Pre-Production
- For our pre-production process, we spent most of our effort on developing a proper story arc and creating effective questions to ask teachers. We didn't deem a shot list necessary as the interviews were pretty straightforward and we had no idea what our filler footage would look like yet. A story board was also thought to be unnecessary for the same reasons. Ultimately, for us, this was the prefect amount of pre-production.
O: Here and now in America we are falling behind, pushing the wrong values, not breeding success, and not creating a sustainable future.
A: C-span. Everyone. Students, parents, politicians.
P: To win. Trying to push for a long term change, its not a short term fix. The current system pursues a short term benefit, and throws by the wayside long-term success.Thesis: Students need to start learning to learn, not just to get grades and pass tests.
S: Us. Concerned citizens, convey a sense of urgency. Be emotional.
Tone: Emotional, can’t overdo emotions but don't make that the entire entire basis of your argument.
Outline:
Big to small to bigger.
1. Thesis
2. Ways to Change- different sides
3. Why change is necessary and immediate
Section One
- Intro to school
- present the school as relatively successful, use stats
- Positive, good feeling vibe
- Student interviews, counter success stats
- moves to speculative, quieter, worrisome, apprehensive
- We present thesis- need for change
- dropping bombs
Section Two
- start with teacher interviews- back up that things are seriously wrong
- present that grades are good, but theres a knowledge deficit. material taught isnt material learned
- Atlas hands, happy but sad mood
- Both sides thing- our interviews
- present different ideas, viewpoints, consequences
- C-span stuff, provide hard evidence of viewpoints
- conflicted, worrisome, battleground, more upbeat and intense
- lots of sides, lots of conflict, whatever your viewpoint is, none of them wish ill on the student
- Talk the seriousness of the matter, everybody agrees that something has to be done
- eventually these children will be the decision makers, and if they arent prepared, were screwed
- But thats only us, and were not doing that bad
- comparisons, if we need this change, other people really need the change, and the nation as a whole needs the change
- talk with belcher
- change is tough, we need to take the first steps and take them now, make an impact
- go broad
- nothing matters in the long term but this, if this isnt solved
Sides of Argument
- money- poor, not enough revenue or resources- poor families go to poor schools, technology
- finland- little money, good system
- not enough support of teachers
- student culture- dont care
- ineffective parenting
- ineffective teachers
- under motivation (all)
Official Soundtrack
- Holocene- Bon Iver
- Atlas Hands- Benjamin Francis Leftwhich
- Spring- The Cellar Door
- Home- Explosions in the Sky
- I Won’t Back Down- Foreign Slippers cover
Question List:
Students:
Teachers:
- From what we have gathered and experienced, the way that the education system is organized now, it doesn't prioritize learning information, fully comprehending that information, or retaining that information. Instead more superficial values are the focus, and that doesn't have as significant of an impact on the student. Do you feel like this is the case for many students?
- Do you see that information retention is a problem even in the smartest classes? Why do you think that is the case?
- Do you feel like students don't put in the extra effort to learn more than what is necessary to pass the test or get the grade? Why?
- Are grades enough of an incentive, or even the right incentive, to make students want to succeed and learn?
- Do you think that this is a problem that money alone can solve?
- Do you think that organizing classes by learning pace and capabilities, especially at a younger age, rather than simply by age group, would result in a more effective system of learning?
- If you recognize that a student is struggling, how do you handle that?
- Do you feel like over time this issue has become more prevalent? Over the course of several years do you feel like classes have taken away less than previous classes? Do you feel like its getting worse, or has it always been this way?
Belcher:
- Every school has its own problems. How, especially as a newer principle, difficult is it to tackle those problems? For any of those problems did you expect any of them to be fixed quickly?
- You have been promoting change, especially with the school's culture. That isnt a short term plan, do you see it as something long term?
Voice over
This is Mt. Si High School. We are a school of about 1500 students and 73 teachers. Statewide, we are ranked in the 94th percentile compared to other high schools. Since 2005 that rank has increased by 21%. As of 2010, 72% of students who took AP exams passed with a three or above. We are constantly growing and changing and building upon our success.