Technology Teacher: DO YOU BELIEVE IN ME?

I first saw this video on Wesley Fryer’s blog, Moving at the Speed of Creativity.

What a wonderful start to the beginning of a school year.

TRY IT with your teachers, parents, students, school shareholders…

Also, while watching it, I thought about how students each year could make a video somewhat similar that is inspirational to each of them, and would help improve the self-esteem of all of our students.

Thinking about making this inspirational video reminded me of a story I had heard about a long time ago…there may be many variations on it…

…a teacher asked each student to take out a piece of notebook paper and neatly write their own name at the top in CAPITAL LETTERS and underline their name. Then each paper was passed around the classroom for every other student in the class to write a one sentence or a one word POSITIVE description of that student listed at the top of the page. At the end of the lesson, the papers were passed out to each particular student on the last day of school to remember that year of school.

The story goes on to say that one of these students went on to serve in the military and died in service to his country. At the funeral, the parents spoke with this teacher from their child’s life about how their child carried that paper with him in his wallet to the day he died – how it kept him going every single day of his life!

Now I don’t know if this is an urban legend or a nicely crafted story, but nevertheless, it is an excellent concept and could be extended into this type of a video production.

If you follow the video, you see that certain “questions” are asked of a variety of people. Then the short answers from most of the people interviewed are grouped into an “answer” to a question. The questions flow throughout the video.

When you have BIG QUESTIONS, you will receive BIG ANSWERS. It will be very effective.

This concept can also be applied to the general curriculum in many ways as well. If you just take a few minutes to think of the lessons that you want to teach your students, both those in the curriculum and for life…

What questions will you ask your students this year?