
It's not him who does it.
It's his daughters.
-His daughters?
-One of them.
What time do you finish?
I don't know.
-Does it take long?
-Yeah, kind of.
Do you do other things at home
besides homework?
Does your mother ask you
to do things?
I do the dictation...
Persian exercises.
No, I mean housework.
I don't know what that is.
You don't?
Do you go buy bread sometimes?
Only when there's none left.
When there's some left,
you don't go.
Do you do other shopping?
I buy fruit.
If you don't do your homework well,
are you punished?
If I don't do it well, I'm punished.
Who punishes you?
The teacher.
And at home? Your parents?
My parents hit me.
How?
I don't know.
You can't get hit and not know how!
With a belt.
How do they know you did it poorly
if they can't read?
When I show them my notebook,
they say it's not good.
How do they know
if they can't read?
It's big writing.
Big isn't good?
If you buy big fruit, do you get hit?
No?
Has anyone ever encouraged you?
Not at all?
-No.
-But you've been punished?
-Yes.
-Sorry?
-I've been punished before.
You've never been encouraged?
No.
That can't be. And at school?
At school...
Not at school.
Not there either.
-You ever get gold stars?
-Never.
Your teacher told me
you're a good student.
-I'm bad at dictation.
-Dictation?
Maybe they dictate badly...
the landlord's daughters.
Would you like
your teacher to be absent?
Then who'd give us homework?
If you had no homework,
you could watch TV.
Do you prefer cartoons or homework?
Tell the truth.
Homework.
Can you tell me
about a cartoon you like?
I like Pinocchio.
What else?
The Wombles.
Do you prefer homework
or The Wombles?
After my homework.
And if it's not finished?
I do my homework
and watch TV in the evening.
But The Wombles
isn't on in the evening.
There's the news.
Do you watch it?
It's my bedtime
when the news is on.
That's good.
Ever gotten 20 out of 20?
No.
Do your parents know
what getting a 20 means?
And the landlord?
-Yes.
If you got a 20,
what reward would you like?
What present would you like?
What?
-A pastry.
You'd like that?
What else if you got a 20?
A pastry... two pastries.
Two pastries?
And if you got three 20s?
What would you like?
Pastries.
How many?
Three.
And if you got 20 on average?
On average?
A pastry shop, I guess?
Can your father read and write?
No.
-And your mother?
-No.
But she's learning to read and write.
Does she help with your homework?
She can't yet.
I help her with her homework.
You do? Good for you.
Who helps you with yours?
-My sister.
Does she ever punish you?
You know what "punish" means?
What is it?
-Getting hit.
And encouraging?
Clapping.
-What?
-They clap.
And a reward?
A reward, it's a thing —
I don't know.
You don't know?
One night I wanted to do my math,
but my mother said to go to bed.
Why were you doing it at night?
I finished my homework late.
-What time?
-Evening.
Did you watch a cartoon?
No.
Why not?
Because I wanted
to do my homework.
I did my dictation.
It was two pages.
It was too long.
-You couldn't watch cartoons?
No.
-You'd have liked to?
-Yes.
Sometimes the teacher gives
little homework.
Sometimes she gives a lot.
You think she gives a lot?
I can't say how long it takes.
Yes, sometimes she gives a lot,
sometimes not.
Sometimes my mother gets angry.
Like how?
For example, she says...
we're invited to someone's house.
I haven't finished my homework.
So I ask her to wait,
and she gets kind of mad.
-She gets mad?
-Yes.
You can't take
your homework with you?
There's too many kids.
So it's not possible?
They rip my notebooks.
We had a test.
-In what?
-Civics.
Did you do well?
Yes, except for two questions.
What were they?
Do you remember?
It was a blank test.
What's that?
For instance:
"Children are... (blank)
entrusted to their parents,
who must look
after their... (blank)."
And the answer:
"Children are gifts from heaven,
entrusted to their parents,
who must look
after their upbringing."
It seems you're a good student,
but you're weak in math.
Who works with you at home?
-My brother.
Does he help you with math?
Yes, but he's not nice to me.
For example,
every time he helps me,
I have to do him a favor afterwards.
For example?
Bring him his binders,
make him tea.
Does your father know modern math?
Can he help you?
My father...
Before, yes...
but we got a division problem
he didn't know how to do.
I asked the teacher today.
Why not your brother?
How old is he?
My brother is 18.
Why not ask him?
When I did it,
he said it was wrong.
But when I asked him how to do it,
he didn't answer.
A Charlie Chaplin film.
You like Chaplin?
And Pinocchio?
-That too.
But your mother says
your homework isn't finished
when you start watching TV.
There's too much.
-What?
-Homework.
-Cartoons or homework?
-Homework.
She says you haven't finished
even after the news.
-It's endless. There's so much.
-What?
It takes me till midnight.
You work till midnight?
-Yes.
-You prefer cartoons or homework?
Both.
Which do you like best?
Homework.
Homework?
Really? Look at me.
Yes, really.
Would you like
to replace TV with homework,
since that's what you prefer?
Yes.
Some cartoons is good too.
What did you dream about?
The guy with the long nose.
You never dream
about homework or exams?
Final exams?
No.
Homework?
-Yes.
-What kind of dreams?
For example, I dreamed I got a 14.
-And you were pleased?
-No.
-Isn't a 14 good?
-No.
Who said it wasn't good?
I don't like to get a 14.
-What do you like to get?
-Twenty.
Have you ever gotten a 20?
Yes.
How did they react
when you got a 20?
-Well.
-Glad to hear it. But how?
They congratulated me.
They said it was good.
Why do you do
your homework late at night?
I learn the lesson,
but when I get to class,
I've forgotten it.
When you don't know your lesson,
when you forget it,
how should they help you
to learn?
What would help you remember it?
Do you know?
-Nothing. It's okay.
What encouragement do you like?
Anything.
For example?
I don't know.
And punishment?
I don't like getting punished.
Sorry?
I don't like getting punished.
I want to work.
Who dictates for you?
My brother.
If you get it wrong,
what does he do?
If you make mistakes?
He hits me.
Why didn't you do your homework?
My uncle and his family came over.
What happened?
I couldn't do it.
Did they stay late?
Till 10:00.
And how long
did your homework take?
Till 11:00.
11:00? Weren't you sleepy?
Did you watch cartoons?
What cartoons?
Do you remember?
-No.
Doesn't your mother scold you
when you don't do your homework?
Or your father? Neither one?
-Yes.
Did they scold you last night?
What did you tell them?
I said we had company.
When you're invited somewhere,
you can't work either?
How many times a week
do you go out or have company?
I don't know.
In either case, what do you do?
I can't do my homework.
-Do you have a lot?
-Yes.
When I'm working,
my little brother,
who doesn't go to school,
comes and bites my back.
He does it
when I'm doing my homework.
So you can't finish in time?
Any other reasons?
I don't know.
Sometimes
they pour water on my head.
-Do you like cartoons?
-Yes.
How much?
A little.
I prefer homework.
You prefer homework?
Because you learn.
Has your mother ever punished you
for not finishing your homework on time?
-Yes.
-How?
The baby is naughty.
He throws my pencils around
and they get lost.
Then my mother scolds me
because I have no more pencils.
-And she punishes you?
-Yes.
How?
She hits me and says,
"Don't let me catch you again."
She doesn't go get the belt.
She says,
"That's bad. Don't do it again."
Or "Do your homework quicker."
Why did you mention a belt?
My father doesn't wear one.
He's too fat.
His pants stay up by themselves.
My mother sometimes goes
to get the belt she hid
to punish me if I'm naughty.
Then one day,
when she wanted to do that,
she realized...
that the belt she hid
had disappeared.
-Who took it?
-My mother... I don't know.
So your father
doesn't need a belt —
He's got a fat belly!
So your mother keeps it
to punish you.
Yes, but now she's lost it.
She's bought lots,
but she loses them every time.
One day when we were moving,
we found loads of them!
They reappeared.
But my mother
hasn't hit me with one yet.
I help out around the house.
Would you like your father
to be thin and wear his belt
so there'd be none left
around the house?
Why does he even buy belts?
He doesn't buy them.
He's fat!
He doesn't buy any.
It's fine with him.
People call him "the fat man."
I'm talking about his belt.
Since he doesn't buy any,
why do you have them around?
He bought them
mainly to hit us.
But your mother hid them?
Yes, she hides them
and then loses them.
When you're big and have children,
if they don't do their homework,
will you use a belt?
-No.
-Why not?
My father doesn't do it.
I won't either.
Speak up. We can't hear you.
My father doesn't hit me,
so I won't hit them.
-Who?
-My children.
Your children?
You won't hit them?
And if your father hit you?
-I'd hit them.
It wouldn't be your child's fault
if your father made a mistake.
That's how it is.
-You're the class representative?
-Yes.
Why you?
I'm a good student.
The teacher chose me.
Since you're a good student,
you must be encouraged at home?
Yes.
How do they reward you?
My father buys me things.
My mother buys me
notebooks, crayons,
pants, and shirts.
Have you ever been punished?
How are you punished?
I get slapped in the face.
I get slapped.
-By who?
-My father.
You think he's right?
My father? Yes.
He's right? Why?
Because I misbehave,
and he gets angry.
How many slaps does he give you?
Five to seven.
In your opinion,
is that enough or not?
It's enough.
-No more?
-No.
-No less?
-Less? No.
Five is good?
If you had a naughty child,
how many would you give him?
-Seven.
-Seven?
Why five for your father
but seven for you?
When my father gets mad,
like when he tells me
to sit down and I don't,
he gets up and gives me seven.
-Seven?
-Yes.
What would you call your son?
If it's a boy, Hossein.
If it's a girl, Sara.
If Hossein disobeyed,
how many would you give him?
Seven.
My father's at the front.
He's gone there,
and my mother always
wants us to go downstairs.
-Downstairs?
-To her sister's.
At my aunt's...
I don't find the time
to do my homework.
Does your mother know
you have homework?
Does she know you have homework?
I tell her I've got homework.
But she still wants to go?
No, my aunt comes
and makes us go downstairs.
Why don't you do it at her place?
I take it with me,
but her children keep bothering me.
Who supervises your homework?
Sometimes my mother,
or my father,
who's not there now,
or my cousins.
Do they dictate well?
Not always.
What do you mean?
They don't know how.
They read really quick.
They have no patience?
Why do you think that is?
-What?
-Why?
My hand isn't quick enough
to write fast.
I try to write well,
but they want me to go fast.
They're in a hurry?
What does your mother do?
Besides dictation,
what else does she have to do?
Sometimes she has
to wash the dishes.
What do you think
about encouragement?
Encouragement?
Are rewards effective?
For what?
-To work well, yes.
What about punishment?
-It isn't.
-How do you mean?
The child just keeps going.
In your opinion, why is that?
If you beat a child...
he becomes stubborn
and doesn't do his homework.
So there's no point?
A little, yes.
Who supervises your homework?
My sister.
Your sister?
Not your father? Why not?
Because he can't read.
And your mother?
She can't either.
There's only my sister...
or my brother.
-Have they punished you for homework?
-Who?
Your sister.
Has she punished you?
You know what "to punish" means?
It means to hit.
-Pardon?
-To hit.
And "encourage"?
I don't know.
Think.
You don't know what it is?
But to punish, yes?
What's it mean?
-It's hitting.
What is punishment?
To hit.
And encouragement?
To say "good job."
Who dictates for you?
My sister.
-What's that on your face?
-My sister did that.
-What did she do?
-She scratched me.
She scratched me.
Who supervises your homework?
Who dictates for you?
My sister.
Can your father read and write?
No.
Do you know what punishment is?
Yes.
What is it?
Getting hit.
And encouragement?
You don't know?
Can your father read and write?
No.
-Who supervises your homework?
-My sister.
And if you don't do it,
are you punished?
You know what that is?
It's getting hit.
And encouragement?
I don't know.
You don't know?
What does that mean?
Punishment...
When you misbehave,
you have to get a beating.
And encouragement?
It means doing good things.
It means getting hit.
And encouragement?
It means to applaud.
-Have you ever been punished?
-Yes.
How?
It's very simple.
How?
You get hit.
What do you want to be?
An engineer in the vice squad.
To do what?
To arrest opium smokers...
arrest the bad guys...
arrest those...
who spread lies or steal.
What job did you say?
Engineer in the vice squad.
Do you approve of encouragement?
Yes.
And punishment?
Who do you think
should be punished?
Naughty boys.
What do you mean?
Those who don't listen
to their parents
and also...
those who don't listen
to the teacher...
or...
don't listen to the principal
or the assistants.
They should be punished.
-Ali Reza Hassani.
-Mr. Hassani...
your teacher says
you didn't do your homework.
Last night I was learning a song.
Why?
To sing together
on the anniversary of the revolution.
Did you learn it by heart?
Can you sing it for us?
-Yes.
-Go ahead.
Do you need the words?
I don't know it.
Oh caravan, tarry
My love is departing
My heart is no longer within me
With its captor it's fleeing
Oh caravan driver, slow down
Do not rush the caravan
With the love of this horsewoman
My heart flies off
She leaves full of grace
I taste the poison of abandonment
Ask for me no more
My soul is no longer there
I'm left behind suffering for her
Distressed, longing for her
Her absence is a dagger
Piercing me to the bone
Oh caravan, tarry
My love is departing
My heart is no longer within me
With its captor it's leaving
So they picked you to sing?
Yes.
How come?
One of the students
brought the poem.
The teacher asked
who had the best voice.
It was me.
She picked me.
After three days of filming,
out of 856 questionnaires distributed
to evaluate
the students' homework situation,
526 were returned.
With 37% of the parents
being illiterate,
they couldn't supervise
their children's homework.
Of those who are literate,
a significant percentage stated
that they were too tired,
impatient, or busy to help.
In the margins
of several questionnaires,
many parents complained
about a busy workload
and asked to be relieved
of the responsibility
of supervising homework.
Thanks to these questionnaires,
we met children
living under special circumstances
that make the task
of homework more difficult.
What happened to your face?
I fell.
You fell?
Who supervises your homework?
My mother works with me.
My grades aren't bad.
Your teacher says you're improving.
Is that true?
-Yes.
How could you improve even more?
By studying my lessons every day.
Working to get a 20.
To get a 20...
What do you want to be?
I want to be an engineer.
How many brothers and sisters
do you have?
There are five of us —
Counting me,
five boys and five girls.
Five boys and five girls.
And so altogether?
I think there's 11 of us.
You're not sure?
Yes, but two got married.
Then three who aren't married.
Plus another one...
who is 15.
Who supervises your homework?
My sister, my brother,
my father, my mother.
Your father says your homework
isn't finished after cartoons.
After cartoons...
sometimes my homework isn't finished.
He said that even after the news,
your homework usually isn't done.
He means the sports news.
Yesterday there were people
playing in the water.
You saw it? Was it good?
Yes.
What cartoons do you like?
There's a bear and a fox.
The bear and the fox play tricks,
and then a hunter comes.
He shoots at the bear,
the fox...
Then the two mice capture him.
What else do you like?
The movies, films.
We go to the movies every Thursday.
What was the last film you saw?
The last one...
I can't remember the name.
But it was really good.
They were fighting on a boat.
A boat? You like that?
The Iranian is in a boat.
The two Iraqis attack him
and capture him.
One of them is guarding him.
But he's too strong.
"I'll show you!"
He throws off one
and then the other.
The guy up there is his pal.
He goes like that...
He knocks him into the water.
-Did you like it?
-Yes.
Listen...
do you like fights in movies?
In war movies.
How about at home?
No, not at home.
Are there fights at home?
Downstairs they fight.
Who's downstairs?
My father's other wife.
-He has two wives?
-Yes.
He married the one downstairs first.
She was first?
Your mother was second?
-Yes.
Do they get along?
With each other?
Not too bad.
-They don't quarrel?
-No.
Never?
Sometimes they laugh together.
Then they quarrel.
-With each other?
-Yes.
Does that bother you?
My mother hits the other one.
-She hits her?
-Yes.
Do you like that?
Your mother being the strongest?
There's a boy downstairs
who's finished his military service.
And?
My father's on their side.
My grandfather
is on my mother's side.
My grandfather's really strong.
Stronger than my father.
There was a fight once.
The other wife came up with her son,
and he hit my mother.
Then my cousin
on my mother's side
took this heavy thing —
He's the strongest one.
He's in the vice squad.
And he hit my half brother
who had hit my mother.
And you were happy about that?
Do you like when there are fights?
-No.
-What do you like?
Nothing.
I'm not big enough to fight.
Will you fight when you're bigger?
No.
They fight at the front, don't they?
There it's war. That's different.
Why is it different?
The difference is they kill,
that's all.
It takes me an hour
to write two pages.
I write the two pages...
then I write numbers...
and it's time for cartoons.
-Do you watch them?
-Yes.
-Do you like them?
-No.
Then why watch them?
I don't watch them.
It's mostly my little brother
who watches.
So he should be behind
in his homework...
not you.
And after that?
After cartoons...
I go and see my mother,
and she says...
"Write three more pages."
What does your father do?
He works in a shop.
-He's not at home?
-No.
Who dictates for you?
The dictation... my father
when he gets home.
Have your parents
ever punished you? How?
He goes and gets the belt
and hits me with it.
Have they ever encouraged you?
You know what that means?
-No.
-Have you ever gotten a reward?
-No.
Never?
Do you help with the housework?
What do you do?
My mother asks me...
to bring the bread basket,
and I do.
What else?
She asks me to wash
the glasses, and I do.
Then she says to go
and get kerosene, and I go.
What else?
She asks me to go...
and get the dishes
for her to clean.
I go and get them
and she cleans them.
And then?
After...
in the evening, she asks me
to go and bring out the meal,
and I go.
How about her?
What does she do?
My mother? Nothing.
She's sick.
I just don't want to be punished.
-Pardon?
-I don't want to be punished.
-You don't like it?
-No.
And being encouraged?
I like that.
Can your father read and write?
Yes.
And your mother?
No.
So who supervises your homework?
When I get home...
I do my homework quickly.
Why does it take so long?
Until the evening?
-There's too much.
When does your father get home?
At 7:00.
Does he supervise your homework?
Yes.
Can he help you with math?
Math... yes.
Who dictates for you?
My sister.
Has she ever punished you?
Sometimes.
-She punishes you?
-Yes.
Why didn't you do your homework?
I couldn't.
-Pardon?
-I couldn't.
Why not?
My brother's always bothering me.
Speak up.
My brother's always bothering me.
-How?
-He doesn't let me work.
He doesn't let you?
How old is he?
Nine.
Nine? He's older than you?
Why doesn't
your mother say anything?
Did you do your math?
No.
You didn't do that either.
Who dictates for you?
My sister or...
-Your sister or...?
-My brother.
Not your mother? Why not?
I don't know.
-Can she read and write?
-No.
Who dictates better,
your sister or brother?
My sister.
Your sister's better?
Who's nicer?
My sister.
Your sister?
Your father doesn't dictate for you?
Why not?
Why doesn't he?
He can't.
He can't? Why not?
He works.
-What does he do?
-He drives.
-What does he drive?
-A bus.
-So he can't help you?
-No.
Okay, off you go.
Hello.
My son doesn't go to this school,
but I live nearby.
I came to transfer him here.
I heard there was this film
about homework,
and I came to talk to you about it.
I'm listening.
I lived abroad for a long time
to study and then to work.
Thanks to my profession,
I've been able to observe
other school systems.
In many countries,
like the US and Canada,
homework doesn't exist at all.
In other countries where it does,
the focus is
on the children's creativity.
Like in England,
where it's on painting, crafts,
geographical maps,
creative writing.
They don't believe the saying...
"Practice makes perfect."
To be perfect,
the child must learn principles.
There's a method and rules.
You have to learn them first
and then practice. Nothing more.
In a country like Japan,
the tradition of overworking
has raised the suicide rate
among students
to such a point that the system
was called into question,
and they're changing it,
because it isn't viable.
If you look here,
our children are
under intense pressure.
Teachers seem
to be taking things out on them,
venting their frustration.
At home, they have to deal with us,
their "home teachers,"
who have no idea what to do
and have absolutely no training.
So we in turn submit the children
to all this pressure.
The result is a passive,
fragile, vulnerable generation
exposed to all kinds of pathologies
and psychological problems.
These children grow up in distress.
They're pale and unhappy.
What will become of them?
They'll be a generation
lacking in creativity,
able only to reproduce.
And we'll be moving
into the 21st century with them.
What strengths will we have?
None.
We have to mobilize everyone
who can change things.
In my opinion,
the educational system...
should abandon
these harmful methods
that I'd call medieval.
I mean the current
educational system.
Teachers should adopt
a new approach
that stimulates students' creativity
in a measured way.
For their part,
parents would be better off
leaving their children alone.
They'd be wrong to try to force them
to do their homework.
The child's resistance
is totally natural.
We parents master
neither modern math
nor literature,
which are very different
from in our day.
We put them under pressure
that is counterproductive
and exhausts them.
Children should give free rein...
to their lively, playful nature
to resist this pressure.
They mustn't give in
or bear it passively.
And I'd like to raise another point.
We're faced with a specific situation,
where children are confronted
with new programs
in math and literature...
that their parents
understand nothing about.
The state has created entities,
teacher training institutes,
to teach these programs
to teachers.
But at parent-teacher meetings,
teachers ask parents
to work with the children.
The child comes home
with a problem
that the parents, mistakenly,
think they can solve.
They want to force
obsolete knowledge on them.
That provokes conflict
between parent and child.
Things get even more complicated
when the other children butt in.
Things get chaotic.
They even start fighting.
In our house
there are often dramas
with one trying to explain,
another trying to learn.
"But my teacher says
something else."
And I understand nothing —
neither my children's various versions
nor the teacher's.
What I mean is,
if I'm asked to help,
it's because I'm expected
to be competent.
So what's the point
of teacher training institutes?
Or else give me training
or materials
that I can refer to.
If you have any questions...
I'd like to know if you and your wife
have ever disagreed
about your son.
Many times.
For me, a passing grade
is absolutely fine.
Wanting your child
to be the best and get
a 20 in everything is nonsense.
My wife would like our son
to be tops in every subject.
He's gifted in music, art,
and a bit in math.
Rote learning isn't his thing.
History and civics are hard for him.
Now, all these subjects,
including literature,
have a religious aspect.
And it's not just learning by rote.
He has trouble copying
the same thing several times.
The teacher asks them
to copy twice
all the hard words in the book.
It's like she just wants them
out of her hair.
The child loses
his intellectual capacities.
I work on math with him
in a more suitable way.
He has to learn
to develop his personality.
We should provide him
with every means necessary.
The 21st century
calls for something else.
In the rest of the world...
students work with computers.
They play video games
from their earliest years.
Even sport is conceived of
for the mind.
There's a story
in which an Indian says
to an Englishman...
"Don't give me a fish to eat.
Teach me to fish."
We stuff our children with fish
instead of teaching them to fish,
instead of teaching them to think.
Under the current system,
if they end up
learning anything at all,
it's not to think.
Pinocchio, I said.
-That's all?
-Yes.
You don't watch anything else?
No.
Was Wonderful World
good yesterday?
Really good.
Your mother says you're unruly.
Is that true?
-Yes.
-I don't like it.
-What?
Being unruly.
So what do you do?
I sit in a corner
when the teacher
doesn't give homework.
My sister went to my uncle's.
She doesn't come to help me.
Who works with you?
My big brother...
Abbas Abedi.
He helps me.
Is he nice to you?
No.
What does he do?
He hits me.
He's in second grade.
I'm in first.
How can he help you
if he's in second grade?
And he's not nice either.
Who else can help you?
Your mother?
My mother can't read.
-And your father?
-My father...
He can't either.
When you don't do your homework,
are you punished?
Yes.
Who punishes you?
My teacher.
At home who punishes you?
My mother.
How?
With a belt.
What does she do?
She hits me.
What do you want to be?
A pilot.
Why?
To kill Saddam.
Saddam has no mercy.
He destroys houses.
He destroys them.
What if he gets killed before?
What will you do?
People with a heart
that doesn't work...
Yes?
People whose heart hurts,
who go to the hospital
and stay in bed
to get operated on.
-You want to operate on them?
-Yes.
So you want to be a doctor?
A pilot and a doctor too.
Islam is victorious!
East and West are vanquished!
We're not doing anything to you.
Why are you crying?
Why?
-My friend left.
-What?
-My friend left.
-Your friend left?
-Yes.
But why are you crying?
Tell me.
Bring my friend back.
-Bring him back?
-Yes.
-You mean Molai?
-Yes.
Molai! Wait there.
Why are you crying?
We're not doing anything.
Please...
I want my friend.
-You want your friend?
-Yes.
You'll see him in a minute.
No.
I want him to come back.
-Who?
-Molai.
Please.
-Do you want to go?
-Yes.
Go on.
Molai, why was your friend crying?
When we were in first grade
he was naughty
and was always getting scolded.
Ever since then,
he's been scared.
-Who scolded him?
-The teacher.
How was he naughty?
He didn't study. He misbehaved.
How did she scold him?
She hit him with a ruler.
-Speak up.
-She hit him with a ruler.
How? Tell me.
Once she hit him so hard
the ruler broke.
I can't hear you.
The ruler broke.
Then the teacher said
she was going to use a stick.
She hit him with that.
Now he's scared.
-Is he always like that?
-Yes.
-What grade are you in?
-Second.
You're in the same class?
So that's why he's scared?
-Yes.
But we didn't do anything to him.
We don't have a ruler.
I don't know
why he's always scared.
Even in class?
Even the bell frightens him.
He starts to cry.
When the children go outside,
he cries.
At recess, he cries.
He's always like that?
It's not our fault?
No.
Why is he scared of us?
I don't know.
Maybe he thought
you'd hidden a ruler,
and once the door was closed,
you were going to hit him.
Could you say that louder?
He thought you'd hidden a ruler,
and once you'd closed the door,
you were going to hit him.
-You don't believe that?
-No.
-You're not scared?
-No.
Blessed be Mohammad
and those close to Mohammad.
Children, as you know,
these are the Days of Fatima.
Lady Fatima,
may God bless her,
whom we all know,
the Prophet's oldest daughter
and wife of Ali,
the first imam for us Shi'ites.
You know the lament
I'm going to sing
to the glory of the martyrs.
Despite all the efforts
of those responsible
for organizing this ceremony,
the children's lack of attention
and understanding
prevented it from being
carried out with dignity.
So out of respect
we thought it better to edit out
the sound for this sequence.
What the teacher told us
about his lack of work
and weaknesses in class
tipped us off.
I tried, unsuccessfully,
to work with him.
I wasn't familiar
with the new methods.
We were lost.
And we passed this stress
on to our child.
At school...
he was considered a bad student.
And at night
we put him under pressure
to make him improve.
He wasn't capable.
He was weak to begin with.
And he couldn't learn well,
because we didn't know how
to present the material
in a way he could understand.
So his anguish got worse
day by day.
To the point...
that I'd say he thought of me
as an aggressor.
When I'd go to work with him
in the bedroom
so we wouldn't disturb
the rest of the family
with our noise
and they wouldn't disturb us either,
I'd close the door,
and that would distress him.
But I wasn't doing
anything to him.
We just worked together.
For example,
I'd repeat the phrases out loud,
but his mind was elsewhere.
He was waiting
for the door to open
and for someone to come...
-Protect him.
-Exactly.
To fly to his rescue.
Here he insisted
on his friend being with him
in order to feel safe with us.
At home, who protects him
and gives him this sense of security?
-His mother.
-She protects him?
She overprotects him.
I've scarcely asked him
to work harder
when she says
his palms are sweating
and he's tired.
Don't you think,
given your son's state,
which you'll see in the film,
that she's right?
He was so anguished
that he didn't understand
what we were saying.
Of course you must be right.
But we finally reached
the conclusion
that neither my method
nor his mother's
emotional protection were right.
None of it was helping our child.
He was just as lost.
What solution did you find?
All of that
should be done at school.
All the organization of schedules
and the number of students
should be such
that they don't need
to work at home.
I'm not saying
there shouldn't be homework.
Learning should be done at school.
Practice can be done
at home, naturally.
But teaching lessons
isn't our responsibility.
Majid, stand there.
If Molai is here,
you won't be scared?
Molai, stand behind him.
Look after Majid
so he's not scared of us.
Why are you scared of us?
I'm not scared.
If Molai leaves,
you won't be scared anymore?
No?
Molai, you can go.
-You're not scared?
-No.
Good boy.
Why were you scared before?
I was thinking about something else.
So you were scared?
What frightened you?
Nothing.
What could we do to you?
I didn't know.
What did you think we'd do?
Nothing.
Nothing?
Then why were you scared?
If Molai goes behind the door,
will you be scared?
No.
Shall I tell him to go back to class?
No.
Yes.
Sorry.
Sorry.
-Do you want Molai back?
-Yes.
-Don't move. He's coming.
-Okay.
Jahan, tell Molai to come in!
Stay here.
Jahan!
Tell Molai to come in.
Molai, stand behind him.
You want him to stay, right?
Molai, over here.
There. You're no longer scared?
But we have to go to religion class.
-What?
-We have religion class.
A religion test?
Did you learn the material?
No.
-Not at all?
-No.
Why? Didn't you study?
I studied.
-Molai, do you know the lesson?
-No.
You neither?
Do you know
what you'll be tested on?
No.
-That's why you want to leave?
-Yes.
Molai goes first, then you.
No. Me first, then him.
-You first?
-Yes.
Tell me why you're scared of us
and I'll let you go.
Can you tell me?
I'm scared of missing religion.
You'll be tested later.
Come closer.
Me?
Recite a religion lesson for me.
Can you?
-Shall I recite "Oh God"?
-Yes.
"Oh God of the beautiful stars
Oh God of the colorful world
Oh you who created Venus
But also the Moon and the Sun
The mountains, hills, and seas
The lovely flowering trees
The butterfly's fine wings
Nests for the birds
Joy, play, strength
Our eyes so we can see
Snow, rain, heat, cold
You, Oh God, created it all
All I desired you gave me
Fill our hearts with joy"
Directed and Edited by
ABBAS KIAROSTAMI
Produced by
ALI REZA ZARRIN
Researcher
SHOLEH DOWLATABADI
Cinematography by
IRAJ SAFAVI, ALI ASGHAR MIRZAI
This film was shot in February 1988
at the Martyr Masumi School, Tehran.
The Institute for the Intellectual
Development of Children
Development of Youth
Cinema and Theater Department
Excuse us, sir.
-What's the film?
-It's called Homework.
-What school do you go to?
-Martyr Masumi.
-Did you do your homework?
-Yes.
You sure? Go on to school.
We'll be along.
Take my picture.
It's a film... for children.
Take his picture.
Is it a fiction film?
No, it's a docu—
I don't know.
We have no idea yet.
It isn't a fiction film.
Sorry, we're filming.
What's the film?
Homework.
What school do you go to?
Martyr Masumi.
It's a film about homework.
Did you do yours?
Yes.
I did it the best.
Go on. We'll be along.
Good-bye, sir.
I like cinema.
I know your films, Mr. Kiarostami.
I saw one of them on TV.
It took place in a classroom.
First Graders.
Is this in the same style?
We don't know the style.
There's no script, just an idea.
It's our first day filming.
I had problems
with my own child about homework.
Homework is supposed to be
for the children,
but parents end up
more involved than the kids.
So I took my camera
to come investigate
and see if the problem
is due to my son or to me...
or if it's the educational system.
We're going to observe
the situation in other homes.
To be honest, I should say
it's not really a film,
more a piece of research.
Research through images
about students' homework.
-Good luck.
-Good-bye.
Islam is victorious!
East and West are vanquished!
Blessed be Mohammad
and those close to him!
One, two, three, four!
We are brave!
Two, three, four, five!
The warriors will win!
Three, four, five, six!
Saddam's men will be annihilated!
One, two, three, four!
We are brave!
Two, three, four, five!
The warriors will win!
Three, four, five, six!
Saddam's men will be annihilated!
Saddam's men will be annihilated!
Islamists are victorious!
-The first imam?
-Ali.
-The first imam?
-Ali.
-The brave lion?
-Ali.
-The pillar of the faith?
-Ali.
What's your name?
Focus the light.
Is that okay? Let's go.
Sound?
Camera?
Why wasn't your homework done?
My brother keeps saying —
My mother's busy.
I always have to tell my brother
to write his dictation.
I dictate for him and write mine
at the same time.
You dictate and you write?
There's only you two?
My sister got married and left.
That leaves my big brother.
Why doesn't he do the dictation?
He works.
There's just the two of us.
Who dictates for you?
I go to my sister's.
Is it far?
She lives near Pars.
What about your little brother?
My mother and little brother
come with me.
Can't your parents dictate for you?
My father's busy. He's a potter.
My mother does the cooking.
-Your sister dictates for you?
-Yes.
-She's not busy?
-No.
She doesn't cook?
She knows how,
but she doesn't cook dinner.
But I go before it's evening.
You go, she dictates,
and you return home?
Why don't you do your homework?
I usually do it.
How come sometimes you don't?
Sometimes our teacher
gives us too much,
especially on weekends.
He gives us three assignments.
Copy the same lesson three times,
as well as math and dictation.
-You can't do it all?
-No.
-Can your father read and write?
-No.
-And your mother?
-No.
-Who helps with your homework?
-What?
Our landlord.
How's that?
When I have dictation to do,
I go see him.
It's not him who does it.
It's his daughters.
-His daughters?
-One of them.
What time do you finish?
I don't know.
-Does it take long?
-Yeah, kind of.
Do you do other things at home
besides homework?
Does your mother ask you
to do things?
I do the dictation...
Persian exercises.
No, I mean housework.
I don't know what that is.
You don't?
Do you go buy bread sometimes?
Only when there's none left.
When there's some left,
you don't go.
Do you do other shopping?
I buy fruit.
If you don't do your homework well,
are you punished?
If I don't do it well, I'm punished.
Who punishes you?
The teacher.
And at home? Your parents?
My parents hit me.
How?
I don't know.
You can't get hit and not know how!
With a belt.
How do they know you did it poorly
if they can't read?
When I show them my notebook,
they say it's not good.
How do they know
if they can't read?
It's big writing.
Big isn't good?
If you buy big fruit, do you get hit?
No?
Has anyone ever encouraged you?
Not at all?
-No.
-But you've been punished?
-Yes.
-Sorry?
-I've been punished before.
You've never been encouraged?
No.
That can't be. And at school?
At school...
Not at school.
Not there either.
-You ever get gold stars?
-Never.
Your teacher told me
you're a good student.
-I'm bad at dictation.
-Dictation?
Maybe they dictate badly...
the landlord's daughters.
Would you like
your teacher to be absent?
Then who'd give us homework?
If you had no homework,
you could watch TV.
Do you prefer cartoons or homework?
Tell the truth.
Homework.
Can you tell me
about a cartoon you like?
I like Pinocchio.
What else?
The Wombles.
Do you prefer homework
or The Wombles?
After my homework.
And if it's not finished?
I do my homework
and watch TV in the evening.
But The Wombles
isn't on in the evening.
There's the news.
Do you watch it?
It's my bedtime
when the news is on.
That's good.
Ever gotten 20 out of 20?
No.
Do your parents know
what getting a 20 means?
And the landlord?
-Yes.
If you got a 20,
what reward would you like?
What present would you like?
What?
-A pastry.
You'd like that?
What else if you got a 20?
A pastry... two pastries.
Two pastries?
And if you got three 20s?
What would you like?
Pastries.
How many?
Three.
And if you got 20 on average?
On average?
A pastry shop, I guess?
Can your father read and write?
No.
-And your mother?
-No.
But she's learning to read and write.
Does she help with your homework?
She can't yet.
I help her with her homework.
You do? Good for you.
Who helps you with yours?
-My sister.
Does she ever punish you?
You know what "punish" means?
What is it?
-Getting hit.
And encouraging?
Clapping.
-What?
-They clap.
And a reward?
A reward, it's a thing —
I don't know.
You don't know?
One night I wanted to do my math,
but my mother said to go to bed.
Why were you doing it at night?
I finished my homework late.
-What time?
-Evening.
Did you watch a cartoon?
No.
Why not?
Because I wanted
to do my homework.
I did my dictation.
It was two pages.
It was too long.
-You couldn't watch cartoons?
No.
-You'd have liked to?
-Yes.
Sometimes the teacher gives
little homework.
Sometimes she gives a lot.
You think she gives a lot?
I can't say how long it takes.
Yes, sometimes she gives a lot,
sometimes not.
Sometimes my mother gets angry.
Like how?
For example, she says...
we're invited to someone's house.
I haven't finished my homework.
So I ask her to wait,
and she gets kind of mad.
-She gets mad?
-Yes.
You can't take
your homework with you?
There's too many kids.
So it's not possible?
They rip my notebooks.
We had a test.
-In what?
-Civics.
Did you do well?
Yes, except for two questions.
What were they?
Do you remember?
It was a blank test.
What's that?
For instance:
"Children are... (blank)
entrusted to their parents,
who must look
after their... (blank)."
And the answer:
"Children are gifts from heaven,
entrusted to their parents,
who must look
after their upbringing."
It seems you're a good student,
but you're weak in math.
Who works with you at home?
-My brother.
Does he help you with math?
Yes, but he's not nice to me.
For example,
every time he helps me,
I have to do him a favor afterwards.
For example?
Bring him his binders,
make him tea.
Does your father know modern math?
Can he help you?
My father...
Before, yes...
but we got a division problem
he didn't know how to do.
I asked the teacher today.
Why not your brother?
How old is he?
My brother is 18.
Why not ask him?
When I did it,
he said it was wrong.
But when I asked him how to do it,
he didn't answer.
A Charlie Chaplin film.
You like Chaplin?
And Pinocchio?
-That too.
But your mother says
your homework isn't finished
when you start watching TV.
There's too much.
-What?
-Homework.
-Cartoons or homework?
-Homework.
She says you haven't finished
even after the news.
-It's endless. There's so much.
-What?
It takes me till midnight.
You work till midnight?
-Yes.
-You prefer cartoons or homework?
Both.
Which do you like best?
Homework.
Homework?
Really? Look at me.
Yes, really.
Would you like
to replace TV with homework,
since that's what you prefer?
Yes.
Some cartoons is good too.
What did you dream about?
The guy with the long nose.
You never dream
about homework or exams?
Final exams?
No.
Homework?
-Yes.
-What kind of dreams?
For example, I dreamed I got a 14.
-And you were pleased?
-No.
-Isn't a 14 good?
-No.
Who said it wasn't good?
I don't like to get a 14.
-What do you like to get?
-Twenty.
Have you ever gotten a 20?
Yes.
How did they react
when you got a 20?
-Well.
-Glad to hear it. But how?
They congratulated me.
They said it was good.
Why do you do
your homework late at night?
I learn the lesson,
but when I get to class,
I've forgotten it.
When you don't know your lesson,
when you forget it,
how should they help you
to learn?
What would help you remember it?
Do you know?
-Nothing. It's okay.
What encouragement do you like?
Anything.
For example?
I don't know.
And punishment?
I don't like getting punished.
Sorry?
I don't like getting punished.
I want to work.
Who dictates for you?
My brother.
If you get it wrong,
what does he do?
If you make mistakes?
He hits me.
Why didn't you do your homework?
My uncle and his family came over.
What happened?
I couldn't do it.
Did they stay late?
Till 10:00.
And how long
did your homework take?
Till 11:00.
11:00? Weren't you sleepy?
Did you watch cartoons?
What cartoons?
Do you remember?
-No.
Doesn't your mother scold you
when you don't do your homework?
Or your father? Neither one?
-Yes.
Did they scold you last night?
What did you tell them?
I said we had company.
When you're invited somewhere,
you can't work either?
How many times a week
do you go out or have company?
I don't know.
In either case, what do you do?
I can't do my homework.
-Do you have a lot?
-Yes.
When I'm working,
my little brother,
who doesn't go to school,
comes and bites my back.
He does it
when I'm doing my homework.
So you can't finish in time?
Any other reasons?
I don't know.
Sometimes
they pour water on my head.
-Do you like cartoons?
-Yes.
How much?
A little.
I prefer homework.
You prefer homework?
Because you learn.
Has your mother ever punished you
for not finishing your homework on time?
-Yes.
-How?
The baby is naughty.
He throws my pencils around
and they get lost.
Then my mother scolds me
because I have no more pencils.
-And she punishes you?
-Yes.
How?
She hits me and says,
"Don't let me catch you again."
She doesn't go get the belt.
She says,
"That's bad. Don't do it again."
Or "Do your homework quicker."
Why did you mention a belt?
My father doesn't wear one.
He's too fat.
His pants stay up by themselves.
My mother sometimes goes
to get the belt she hid
to punish me if I'm naughty.
Then one day,
when she wanted to do that,
she realized...
that the belt she hid
had disappeared.
-Who took it?
-My mother... I don't know.
So your father
doesn't need a belt —
He's got a fat belly!
So your mother keeps it
to punish you.
Yes, but now she's lost it.
She's bought lots,
but she loses them every time.
One day when we were moving,
we found loads of them!
They reappeared.
But my mother
hasn't hit me with one yet.
I help out around the house.
Would you like your father
to be thin and wear his belt
so there'd be none left
around the house?
Why does he even buy belts?
He doesn't buy them.
He's fat!
He doesn't buy any.
It's fine with him.
People call him "the fat man."
I'm talking about his belt.
Since he doesn't buy any,
why do you have them around?
He bought them
mainly to hit us.
But your mother hid them?
Yes, she hides them
and then loses them.
When you're big and have children,
if they don't do their homework,
will you use a belt?
-No.
-Why not?
My father doesn't do it.
I won't either.
Speak up. We can't hear you.
My father doesn't hit me,
so I won't hit them.
-Who?
-My children.
Your children?
You won't hit them?
And if your father hit you?
-I'd hit them.
It wouldn't be your child's fault
if your father made a mistake.
That's how it is.
-You're the class representative?
-Yes.
Why you?
I'm a good student.
The teacher chose me.
Since you're a good student,
you must be encouraged at home?
Yes.
How do they reward you?
My father buys me things.
My mother buys me
notebooks, crayons,
pants, and shirts.
Have you ever been punished?
How are you punished?
I get slapped in the face.
I get slapped.
-By who?
-My father.
You think he's right?
My father? Yes.
He's right? Why?
Because I misbehave,
and he gets angry.
How many slaps does he give you?
Five to seven.
In your opinion,
is that enough or not?
It's enough.
-No more?
-No.
-No less?
-Less? No.
Five is good?
If you had a naughty child,
how many would you give him?
-Seven.
-Seven?
Why five for your father
but seven for you?
When my father gets mad,
like when he tells me
to sit down and I don't,
he gets up and gives me seven.
-Seven?
-Yes.
What would you call your son?
If it's a boy, Hossein.
If it's a girl, Sara.
If Hossein disobeyed,
how many would you give him?
Seven.
My father's at the front.
He's gone there,
and my mother always
wants us to go downstairs.
-Downstairs?
-To her sister's.
At my aunt's...
I don't find the time
to do my homework.
Does your mother know
you have homework?
Does she know you have homework?
I tell her I've got homework.
But she still wants to go?
No, my aunt comes
and makes us go downstairs.
Why don't you do it at her place?
I take it with me,
but her children keep bothering me.
Who supervises your homework?
Sometimes my mother,
or my father,
who's not there now,
or my cousins.
Do they dictate well?
Not always.
What do you mean?
They don't know how.
They read really quick.
They have no patience?
Why do you think that is?
-What?
-Why?
My hand isn't quick enough
to write fast.
I try to write well,
but they want me to go fast.
They're in a hurry?
What does your mother do?
Besides dictation,
what else does she have to do?
Sometimes she has
to wash the dishes.
What do you think
about encouragement?
Encouragement?
Are rewards effective?
For what?
-To work well, yes.
What about punishment?
-It isn't.
-How do you mean?
The child just keeps going.
In your opinion, why is that?
If you beat a child...
he becomes stubborn
and doesn't do his homework.
So there's no point?
A little, yes.
Who supervises your homework?
My sister.
Your sister?
Not your father? Why not?
Because he can't read.
And your mother?
She can't either.
There's only my sister...
or my brother.
-Have they punished you for homework?
-Who?
Your sister.
Has she punished you?
You know what "to punish" means?
It means to hit.
-Pardon?
-To hit.
And "encourage"?
I don't know.
Think.
You don't know what it is?
But to punish, yes?
What's it mean?
-It's hitting.
What is punishment?
To hit.
And encouragement?
To say "good job."
Who dictates for you?
My sister.
-What's that on your face?
-My sister did that.
-What did she do?
-She scratched me.
She scratched me.
Who supervises your homework?
Who dictates for you?
My sister.
Can your father read and write?
No.
Do you know what punishment is?
Yes.
What is it?
Getting hit.
And encouragement?
You don't know?
Can your father read and write?
No.
-Who supervises your homework?
-My sister.
And if you don't do it,
are you punished?
You know what that is?
It's getting hit.
And encouragement?
I don't know.
You don't know?
What does that mean?
Punishment...
When you misbehave,
you have to get a beating.
And encouragement?
It means doing good things.
It means getting hit.
And encouragement?
It means to applaud.
-Have you ever been punished?
-Yes.
How?
It's very simple.
How?
You get hit.
What do you want to be?
An engineer in the vice squad.
To do what?
To arrest opium smokers...
arrest the bad guys...
arrest those...
who spread lies or steal.
What job did you say?
Engineer in the vice squad.
Do you approve of encouragement?
Yes.
And punishment?
Who do you think
should be punished?
Naughty boys.
What do you mean?
Those who don't listen
to their parents
and also...
those who don't listen
to the teacher...
or...
don't listen to the principal
or the assistants.
They should be punished.
-Ali Reza Hassani.
-Mr. Hassani...
your teacher says
you didn't do your homework.
Last night I was learning a song.
Why?
To sing together
on the anniversary of the revolution.
Did you learn it by heart?
Can you sing it for us?
-Yes.
-Go ahead.
Do you need the words?
I don't know it.
Oh caravan, tarry
My love is departing
My heart is no longer within me
With its captor it's fleeing
Oh caravan driver, slow down
Do not rush the caravan
With the love of this horsewoman
My heart flies off
She leaves full of grace
I taste the poison of abandonment
Ask for me no more
My soul is no longer there
I'm left behind suffering for her
Distressed, longing for her
Her absence is a dagger
Piercing me to the bone
Oh caravan, tarry
My love is departing
My heart is no longer within me
With its captor it's leaving
So they picked you to sing?
Yes.
How come?
One of the students
brought the poem.
The teacher asked
who had the best voice.
It was me.
She picked me.
After three days of filming,
out of 856 questionnaires distributed
to evaluate
the students' homework situation,
526 were returned.
With 37% of the parents
being illiterate,
they couldn't supervise
their children's homework.
Of those who are literate,
a significant percentage stated
that they were too tired,
impatient, or busy to help.
In the margins
of several questionnaires,
many parents complained
about a busy workload
and asked to be relieved
of the responsibility
of supervising homework.
Thanks to these questionnaires,
we met children
living under special circumstances
that make the task
of homework more difficult.
What happened to your face?
I fell.
You fell?
Who supervises your homework?
My mother works with me.
My grades aren't bad.
Your teacher says you're improving.
Is that true?
-Yes.
How could you improve even more?
By studying my lessons every day.
Working to get a 20.
To get a 20...
What do you want to be?
I want to be an engineer.
How many brothers and sisters
do you have?
There are five of us —
Counting me,
five boys and five girls.
Five boys and five girls.
And so altogether?
I think there's 11 of us.
You're not sure?
Yes, but two got married.
Then three who aren't married.
Plus another one...
who is 15.
Who supervises your homework?
My sister, my brother,
my father, my mother.
Your father says your homework
isn't finished after cartoons.
After cartoons...
sometimes my homework isn't finished.
He said that even after the news,
your homework usually isn't done.
He means the sports news.
Yesterday there were people
playing in the water.
You saw it? Was it good?
Yes.
What cartoons do you like?
There's a bear and a fox.
The bear and the fox play tricks,
and then a hunter comes.
He shoots at the bear,
the fox...
Then the two mice capture him.
What else do you like?
The movies, films.
We go to the movies every Thursday.
What was the last film you saw?
The last one...
I can't remember the name.
But it was really good.
They were fighting on a boat.
A boat? You like that?
The Iranian is in a boat.
The two Iraqis attack him
and capture him.
One of them is guarding him.
But he's too strong.
"I'll show you!"
He throws off one
and then the other.
The guy up there is his pal.
He goes like that...
He knocks him into the water.
-Did you like it?
-Yes.
Listen...
do you like fights in movies?
In war movies.
How about at home?
No, not at home.
Are there fights at home?
Downstairs they fight.
Who's downstairs?
My father's other wife.
-He has two wives?
-Yes.
He married the one downstairs first.
She was first?
Your mother was second?
-Yes.
Do they get along?
With each other?
Not too bad.
-They don't quarrel?
-No.
Never?
Sometimes they laugh together.
Then they quarrel.
-With each other?
-Yes.
Does that bother you?
My mother hits the other one.
-She hits her?
-Yes.
Do you like that?
Your mother being the strongest?
There's a boy downstairs
who's finished his military service.
And?
My father's on their side.
My grandfather
is on my mother's side.
My grandfather's really strong.
Stronger than my father.
There was a fight once.
The other wife came up with her son,
and he hit my mother.
Then my cousin
on my mother's side
took this heavy thing —
He's the strongest one.
He's in the vice squad.
And he hit my half brother
who had hit my mother.
And you were happy about that?
Do you like when there are fights?
-No.
-What do you like?
Nothing.
I'm not big enough to fight.
Will you fight when you're bigger?
No.
They fight at the front, don't they?
There it's war. That's different.
Why is it different?
The difference is they kill,
that's all.
It takes me an hour
to write two pages.
I write the two pages...
then I write numbers...
and it's time for cartoons.
-Do you watch them?
-Yes.
-Do you like them?
-No.
Then why watch them?
I don't watch them.
It's mostly my little brother
who watches.
So he should be behind
in his homework...
not you.
And after that?
After cartoons...
I go and see my mother,
and she says...
"Write three more pages."
What does your father do?
He works in a shop.
-He's not at home?
-No.
Who dictates for you?
The dictation... my father
when he gets home.
Have your parents
ever punished you? How?
He goes and gets the belt
and hits me with it.
Have they ever encouraged you?
You know what that means?
-No.
-Have you ever gotten a reward?
-No.
Never?
Do you help with the housework?
What do you do?
My mother asks me...
to bring the bread basket,
and I do.
What else?
She asks me to wash
the glasses, and I do.
Then she says to go
and get kerosene, and I go.
What else?
She asks me to go...
and get the dishes
for her to clean.
I go and get them
and she cleans them.
And then?
After...
in the evening, she asks me
to go and bring out the meal,
and I go.
How about her?
What does she do?
My mother? Nothing.
She's sick.
I just don't want to be punished.
-Pardon?
-I don't want to be punished.
-You don't like it?
-No.
And being encouraged?
I like that.
Can your father read and write?
Yes.
And your mother?
No.
So who supervises your homework?
When I get home...
I do my homework quickly.
Why does it take so long?
Until the evening?
-There's too much.
When does your father get home?
At 7:00.
Does he supervise your homework?
Yes.
Can he help you with math?
Math... yes.
Who dictates for you?
My sister.
Has she ever punished you?
Sometimes.
-She punishes you?
-Yes.
Why didn't you do your homework?
I couldn't.
-Pardon?
-I couldn't.
Why not?
My brother's always bothering me.
Speak up.
My brother's always bothering me.
-How?
-He doesn't let me work.
He doesn't let you?
How old is he?
Nine.
Nine? He's older than you?
Why doesn't
your mother say anything?
Did you do your math?
No.
You didn't do that either.
Who dictates for you?
My sister or...
-Your sister or...?
-My brother.
Not your mother? Why not?
I don't know.
-Can she read and write?
-No.
Who dictates better,
your sister or brother?
My sister.
Your sister's better?
Who's nicer?
My sister.
Your sister?
Your father doesn't dictate for you?
Why not?
Why doesn't he?
He can't.
He can't? Why not?
He works.
-What does he do?
-He drives.
-What does he drive?
-A bus.
-So he can't help you?
-No.
Okay, off you go.
Hello.
My son doesn't go to this school,
but I live nearby.
I came to transfer him here.
I heard there was this film
about homework,
and I came to talk to you about it.
I'm listening.
I lived abroad for a long time
to study and then to work.
Thanks to my profession,
I've been able to observe
other school systems.
In many countries,
like the US and Canada,
homework doesn't exist at all.
In other countries where it does,
the focus is
on the children's creativity.
Like in England,
where it's on painting, crafts,
geographical maps,
creative writing.
They don't believe the saying...
"Practice makes perfect."
To be perfect,
the child must learn principles.
There's a method and rules.
You have to learn them first
and then practice. Nothing more.
In a country like Japan,
the tradition of overworking
has raised the suicide rate
among students
to such a point that the system
was called into question,
and they're changing it,
because it isn't viable.
If you look here,
our children are
under intense pressure.
Teachers seem
to be taking things out on them,
venting their frustration.
At home, they have to deal with us,
their "home teachers,"
who have no idea what to do
and have absolutely no training.
So we in turn submit the children
to all this pressure.
The result is a passive,
fragile, vulnerable generation
exposed to all kinds of pathologies
and psychological problems.
These children grow up in distress.
They're pale and unhappy.
What will become of them?
They'll be a generation
lacking in creativity,
able only to reproduce.
And we'll be moving
into the 21st century with them.
What strengths will we have?
None.
We have to mobilize everyone
who can change things.
In my opinion,
the educational system...
should abandon
these harmful methods
that I'd call medieval.
I mean the current
educational system.
Teachers should adopt
a new approach
that stimulates students' creativity
in a measured way.
For their part,
parents would be better off
leaving their children alone.
They'd be wrong to try to force them
to do their homework.
The child's resistance
is totally natural.
We parents master
neither modern math
nor literature,
which are very different
from in our day.
We put them under pressure
that is counterproductive
and exhausts them.
Children should give free rein...
to their lively, playful nature
to resist this pressure.
They mustn't give in
or bear it passively.
And I'd like to raise another point.
We're faced with a specific situation,
where children are confronted
with new programs
in math and literature...
that their parents
understand nothing about.
The state has created entities,
teacher training institutes,
to teach these programs
to teachers.
But at parent-teacher meetings,
teachers ask parents
to work with the children.
The child comes home
with a problem
that the parents, mistakenly,
think they can solve.
They want to force
obsolete knowledge on them.
That provokes conflict
between parent and child.
Things get even more complicated
when the other children butt in.
Things get chaotic.
They even start fighting.
In our house
there are often dramas
with one trying to explain,
another trying to learn.
"But my teacher says
something else."
And I understand nothing —
neither my children's various versions
nor the teacher's.
What I mean is,
if I'm asked to help,
it's because I'm expected
to be competent.
So what's the point
of teacher training institutes?
Or else give me training
or materials
that I can refer to.
If you have any questions...
I'd like to know if you and your wife
have ever disagreed
about your son.
Many times.
For me, a passing grade
is absolutely fine.
Wanting your child
to be the best and get
a 20 in everything is nonsense.
My wife would like our son
to be tops in every subject.
He's gifted in music, art,
and a bit in math.
Rote learning isn't his thing.
History and civics are hard for him.
Now, all these subjects,
including literature,
have a religious aspect.
And it's not just learning by rote.
He has trouble copying
the same thing several times.
The teacher asks them
to copy twice
all the hard words in the book.
It's like she just wants them
out of her hair.
The child loses
his intellectual capacities.
I work on math with him
in a more suitable way.
He has to learn
to develop his personality.
We should provide him
with every means necessary.
The 21st century
calls for something else.
In the rest of the world...
students work with computers.
They play video games
from their earliest years.
Even sport is conceived of
for the mind.
There's a story
in which an Indian says
to an Englishman...
"Don't give me a fish to eat.
Teach me to fish."
We stuff our children with fish
instead of teaching them to fish,
instead of teaching them to think.
Under the current system,
if they end up
learning anything at all,
it's not to think.
Pinocchio, I said.
-That's all?
-Yes.
You don't watch anything else?
No.
Was Wonderful World
good yesterday?
Really good.
Your mother says you're unruly.
Is that true?
-Yes.
-I don't like it.
-What?
Being unruly.
So what do you do?
I sit in a corner
when the teacher
doesn't give homework.
My sister went to my uncle's.
She doesn't come to help me.
Who works with you?
My big brother...
Abbas Abedi.
He helps me.
Is he nice to you?
No.
What does he do?
He hits me.
He's in second grade.
I'm in first.
How can he help you
if he's in second grade?
And he's not nice either.
Who else can help you?
Your mother?
My mother can't read.
-And your father?
-My father...
He can't either.
When you don't do your homework,
are you punished?
Yes.
Who punishes you?
My teacher.
At home who punishes you?
My mother.
How?
With a belt.
What does she do?
She hits me.
What do you want to be?
A pilot.
Why?
To kill Saddam.
Saddam has no mercy.
He destroys houses.
He destroys them.
What if he gets killed before?
What will you do?
People with a heart
that doesn't work...
Yes?
People whose heart hurts,
who go to the hospital
and stay in bed
to get operated on.
-You want to operate on them?
-Yes.
So you want to be a doctor?
A pilot and a doctor too.
Islam is victorious!
East and West are vanquished!
We're not doing anything to you.
Why are you crying?
Why?
-My friend left.
-What?
-My friend left.
-Your friend left?
-Yes.
But why are you crying?
Tell me.
Bring my friend back.
-Bring him back?
-Yes.
-You mean Molai?
-Yes.
Molai! Wait there.
Why are you crying?
We're not doing anything.
Please...
I want my friend.
-You want your friend?
-Yes.
You'll see him in a minute.
No.
I want him to come back.
-Who?
-Molai.
Please.
-Do you want to go?
-Yes.
Go on.
Molai, why was your friend crying?
When we were in first grade
he was naughty
and was always getting scolded.
Ever since then,
he's been scared.
-Who scolded him?
-The teacher.
How was he naughty?
He didn't study. He misbehaved.
How did she scold him?
She hit him with a ruler.
-Speak up.
-She hit him with a ruler.
How? Tell me.
Once she hit him so hard
the ruler broke.
I can't hear you.
The ruler broke.
Then the teacher said
she was going to use a stick.
She hit him with that.
Now he's scared.
-Is he always like that?
-Yes.
-What grade are you in?
-Second.
You're in the same class?
So that's why he's scared?
-Yes.
But we didn't do anything to him.
We don't have a ruler.
I don't know
why he's always scared.
Even in class?
Even the bell frightens him.
He starts to cry.
When the children go outside,
he cries.
At recess, he cries.
He's always like that?
It's not our fault?
No.
Why is he scared of us?
I don't know.
Maybe he thought
you'd hidden a ruler,
and once the door was closed,
you were going to hit him.
Could you say that louder?
He thought you'd hidden a ruler,
and once you'd closed the door,
you were going to hit him.
-You don't believe that?
-No.
-You're not scared?
-No.
Blessed be Mohammad
and those close to Mohammad.
Children, as you know,
these are the Days of Fatima.
Lady Fatima,
may God bless her,
whom we all know,
the Prophet's oldest daughter
and wife of Ali,
the first imam for us Shi'ites.
You know the lament
I'm going to sing
to the glory of the martyrs.
Despite all the efforts
of those responsible
for organizing this ceremony,
the children's lack of attention
and understanding
prevented it from being
carried out with dignity.
So out of respect
we thought it better to edit out
the sound for this sequence.
What the teacher told us
about his lack of work
and weaknesses in class
tipped us off.
I tried, unsuccessfully,
to work with him.
I wasn't familiar
with the new methods.
We were lost.
And we passed this stress
on to our child.
At school...
he was considered a bad student.
And at night
we put him under pressure
to make him improve.
He wasn't capable.
He was weak to begin with.
And he couldn't learn well,
because we didn't know how
to present the material
in a way he could understand.
So his anguish got worse
day by day.
To the point...
that I'd say he thought of me
as an aggressor.
When I'd go to work with him
in the bedroom
so we wouldn't disturb
the rest of the family
with our noise
and they wouldn't disturb us either,
I'd close the door,
and that would distress him.
But I wasn't doing
anything to him.
We just worked together.
For example,
I'd repeat the phrases out loud,
but his mind was elsewhere.
He was waiting
for the door to open
and for someone to come...
-Protect him.
-Exactly.
To fly to his rescue.
Here he insisted
on his friend being with him
in order to feel safe with us.
At home, who protects him
and gives him this sense of security?
-His mother.
-She protects him?
She overprotects him.
I've scarcely asked him
to work harder
when she says
his palms are sweating
and he's tired.
Don't you think,
given your son's state,
which you'll see in the film,
that she's right?
He was so anguished
that he didn't understand
what we were saying.
Of course you must be right.
But we finally reached
the conclusion
that neither my method
nor his mother's
emotional protection were right.
None of it was helping our child.
He was just as lost.
What solution did you find?
All of that
should be done at school.
All the organization of schedules
and the number of students
should be such
that they don't need
to work at home.
I'm not saying
there shouldn't be homework.
Learning should be done at school.
Practice can be done
at home, naturally.
But teaching lessons
isn't our responsibility.
Majid, stand there.
If Molai is here,
you won't be scared?
Molai, stand behind him.
Look after Majid
so he's not scared of us.
Why are you scared of us?
I'm not scared.
If Molai leaves,
you won't be scared anymore?
No?
Molai, you can go.
-You're not scared?
-No.
Good boy.
Why were you scared before?
I was thinking about something else.
So you were scared?
What frightened you?
Nothing.
What could we do to you?
I didn't know.
What did you think we'd do?
Nothing.
Nothing?
Then why were you scared?
If Molai goes behind the door,
will you be scared?
No.
Shall I tell him to go back to class?
No.
Yes.
Sorry.
Sorry.
-Do you want Molai back?
-Yes.
-Don't move. He's coming.
-Okay.
Jahan, tell Molai to come in!
Stay here.
Jahan!
Tell Molai to come in.
Molai, stand behind him.
You want him to stay, right?
Molai, over here.
There. You're no longer scared?
But we have to go to religion class.
-What?
-We have religion class.
A religion test?
Did you learn the material?
No.
-Not at all?
-No.
Why? Didn't you study?
I studied.
-Molai, do you know the lesson?
-No.
You neither?
Do you know
what you'll be tested on?
No.
-That's why you want to leave?
-Yes.
Molai goes first, then you.
No. Me first, then him.
-You first?
-Yes.
Tell me why you're scared of us
and I'll let you go.
Can you tell me?
I'm scared of missing religion.
You'll be tested later.
Come closer.
Me?
Recite a religion lesson for me.
Can you?
-Shall I recite "Oh God"?
-Yes.
"Oh God of the beautiful stars
Oh God of the colorful world
Oh you who created Venus
But also the Moon and the Sun
The mountains, hills, and seas
The lovely flowering trees
The butterfly's fine wings
Nests for the birds
Joy, play, strength
Our eyes so we can see
Snow, rain, heat, cold
You, Oh God, created it all
All I desired you gave me
Fill our hearts with joy"
Directed and Edited by
ABBAS KIAROSTAMI
Produced by
ALI REZA ZARRIN
Researcher
SHOLEH DOWLATABADI
Cinematography by
IRAJ SAFAVI, ALI ASGHAR MIRZAI
This film was shot in February 1988
at the Martyr Masumi School, Tehran.
The Institute for the Intellectual
Development of Children