To Touch A Child is a 1962 short film commissioned by the Charles Stewart Mott Foundation as a nod to the legacy Frank J. Manley and Charles S. Mott created by funding after school programs using existing Flint public school buildings. It was the first of its kind in the nation and copied nationwide soon after. If you ever attended an event – any kind of event – after school, you can thank Manley, who came up with the concept, and Mott, who paid for it.

For those not from the Flint area, it might sound staggering, but you could – almost free of charge for for a few dollars – a free education in just about anything you could imagine. Technical, vocational, academic, or just plain recreational, you could sign up for classes that took place after school and better yourself. Today, you’d have to pay thousands for University quality classes at an “extended campus” program.

I myself took several after school computer classes in the very early 80′s and by 1982, I was writing my own computer programs and games. At 10 years old. The rest is history.

Directed by Herk Harvey, an industrial/educational film director, the film focuses on Cook School in Flint, Michigan. The film was instrumental in the spread of the community school idea throughout the nation.

The film begins with children playing in the street, down by the river, while vacant school buildings lie dormant (in the film the newly built Southwestern High School is shown).

At 48 years old, To Touch A Child is a dated film but a remarkable window into Flint culture and American culture at the time. There are hilarious references to the classic housewife dieting and cake decorating of the period. There are highly melodramatic elements and unnecessary camera movement. However the film, thankfully, isn’t totally dismissible. And so very pertinent today as the United States struggles to raise its next generation of kids.

I have to admit, when the instructor can’t figure out why no one has shown up for the programs, only to walk around the corner to the front door to watch hundreds lined up but unable to get past the locked door, I got choked up.

To Touch A Child (1962)

(Running time 22 minutes, color)

Further reading:

Bridges To The Future The mission of Bridges to the Future is to provide children with opportunities to grow through a safe, engaging and exciting after school learning experience, surrounded with caring, responsible adults and sustained by an involved, contributing community.

Flint Community Schools The official website of the Flint Michigan School system.

The Evolution of the Community School Concept: The Leadership of Frank J. Manley – a white paper written in 1999 Larry Decker of Florida Atlantic University.  Although its a scanned copy, and a bit grainy, it’s legible, and readable.