You know what they say about assumptions...

This was the story of my entire first year of teaching. Assuming that my students both knew and cared as much about video production as I did got me into a lot of problems that would of been avoidable if I'd of known any better. Looking back, I was doing a poor job of marketing my values and assignments to my students. By simply trying to force them to do things I butted heads with a lot of them and created a lot of bad attitudes. One situation comes to mind. I assumed that some of my lower level students were capable of learning Avid, a professional editing program. Before I even got into the specifics of the software, I was beginning to realize that the vocabulary the software used was way over the heads of some of my students. Then, I backed up my "professional vocabulary" with some training videos provided by the software company. Looking back, I realize that those videos were the downfall of the whole thing. I was expecting them to pay attention and care like I cared. I fussed at them for falling asleep and not taking notes. Things got so bad that they didn't seem interested in editing at all - much less using Avid to do it. After talking to another BVP professional, I realized that I should scrap the Avid idea and focus on an editing program that was more intuitive for a teenager to use. I was reluctant, but as I saw the kids embrace the editing process I took on a positive outlook of the future of our program. I learned that the kids did want to edit, despite what I'd thought after the failure of my poorly planned Avid lessons. I also learned that the kids were highly capable editors when given a platform that worked for them. I had made so many negative assumptions about their learning abilities, that when I finally came around, I was pleasantly surprised at what they were willing to learn and the challenges they were willing to embrace. I have spent a lot of time trying to live down the "Avid Obsession"...many students who remember it tease me about it now. The whole situation taught me that, while students are not often the most motivated, it does not mean they are incapable of learning.