My Teaching Star

By Alexandra Pletch

Teaching always seemed like a distant star to me; I could see it . . . there, shining bright in the sky for all to see, yet so far away. In a galaxy far, far away . . . (pardon me for my Star Wars reference, Ill explain soon), there rests a glowing passion to make a difference. This desire to inspire young minds fuels my teaching star, even if I cannot reach it yet. However, I know that one day I will reach my teaching star, even if that radiant flame in the night sky is light-years away. When I finally reach it, I will join the other billions of other stars who radiate their warmth across the darkness and emptiness of space, touching each planet, rock and particle. For it is a teachers job to touch the lives of ones students, and enlighten minds and spirits with knowledge and understanding. This vision of reaching my star motivates me to pursue teaching. I came a few light-years closer to my star this summer when I had the opportunity to teach children, ages 8 to 11, how to make movies. The position of Reel-2-Reel Instructor at Mount Royal University day camps was suddenly vacated a week before the start of camp. MRU Kids offered me the position quite unexpectedly, and I accepted, though hesitantly because I knew little about movie techniques and technology. Sure, I love movies and appreciate the artistry of filmmaking, but to teach kids how to make their own? Where would I start? Thankfully, the Supervisor offered me support and provided me with a curriculum and sample lesson-plans. I felt ready to develop new skills and embrace the challenge. Because I was acutely aware of my own learning process, I understood what my campers would experience when confronted with the task of making their own movie. Fortunately, I have a friend who studied film, video and graphic design at Mount Royal. I asked her for tips and a crash course in using iMovie. With her support, I explored the world of filmmaking As I deepened my understanding of the film process, from planning and storyboarding to directing and cinematography, and finally to editing footage, I became passionate for the art-form and was eager to share my passion with my campers. This decision to accept the instructor position put me on a flight path toward my teaching star in more ways that I could have imagined. Rewind to the first day of camp: I vividly recall how nervous and ill-prepared I felt, even though I organized lessons and activities. I am not normally an anxious person, but throughout the morning of that first day of camp, I tortured myself over so many tiny details. What if I sleep in? What if the bus is late and I miss my connecting one? What if I take the wrong C-train? What if my classroom doesnt have a working projector, (since my first lesson depends on showing YouTube clips)? What if I dont get along

Pletch 2 with my co-worker? What if . . .? My main worries of course, dealt with the kids I would be teaching. Butterflies plagued my stomach. My mouth was dry and my voice shaky. Despite my anxieties I knew, deep down, that I had the material prepared, and that I would do my best. Most importantly, I wanted to be there. I was willing to put in all the time and effort needed to provide my campers with a great experience. I strived to remain optimistic, and was rewarded with a smooth morning and everything working out according to schedule: I was early for work, had all my materials ready, and met the group leader who I would be working with during the first session. I was pleased to find her as enthusiastic and as positive as I was. With renewed hope for a successful 2-week session, I greeted the group of 16 campers, aged 8 to 11, and introduced several ice-breaker and name-learning games. Most of the kids had met that morning for the first time, and were shy and reluctant to speak when it was their turn. All except one. This one boy, whom I shall name Cody*, loved to talk. It was apparent that Cody was intelligent and could vocalize his thoughts very well. Unfortunately, he spoke without raising his hand, interrupting me and others with little concern. Recognizing this as a potential challenge, I laid out my behaviour expectations. I emphasized respect towards those speaking, only contributing your thoughts after raising hands. All of the campers agreed. However, 10 minutes later, during my first lesson about genres of film, Cody began to interrupt. I encouraged class discussion for each genre, for example, What are characteristics of a Western film? Cody attended Reel-2-Reel the summer before and retained much of the information. He recited, as if from a photographic memory, all of the features of the Western genre and answered several other questions before I had the opportunity to ask them. I could sense that several other students, who had their hands raised, were disappointed. I had my own quells too, thinking, Uh-oh, here is a 10-year old who knows everything there is to know about movies. What could I possibly teach him? And so, this pattern continued for the first few days. The other campers were increasingly frustrated, and even a little hostile to Cody. During discussion, I would recognize when Codys hand was raised, but he was impatient and would share his opinions whether I called on him or not. I recognized that Cody had passion and a wealth of knowledge concerning movies, yet his aggressive way of sharing it with others created a negative learning space. At times, I felt he was undermining my authority in the class. He would correct me, starting with Actually . . . and proceed to give his own definition of a film term. He did not work very well in a group setting since his obnoxious personality often annoyed the others. I would have several conversations with Cody one-on-one and articulate how I was pleased to

*I changed the boys name in this story to protect his identity, but all of the events and are as true as I perceive them

Pletch 3 see he was excited about movies, but I needed him to allow other students to participate too. I suggested that he write down some of his thoughts and share them later if we had time, but he complained that his handwriting was poor and by the time he put pencil-to-paper, the thought had escaped. I tried to be sympathetic, recognizing that some children struggle to control impulses, but I knew I needed to find an outlet for Cody because his constant interruptions made the classroom a negative space for the others. Cody also had some obsessive-compulsive tendencies, evident in his nervous habit of licking the palms of his hands several times. One of the official rules of MRU Kids was that no violence of any kind could be displayed on campus, and for Reel-2-Reel, on camera. Cody reacted to this with a very negative attitude, claiming, quite melodramatically, that making his movie without fight scenes would be stupid. His constant negativity really bothered me. When it came time to make the groups for movie project, I was troubled and stressed. These groups would have to work closely together over the next 5 days to produce their film. Teamwork, willingness to compromise and consideration of alternative perspectives were necessary to creating a successful film team. Cody lacked all of these skills; he seemed to be the one stubborn puzzle piece that refused to fit. Thankfully, I had my wonderful groupleader to consult. Her positivity, suggestions and support took some of the pressure off. We spent many of our breaks together discussing strategies to deal with Codys interruptions and behaviour. At only 17 years of age, she provided unique perspectives and wisdom far beyond her years. We finally decided to put Cody in a group with four girls and another boy. The other boy had an positive, easy-going attitude and had demonstrated patience toward Cody. Two of the girls were very mature and I felt that they could stand up for their own ideas, and compromise with Cody to incorporate his. Our struggles were not over yet however . . . Codys obsessive ideas frustrated his group. For one, he had decided that his character needed to shoot lightning from his eyes, a superpower which did not suit the groups story or the technology available at the time. Our camp was a low-cost operation and the program we were using at the time had few special effects. The girls however, took initiative in making Cody the Special Effects Coordinator. Their creative solution to the problem surprised me what a brilliant idea -why didnt I think of that? Their maturity was refreshing and I took a step back to see how it would pan out. Unfortunately, Cody thought that the task of Special Effects was too overwhelming and instead tuned out. He had big ideas, but could not follow through or think of creative solutions. It devastated me to see that such an excited, intelligent boy was giving up because he lacked flexibility and creativity. Furthermore, when Cody was frustrated, he could become

Pletch 4 confrontational. After the third day of camp, I consulted my Supervisor, admitting that I was concerned and needed some advice. She set up a conference with Codys mom. I was relieved to find Codys mom to be approachable and willing to give advice. From the start of the meeting I could see that she was a mom who cared and was invested in her sons success. She provided several strategies, developed by a psychologist, to calm Cody down. Using phrases like Green Zone meant that Cody could handle the situation, but Red Zone meant he was really frustrated. She also explained that Codys pessimism, telling himself that his ideas were impossible and stupid, should be called Junk Thoughts and needed to be deleted. We also discussed how Cody was a perfectionist, and sometimes his expectations were too far from reality. What he needed from his group was a set of simple tasks, broken down so he could complete them with ease. After the meeting, I used her suggestions and began to see some improvement in Codys attitude and behaviour. Another strategy I incorporated was allowing each camper to present to the group his/her favourite movie, using YouTube clips or trailers, which I previewed for appropriate content, and identify the genre and camera angles. Cody loved Start Wars (hence the Star Wars reference in the introduction). I suggested Cody present his topic first and he dazzled the class with his knowledge of Science-Fiction. He was engaged, animated and a great presenter. He communicated his passion to the group effectively. True, not every camper was interested in Star Wars, but at least Cody could be the center of positive attention. Despite this success, when it was time for other individuals to share their movie, Cody continued to interrupt and take-over. My group leader and I had to introduce a 3-Strike System whereby anyone who continually interrupted a presenter would receive a warning and a tick on the board. On the third strike, the individual would have to leave the classroom until the days presentations were over. This strategy, one I hated to enforce, helped Cody to control his impulses. Consistency was key and the other kids would remind me of this daily. However, I treated every day as a new day and fresh start. Cody only needed to leave the room once. I wanted Cody in the classroom because I could sense his passion and excitement. However, creating a positive sharing space for each presenter was my first priority. I had a new challenge with Cody every day, but I strived to remain positive and enthusiastic throughout. Each challenge forced me to think of creative solutions, ask for advice from co-workers and strategize. I regret that by the end of the second week, it was easier to let Cody ready his Percy Jackson book than to force him to work with his team. Because of the condensed schedule for the completion of the movies with the added stress of a Parent-Showcase on the last day, I gave Cody the choice of

Pletch 5 reading his book or working on the movie. He chose to read, which relieved his group, and me, of the stress of trying to cooperate with him. While this may have been taking the easy way out, I believe I have gained insight from the experience I gave Cody a choice, yet I regret not making the option of working with his group more inviting. On a side-note, technological difficulties associated with older software were a separate challenge, and sometimes the more frustrating. The IT department finally installed iMovie the day before Showcase. It was a user friendly program with an assortment of special effects. Using the new editing software, I made lightning shoot from Codys eyes! I was elated at the success and could not wait to show Cody. His response, however, lacked most of my enthusiasm: Cool, but cant we change the color of the lightning? I really wanted blue . . . Oh well, I delivered on my end and now it was up to him to be satisfied or not. All-in-all, the kids I had during those first two weeks of camp were a wonderful, positive, sweet group. Each and every one of them shared a talent or skill which helped their film team succeed. A few individuals however, had noticeably low self-esteem, Cody among them. Whenever cameras were rolling, self-esteem issues became apparent. I decided to use an activity which I had developed during my high-school mentorship program, Positivity Sheets. Each individuals name was printed on a paper with a quote about talent underneath. For this group, I chose the following quote because it aptly summarized the lesson I hoped each child would learn through the session: Believe in yourself! Have faith in your abilities! Without a humble but reasonable confidence in your own powers you cannot be successful or happy, from Norman Vincent Peale. (I thought the line humble but reasonable confidence suited Cody well.) Each camper received their own Positivity sheet, and first needed to complement themselves about a skill or talent they shared while making movies or making friends. Each child needed to acknowledge their own worth and feel proud of their contributions to the team. Afterwards, every other child in the group had the opportunity to write a complement or thank-you note on each Positivity sheet. I was a little nervous about Cody writing on the others sheets, since he made few friends and complained that everyone disliked him. Despite this, I knew I had to give him a chance. I offered to write for him, since his handwriting was so poor. Cody surprised me; he took the task seriously and tried to think of nice comments for his peers. In turn, the other kids wrote nice things about him. The activity turned out to be far more successful than I could have imagined. Each child, including Cody, took home a Positivity sheet filled with wonderful complements, which I hoped, would boost their self-esteem. I

Pletch 6 have kept mine (see Appendix 1), and will always treasure it. This activity was so successful, I had my others sessions complete one also. In addition to the Positivity Sheets, I made a Real-2-Reel Academy Award for each child, depending on the skills/strengths that he/she demonstrated during the session. Some, I recognized for Behind-the-Scenes work, such as preparing materials. Others were Best editors who had spent the most time and effort editing the footage. A few were Best Director for the leadership and maturity they demonstrated. For Cody, I wanted him to realize how much I appreciated his passion for movies, and awarded him Most Enthusiastic, which the rest of the group agreed suited him perfectly (see Appendix 2). I still remember the small smile he gave me as he accepted his award. It was not a hundred-watt smile, yet it touched me. Perhaps it was a smile of contentment, perhaps it was just a polite smile, but I believe that he will remember his award, for at least a short time. I do not know whether I made much of a difference for Cody, but he made a difference to me. Yes, he tested my patience, challenged my authority, and tempted me to give up on him, but he also taught me how to be more patient, think of creative strategies, and ask for help; reaching out to my coworker, supervisor, and parent. He shared his passion for movies with the group, and made me appreciate Star Wars in new ways. Above all, he taught me to continue to dream big, and to reach for that teaching star. Whether the dream was realistic or not, Cody persisted much to his group members and my own frustration yet his commitment to his artistic vision, even if it was having lightning shoot from his eyes, taught me a lesson: even when others tell you that your star is too far away, dont let that stop you from trying. Where he struggled to think of creative solutions to his problem, I provided support and encouragement. And in the end, we did make lightning shoot from his eyes . . .

Pletch 7

Reflection
The most challenging part in writing my memoir was choosing an experience to talk about. I knew I wanted to talk about working at MRU Kids as a Film Instructor, but the problem was where do I start? The Teaching Star metaphor accurately described my feelings about teaching before camp, since I still harboured some doubt and insecurity toward becoming a teacher. Narrowing my focus to Cody became easy because it was his love for Star Wars which had led my thoughts toward star metaphors, and it was this individual who most challenged me. Finally, I knew that this summer I caught something serious. It wasnt the cold bug . . . It wasnt the travel bug . . . It was the Teaching Bug! With each camp session, I grew in confidence and experience in planning lessons, classroom management and communicating with my students. Another challenge in crafting a memoir is considering my audience. First, I am writing to a group of aspiring teachers. Recognizing their own unique experiences and opinions regarding teaching, I questioned, whether my peers would criticize my approach to dealing with Cody. Second, my Professor is a member of the Faculty of Education. I know that what I write will influence her opinion of me. With awareness of the public nature of my work, I needed to effectively communicate my personal experience in such a way that peers will understand my perspective and accept me. Other considerations involved context: What background information does my audience need to know to make sense of my experience? What details are relevant? How much of my personal experience/feelings do I feel comfortable revealing? Learning about the various elements of the writing process guided me in creating my memoir. I began to Pre-write, brainstorming topics, ideas, and narrowing my focus to MRU Kids. The drafting stage was the most difficult for me. Translating my thoughts, feelings and memories into words on paper is a tedious process, something which I struggle with, even though, or especially because, English is my major. I was surprised to discover how valuable peer feedback during the Revision stage was. My peereditor liked the Teaching Star metaphor which boosted my self-confidence in my writing. She also provided some suggestions that helped me focus my topic to Cody. I could have used a second peerediting session, since my draft changed drastically from when we met last week, but I am satisfied with my memoir as it is now.