“Belonging” follows kindergarten teacher Terry Varnell, who knows the rejection students often face in elementary school but refuses to let her classroom become the starting point for middle school cliques and grown-up bullies.

OSU Human Development and Family Science emeritus professor Dr. Amanda Harrist is a special producer and educator expert for “Belonging.” The hourlong film is broadcasting on PBS stations nationwide this month, including an Oct. 11 showing on OETA.

In Varnell’s classroom at a Stillwater elementary school, she implements a rule to ensure every child understands their value and connects with the students around them, resulting in what she calls a family of students who belong to the classroom and to one another.

“They’re going to learn to read, to write; they’re going to learn their alphabet and their numbers, but we do lose these kids if we can’t give them that sense of belonging and security and love that they so desperately need,” Varnell said when reflecting on her decision to put this rule into action.

In 1992, Vivian Paley wrote “You Can’t Say You Can’t Play” about implementing this very rule in her kindergarten classroom. Students earning their master’s degree in human development and family science at OSU studied the effects of telling children they would be required to include their classmates during various activities.

“By kindergarten, a ruling class starts to form among children,” Paley describes in her 1992 book. “Certain kids notify others of their acceptability, and certain kids are told they’re unacceptable over and over again.”

Years later, “Belonging” recognizes Harrist’s dedication to studying classroom dynamics and how they change when you can’t say you can’t play, as it is introduced to young students.

Harrist’s research at Oklahoma State focused on intervening in classrooms before children have the opportunity to commit social expectations to heart. She received a Women for OSU Partnering for Impact grant in 2021 to support her work and the production of “Belonging.”

“There’s a lot of research that shows that children who are rejected have trouble meeting teachers’ expectations in the classroom, they have academic problems,” Harrist said. “If you track kids over time, kids whose social status in the classroom improves, their academics go up as well.”

The film is also available on the PBS free app, local PBS stations and the PBS World Channel. It was recently screened at the 2026 Broken Arrow Film Festival and is in the lineup for the 2026 Utopia Film Festival in Maryland later this month.

Visit belongingfilm.org to view a short trailer, learn more about the making of the film, and sign up to host a screening for your own classroom or community.

Story By: Faith Frantz | faith.frantz@okstate.edu