In November, myself and three students attended the JEA/NSPA National High School Journalism convention in Indianapolis. We attended a session titled "Humans of Your School: The Video" taught by Michael Hernandez and his student Omar Ahmed. They are from Mira Costa High School in California. We already do a Humans of WHS with photographs and quotes on our website, but this focused on producing quick one-hitter video features about various students.
Myself and the BJJTV students in attendance were hooked. We knew this HAD to happen for our school. Why? Well, the Friday Show needed a facelift. Our student body is full of students who have stories to tell. And, quite frankly, many of our students do not know each other.
It took some planning and experimenting, but by January we were ready to dump the "Pet of the Week" and weekly contests on the Friday Show and launch "Not Just Another Face in the Crowd." That first week alone, I recieved six emails and two personal visits from teachers and students complimenting the new segment.
This spring semester, we had one week we didn't have the segment, and students came to me complaining that they had missed it. Several told me it is their favorite part of the Friday Show. That in itself was better than any award or grant we have won this year. I love that we are creating something for our students and teachers that they appreciate and actually miss when it doesn't happen.
Click HERE if you would like to see all the people we have featured on "Not Just Another Face in the Crowd" since we started it in January 2017.
Until next time,
MT