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Keith Kyker and Christopher Curchy
The Most Important TV Studio Component: Your
Students!
As another school year rapidly wanes, our seniors get anxious and so do we!
They're wondering about their college plans and we're wondering how to find
another group of talented, responsible, dedicated, and reliable students to
replace them. Also, middle school media specialists mourn the loss of the
talented TV kids leaving their news show set to distant high schools. After all,
it took several years to train them, nurture them, and get them to be just
so...and now they're leaving. Who can possibly learn to run all this equipment,
connect all the right wires to all the right places, and know what buttons not
to push? We need a plan! Like the Marines, we're looking for a few good men (and
women).
The Plan
It only took a few years of teaching television in an Orlando high school to
realize that we could not depend on getting really great students in our classes
through open or random scheduling. Just letting students enroll in television
production classes if they "wanted to," "needed an easy elective," or "liked
watching TV so making it could be fun" just did not work. We also realized that
seniors register first in this process, and we could not fill our first year TV
Production classes with high school seniors if we were building a program. Also,
the fact that our classes had to produce a news show broadcast throughout the
school every day for everyone to watch and critique made us realize how
important our students would be. We needed them just as much as they needed us!
So it was imperative to find a way to fill our classes with interested students
first.
Since all the middle schools in our district also had TV classes and programs,
it only made sense to try to recruit their students for our programs. Their
teachers and media specialists had already invested many patient hours of
training, so why not take advantage of this opportunity? We formulated a plan.
We would get students to apply for TV Production classes.
Step One - The Application
Designing an application that would be easy enough to appeal to middle schoolers
but informative enough to make educational decisions with wasn't really that
difficult. Kids don't mind filling in the blanks, but just don't ask them to be
too creative with a blank piece of paper. The applications included the
obligatory demographic information (name, address, phone number, parent names),
but also some valuable tools as well. We asked for one (1) teacher
recommendation. The students enrolled in media classes would get the media
specialist to write their recommendation. Reading between the lines is the key
here. "Jessie is a wonderful technically oriented student. She operates my
switcher and edits the show each day" means we will definitely take this
student! "Michael is very interested in your class and does good work when he
stays on task" makes us think Michael is not getting a glowing recommendation
and should probably be passed over this time.
Some students may not have had the chance to take a media class in middle
school, so they may need an academic teacher to write the recommendation.
Experience and skill are not really prerequisites. We are looking for
dependable, reliable, trustworthy, and teachable kids. Character plays a big
part in deciding whom to take, and whom not to take. We can teach them the
skills if they're eager and excited to learn. We also need to be able to trust
them to do a professional job, be responsible with valuable equipment, and work
with faculty and students in a courteous manner. These traits are just as
important as being experienced with video equipment.
Besides the teacher recommendation, we also ask the students to write/type a
75-100 word essay about their interests and experiences in television
production. This is a good indicator of the student's ability to write and
communicate their thoughts into words -- an essential skill for storyboarding
and producing video segments! Students attach their essay to the application.
Sometimes a student's words inspire you to take them in your class. Other times,
well, you know! A student who writes "I want to be in TV because it's fun" as
his/her essay just doesn't convince us that this is the person we need to help
run our news shows and TV programs.
A copy of their third nine weeks report card is also required. We are not
necessarily looking for the student who has all A's. A well-rounded student
(A's, B's, and maybe a C) with good attendance is more to our liking. We need a
student that we can count on to be there almost every day. Besides attendance,
the report card also includes conduct grades/codes. We have taken some good
students with great conduct grades rather than great students with poor conduct
grades. Being smart is one thing, but being "nice" is another. We need "nice"
kids!
Finally, the application has a section that informs the parent about the
materials that need to be purchased for TV Production class: a workbook,
videotape and case, a 3.5 diskette, and headphones. This totals about $22.00 and
there is no lab fee for the class. The parent is asked to sign the application,
agreeing to purchase these materials. We have a hard time talking to a student
wearing $100 tennis shoes, $200 worth of jewelry, and a designer wardrobe
telling us that he/she can't afford the $15 workbook for TV class. This way,
they know the financial requirements before they apply! In rare instances,
exceptions can be made for materials ($1.00 per week for 22 weeks?). We always
make this offer. The final sentence on the application includes where to mail
the completed application and the due date.
Step Two - The Video
We produced a clever and exciting one-minute video extolling the virtues of
taking Television Production classes at our high school. It highlighted working
on the news show, producing video projects, producing video movies, and
preparation for colleges and scholarships. It had some MTV style videography
coupled with some graphics and very upbeat music. A friend who is a DJ did the
narration. At the end of the video it informs the students that applications are
available in the front office or in the school's media center. Once completed,
we make a copy for each middle school, and enclose a letter asking the media
specialist to run the commercial several times on their school news shows. We
also include one hundred applications for each school.
Step Three – Making Decisions
Sorting the applications, reading the essays, and making the decision of who to
enroll in your classes is relatively easy and actually fun. We make students
mail the completed applications to the school. Just that simple step, mailing
the application, actually weeds out students who don’t have the organizational
skills necessary for TV Production class. Students who fill out the application,
get a teacher recommendation, copy their report card, write a short essay, get a
parent to sign it, and finally mail it are the kind of students who can "follow
through" a task. This is a critical skill in producing video segments, which can
take several days (or weeks) to complete and consists of multiple steps to
complete: writing, videotaping, previewing, editing, post production.
Immediately place in the "discard" box any incomplete applications, as well as
all the applications arriving after the due date. On the late applications,
write "late" and include the date it was received. Staple the envelope with the
postmarked date to the application for future reference, or evidence, if needed.
Sometimes the mere condition of an application can indicate whether or not to
accept the applicant into your program. If an application is returned soiled,
torn, folded into a two-inch square, and contains one or more food groups, it
makes us wonder if the applicant will treat the studio equipment the same way!
After sorting the applications, we rank the remaining good applications from
best (#1) to not-so-best (#?). If only one first-year TV Production class is
offered, we accept the applicants numbered 1-25. Each applicant selected is
personally telephoned and sent a letter to give to their guidance counselor
indicating the addition of TV Production on their 9th grade registration sheet.
We really enjoy talking personally to our future students and hearing their
excitement and enthusiasm upon learning they have been selected for the class.
Applicants not accepted are also sent a letter politely informing them that the
class has been filled and to reapply next year if they are still interested.
The application process has made a significant difference in our classes, our
productions, and of course, our lives as TV teachers. Having classes with
reliable and dedicated students who are sincerely interested in learning about
television production allows our program to be innovative and professional. Our
equipment lasts longer and we are able to produce quality video segments for our
school to watch and enjoy. There is no equipment theft and no vandalism.
Students feel a sense of belonging, because each student "earned" a place in the
classroom. The equipment and the teacher are truly appreciated!
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