#MediaMonday: An Inch Below the Surface
Good morning everyone,
It feels like we are now, at long last, in the homestretch of the school year.
I can only speak from my own experience, but this year has felt like a continuous series of stops and starts. Not since I was a first year teacher have I carried the philosophy of "just survive" like this year. Honestly, it has really taken the wind out of my sails. It has started to make me worried about getting a new batch of students for next year.
My brain has been plagued with the following questions:
Do I still have what it takes to be a decent media teacher?
Can I impassion students with the current attitude that I have?
Will next year be a good year?
While I cannot actually answer any of this, I have decided to practice what I preach and to apply a flimsy scrap of advice from one of my more tried and true "rally the troops" speeches. It's one of those phrases that you say to kids to try and coax greatness from complacency which I will now share with you.
So today's challenge: Go into next year just an inch over your head.
When we go into survival mode, we are only concerned with keeping our heads above water. Becoming better is of no concern and we operate by simply parceling out energy until rescue comes. While this is sometimes an essential state of being human, it eventually has to turn into something else.
You see, learning comes from being (ever so slightly) over one's head. To introduce risk into the equation causes a person to critically analyze and adapt to new variables and success comes from the experience of getting back to the safety of the surface. It is in the times of disorientation and risk that we find out what we are made of and what we can become.
When students make films or broadcast packages, I try to encourage then to begin in the safety of their current skillset but to choose a project that is just an inch over their heads. These projects push the students and teach then what they are capable of without making them feel totally hopeless or disoriented.
So, for the 2021-22 school year, I am going to go into it just an inch over my head (and I would suggest that you also do likewise). Even thought I don't know what that actually means yet, I am going to take on this school year and push myself out of survival mode back into risk taker mode. I want to try new things and tackle new challenges that will push me out of stagnation into becoming a greater teacher than before. I am going to stop this year of treading water waiting for the weather to change and instead, will see what it looks like to swim a little (but just an inch below the surface).
Anyone else with me?
Talk to you soon,
Josh Cantrell