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Words like 鈥渇ailure鈥� and 鈥渉ardship鈥� probably aren鈥檛 the first that come to mind in describing the legacy of the United States鈥� first president, George Washington.

While Washington is generally viewed through a lens of strength in leading the colonies through the American Revolution 250 years ago, a new movie aims to deepen the nation鈥檚 understanding of his evolution as a young work in progress.

鈥淵oung Washington,鈥� directed by Jon Erwin, also will pair nicely with the Bill of Rights Institute鈥檚 to usher in a new type of civics curriculum centered on helping students understand the complexities of adversity in a hero鈥檚 journey.

鈥淚 love when looking at a famous character like George Washington, who’s sort of asking the question, 鈥楬ow is character formed?鈥� 鈥� Erwin said. 鈥淪ometimes you find that they were forged in failure and in hardship and in adventure and in danger, and so I love those stories. I just felt like I wanted the audience to understand 鈥� young people to understand, students [to] understand 鈥� that failure can be their great teacher. Sometimes it’s a choice between comfort and adventure and growth, and Washington chose the frontier.鈥�

To help children across the country better understand these early chapters in Washington鈥檚 saga and legacy, the new civic education initiative is aiming to connect 鈥淵oung Washington鈥� with real classroom use. In theaters July 3, the film focuses on the leader鈥檚 early years 鈥� before the presidency 鈥� highlighting the experiences, mistakes and decisions that shaped his leadership.

Wonder Project and Angel Studios are partnering with Stand Together, the Bill of Rights Institute and Mount Vernon to bring the story into classrooms nationwide with curriculum-aligned lesson plans and discussion guides developed with the Bill of Rights Institute. Materials are being distributed to more than 90,000 educators for use in the classroom this fall in addition to providing a centralized digital hub for classroom access and student engagement.

Bill of Rights Institute CEO David Bobb said he is excited for students to dive into questioning the film itself, going beyond the traditional civics concepts of memorizing dates and places to consider whether Washington made the right decisions.

鈥淚f successful, this will help spark curiosity,鈥� Bobb said. 鈥淐ivics needs a reinvention, and we really are in the business, along with a coalition of many other groups, of reinventing or really starting a kind of category [of learning] and at the heart of that category has to be curiosity.鈥�

Rather than presenting Washington as a finished figure, the film centers on a formative period (1743鈥�1755) using those experiences to explore leadership, decision-making and character in practice, and positioning failure as a critical teacher. 

鈥淪o many times people are so afraid of failing,鈥� Erwin said. 鈥淭hey’re afraid of trying anything new, and therefore they’re afraid of growing, and I hope one of the things that young people who see the movie ask themselves is 鈥榃hat would you attempt if you knew you couldn’t fail?鈥� 鈥�

Bill of Rights鈥� curriculum addressed questions that focused on how stories about Washington鈥檚 early life shape our understanding of leadership, civic virtue and American identity and how stories of setbacks and self-discovery shape who we become.

As a result, the curriculum initiative reflects a shift toward applied civics by using story to help students not just study history, but see it as a playbook for leadership and decision-making.

鈥淭his is someone who made tremendous mistakes, but he learned from them, and the filmmakers were keen to draw those key messages out while still having it wrapped into the narrative of the story,鈥� Stand Together Senior Vice President Nick Dunn said.

鈥淭he messages that really jumped out to us were this idea of failure as a great teacher and the idea that people who do great things weren’t always destined to be great. So, there’s an element of agency in there that I can take it upon myself to build a skill set, find a way to apply it and create value for others, but in messages that naturally are part of the film.鈥�

The curriculum encourages students to critically analyze film as a historical source and apply historical thinking skills through sourcing, contextualization and corroboration. It also encourages students to connect film depictions to real primary sources and reflect on civic virtue or moral lessons tied to the film.

The curriculum outlines specific source material tied to the movie鈥檚 accounts of Washington鈥檚 formative years before his presidency, including his diary of Jumonville Glen in May of 1754, when Washington was sent with men to protect British interests during a time of tensions with France. 

Washington discovered a group of French soldiers advancing on his position when he reached modern-day Pennsylvania and decided to attack out of fear that the French soldiers posed a threat, even though no hostilities had broken out yet between France and England. The event became known as the Battle of Jumonville Glen and was the first skirmish of the French and Indian War 鈥� and the sole surrender of Washington鈥檚 military career.

In 鈥淵oung Washington,鈥� Bobb said examples of Washington鈥檚 rashness in decision making like Jumonville Glen in his early years help paint a more complete picture about what he had to learn to become one of the nation鈥檚 formative leaders.

鈥淭he whole movie shows what happens when you’re rash and you lead too quickly: You haven’t gotten your plan, you haven’t put your things into place,鈥� Bobb said. 鈥淲e think it can translate into looking at the ways that Washington fell short and other leaders in other walks of life throughout American history.

鈥淲e’re not holding up Washington here as the paragon, the be all and end all. What we are saying is that you, an individual student, no matter where you are in your own leadership journey, you can acquire through hard work the civic virtues that might make you a leader.鈥�

Ultimately, Bobb said Bill of Rights Institute鈥檚 curriculum aims for civics to be non-idealogical, nonpartisan and apolitical, and 鈥淵oung Washington鈥� provides a perfect opportunity for students to understand that they can tackle tough questions in history and civics and not fear some disagreement with one another.聽聽

鈥淚 think teachers know that this works 鈥� storytelling and bringing these figures into a place where you can relate to them,鈥� Bobb said. 鈥淭he lessons can land, and it can seem not just like a task that you want to get through. What we’re trying to do is to show them that history, American history, has to do with their life in a very real way. Civics is not this thing that is abstract.鈥�

Disclosure: Stand Together Trust provides financial support to 蜜桃影视.

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