#MediaMonday: How to Prepare for Contests
I cannot believe that we are even talking about this, but we are just under a month away from Fall STN Challenges! As I was discussing these and other upcoming contests with my students this week, I was encouraged by how normal this conversation felt. Regardless of all of the obstacles that make this year feel different, there will always be those stepping stones throughout the year that will continue to lend a stable familiarity to our media classrooms.
While I truly believe that it is my responsibility to build a culture of hard-work and dedication instead of a culture of competition, local and national contests have an uncanny knack at bringing students together and making them tighter as a group.
So, as these opportunities arise, I wanted to offer a seven step method for getting ready to compete virtually in 2020-2021.
This week's tip is: How to Prepare for Contests in 7 Steps:
Step 1: Get Your Space Ready For Work!
Let your kids settle into their space before competitions. Hang up posters. String Christmas lights. Hang Hammocks. Whatever. Let the students create an inviting work environment that they enjoy.
Step 2: Buy Good Coffee.
You heard me: Good Coffee. Not mediocre coffee or even decent coffee. GOOD COFFEE. Make the kids bring their own cup with a lid that they can wash between uses. Trust me. Good Coffee.
Step 3: Cater a Sack Lunch.
Do what you can to make things special. Coordinate with a reasonably-priced local restaurant and have sack lunches delivered. That way, the students can have their meal sealed up and ready for them when they have a break.
Step 4: Charge Every Battery within a 20 Mile Radius.
Have everything ready to go for competitions. Nothing is worse than trying to compete with a partial kit. Also, tripod clips!?! Where do all of those things go during contests!?
Step 5: Have a Kickoff.
Get a countdown going and livestream it on your school's social media. Let the students know that, even though they are competing from home, wearing a mask and sanitizing everything, that this is still a big deal. They will follow your lead: make it a big deal.
Step 6: Tell your students how to win.
Have a long talk with your students ahead of time and explain to them what real winning entails. Real winning is when you do everything in your power to submit the best possible entry within the bounds of the contest rules. Real winning is when you give this contest 100%, start to finish, leaving nothing out. Real winning is when you are proud of the work that you have done and you know that your adviser and your school will also be proud of you. If what you have done is your absolute, uninhibited, unapologetic best, then you just won your contest. That is how our students win; every time.
Step 7: Decompress
After contests are over, let off some stream with your kids. Decompress. Go out to dinner. Go see a movie. Have a Zoom call with all of your students. One of my favorite moments during convention is on Sunday night when all of the kids get dressed up and we go out to a nice dinner. The night is full of lots of Instagram poses, laughter, sharing stories and most of all, peace. Everyone is so thankful to be together and to be in an amazing place representing their school. Give this gift to your kids. Decompress.
Before all of the contests begin, let us remember that we, above all else, are educators. We teach so much by the subtle things that we model to our students. We will change lives whether we intend to or not. Let us never forget what "real winning" is and always remember the responsibility that we have been given to lead by example. Let us judge the success of contests based upon the experiences that live on with our students instead of the awards that adorn our classroom walls.
Share your tips for contest success back to the list-serve; we'd love to hear them.
Until next Monday,
Josh