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middle photo by Michael
Jacobson-Hardy
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by Kristen Graham
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This article originally appeared in the Philadelphia Inquirer on June 6th, 2007.
Springside School sophomore Zoe Greenberg asked a wide variety of youths how they viewed wealth and class distinctions in "Enough! A Kid's Perspective." It earned her the Princeton Prize for Race Relations.
The question that launched Zoe Greenberg's amazing journey was a simple one: How much is enough?
Three years ago, Greenberg began thinking about that question as part of her bat mitzvah project. She shot hundreds of hours of film and interviewed students poor and rich, black and white, boy and girl, to probe their perceptions of wealth and class. She turned her work into an 11-minute documentary, Enough! A Kid's Perspective.
Now a sophomore at the Springside School near Chestnut Hill, Greenberg has been awarded the second annual Princeton Prize for Race Relations. Through a joint effort of Princeton University and its alumni association, it goes to a high school student for top efforts in furthering understanding and respect among races.
That's heavy stuff for a 15-year-old, but Greenberg was well-positioned to dive into the subject matter.
After fifth grade, she transferred from a Mount Airy public school that she described as "underfunded and overcrowded" to Springside, a private school for girls. It was a different world for Greenberg, a scholarship student, and at first a difficult one.
"I would go to a friend's house at Springside, and it would be this huge house," she said. "It was the difference in schools that opened my eyes."
In a privileged school like Springside, she found, no one was talking about the real gaps that wealth created.
Still, she said, she loves her school, and realizes that it has opened doors that she might not otherwise have known existed. "I wish everyone could get that education," she said. "That's what's helping me think about the world in different ways."
Two mentors, one a professional filmmaker, helped with Enough's genesis. But all the work - interviewing, filming, editing - was by Greenberg, a newcomer to filming.
"I didn't like the technical part of it so much, but I loved the content, the interviewing," she said.
Her finished product is a slick, honest exploration of important issues, with production values high enough for it to be shown at film festivals.
Greenberg trooped all over the city and beyond to interview her subjects. Questions such as "Why are people poor?" and "What is poverty?" spurred insights.
"The 5-year-old said, 'A poor person has no food and not enough money,' " Greenberg said. "The 17-year-old said, 'A poor person doesn't have enough to comfortably sustain their family.' "
She was most surprised at how people saw themselves.
"I asked people what class they think they are, and they all said, 'Middle class.' And we can't all be middle class," Greenberg said.
Last year, Greenberg picked up the film again with help from two Springside teachers. She reedited it and presented it at school.
When Greenberg met with a codirector of Class Action, a national organization aimed at ending classism, Felice Yeskel felt that her project was a terrific fit with the organization. They talked about mass-producing the film, and using it in classrooms. Greenberg also has led workshops, has presented Enough at film festivals, and looks forward to the development of a curriculum around her work.
Timothy Johnson, head of upper school at Springside, pointed out that Greenberg was reluctant to put herself in the limelight. She was also concerned that students would watch the film, engage in cursory discussion, and forget about the topic.
"It's really relevant at an all-girls school to talk about gender inequality, for instance. It's important," Greenberg said.
To that end, Springside brought in a University of Pennsylvania professor to lead discussion about the film's core questions. And Johnson said he was excited about the level of discourse.
The film's effect didn't stop there. Springside's Diversity Committee will explore the ways the school can incorporate class sensitivity into everyday life.
"We get back from a spring break, and five girls are talking about their trip to Bermuda, and three of the girls say, 'Well, I didn't leave Philadelphia.' . . . It's OK to understand where you fit in that puzzle and not to feel awkward about it," Johnson said.
Make no mistake: Greenberg isn't some achievement robot. Her speech is peppered with "awesome" and "cool," and her high, girlish voice belies a sophisticated grasp of the world.
She loves history and drama.
"And I hang out at coffee shops with my friends," she said, giggling.
Her career plans?
"I'd like," Greenberg said, sounding very much like a teenager, "to do some activist thing."
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