Teen Therapy with Ms. Webster

This film was about Ms. Webster, the high school therapist, and what she thinks about what it's like to be a teenager. She talked about her life as a teenager and what she believes teenagers need in their life during this difficult time period and transformation.

At first I was skeptical about how the movie would be without any actual filming occurring and how it was just going to be pictures with audio background but I really enjoyed it. I thought that Peri did a wonderful job showing what Ms. Webster thought about teens in general through the pictures shown and the clips viewed. It was not only something that people could relate to since they were going through that same period in their life and transforming from child to young adult, but it also helped us to understand what Ms. Webster wanted to do for us during our time in high school. It made me realize that she is someone who you can talk to when you're having a bad day, or your problems seem bigger than life itself, or everything is just so overwhelming. She will be the one to tell you it's going to be okay and to look at the bigger picture and that this won't matter that much in a couple of years.

Personally, I didn't see anything wrong with the film and had a good time watching it. Maybe there could have been a couple clips of students who have also talked to Ms. Webster and believe she has helped them in some way. It was a very thoughtful and sentimental video so that could have amped it up a bit, but in general I thought it was put together very well.

Who ya Gonna Call: Mr. Mele

This documentary is about Mr. Mele and what he does here at Columbus Academy. He talks about his position on the technology team and we follow him to his house to meet his wife and dog, Patrick. We learn about his undergraduate education and how he obtained the job here at Academy.

While  watching this video, I was quite bored throughout the entire thing. I believe that, like Mr. Farrenkopf said during our meeting, there could have been less interviews and sitting down and more hands on activities about Mr. Mele and what he does for our school. It could've been possible to follow him on his quests throughout the school and how exactly he sets up broad projects for the school's computers.

I think Grayson and Addison did a very good job though with allowing us to learn more about his home life. I never knew that he had a dog or that his favorite pastimes were going hiking, biking, or playing volleyball with his wife. It allowed for people to learn more about someone that was relevant to their life and understand what exactly it is that he does here.

How to Create a Post

To create a post or to comment on a post, you need to have a Google account.  If you do not have one, please create one.

Check your email for an invitation from blogger.  Follow the directions.  Some students couldn't get it to work; clicking on the attachment or on "View In Browser" seems to help.

Once you are enrolled and logged in, simple click on "New Post" on the top left to write a post.

Please include a title that describes your topic. 

To comment on a blog post, click on "comments" under the post.

If you are having trouble, do a Google search with your problem.  If that doesn't work, see me.

Enjoy!

sf 

Welcome to the blog.

Howdy.

This blog will be a forum for you to discuss your goals and progress.  The first discussion to occur here is to evaluate the projects I've selected.  You can watch them in the US Library.  Please watch at least two; I encourage to watch more.  Remember that others who come here won't necessarily watch the same films.  You can make recommendations.  Include descriptions in your posts.

Your choices are:

• Dog Stories

This was is actually an audio documentary, not a film. This was from the first year the project was assigned.

• Haque Project

This is a photo essay with audio

• Who Ya Gonna Call? Mr. Mele

On our local tech guru

• Something to be Proud Of

Aubree Dipman did her project on a family in Appalachia she met while doing service.

• Survivor: You Were Getting My Body, You Weren't Getting Me

This one is based on the life of a former sex-worker and the shelter she established for other victims.

• SOL William Starkoff

This was in very non-traditional.  It is short and does the opposite of what I taught kids to do, and it still works; the subject basically lies about himself for the whole thing, and we get a wonderful picture of what he is like.  It is also wonderfully filmed and edited.

• teen therapy: an animated film MS. WEBSTER

Also non-traditional.  A mix of an audio interview illustrated through animation and footage from teen movies to illustrate the points being made.

• My Favorite Books Are Records

A documentary about a local musician.  Extremely dynamic footage.

• Story of a Life: Cynthia S. Wilson

A photo essay with audio.  

• Public Vs Private School

This started as a profile of a student who left Academy for Gahanna and grew into a profile of the different cultures.

All of these projects provide opportunities to learn, both through what they do well and what they do not do well.  That should be the basis for your blog posts - describe the project and discuss what works and what doesn't.