This is a unique study of the use of cinematic space by four important directors in American cinema from the 1930s to the 1960s: Frank Capra, Ernst Lubitsch, Josef von Sternberg, and William Wyler. Barbara Bowman examines each of their distinctive styles and diverse backgrounds and shows how these unique visual styles complement each other--representing the best in classic American cinema, from Ninotchka and Shanghai Express to Best Years of Our Lives to It's a Wonderful Life. These great directors viewed space not as simple emptiness, nor as something to be manipulated pragmatically, but as a frame or palette in which to work. Their arrangements of cinematic space become not just visually recurrent techniques, but aesthetic touchstones that alert spectators to the narrative shape of the film and invite the spectator to have a more self-conscious relation to the film. Bowman explains how Capra's challenge was to take what is spatially familiar, like James Stewart's or Gary Cooper's neighborhood or small town, and defamiliarize it enough so that we see it for the first time. Lubitsch's creation of film space relies on the indirection so apparent in his scripts by Samuel Raphaelson; he depends on what the spectator cannot yet see or only anticipates, relying upon our imaginations, especially our potential lasciviousness. Sternberg's veiled shots of Marlene Dietrich and others convey a very basic skepticism about human capacity for both sight and insight, and Wyler emotionalizes his films's space by having characters like Bette Davis confront each other in triangular groups or by double framing his figures with architectural second frames. Each director approached film space with his ownsingular style, but all four techniques shared a common purpose to explain characters or to teach the spectator to see more intensely.

This book brings together multiple voices from a range of thought leaders in early childhood education to describe both how structural inequities deeply embedded in US society have a negative impact on children’s development and learning and how educators who have a strong understanding of how children's development and learning takes place within a cultural context are equipped to create effective and affirming environments, instructional activities, and assessments. Research indicates that children benefit from highly qualified, reflective teachers who provide developmentally appropriate, culturally relevant, and linguistically responsive experiences and interactions. The book includes recommendations for ways the broader early childhood system, institutions of higher education, and policy can support early childhood educators in meeting their professional and ethical responsibilities to our most vulnerable populations. Also includes concrete examples and approaches classroom teachers can implement to address equity as they plan lessons, select materials, and support children and families. The book expands on key points of NAEYC’s Advancing Equity in Early Childhood Education position statement (2019) so that educators, policymakers, and other key stakeholders are knowledgeable, skilled, and equipped to transform the lives of children and their families.