I love a good laugh. My mom always had a very infectious laugh and my brother inherited it, although I'm told when I really get going, you can't help but laugh when I get tickled too. My dad always likes to laugh too.
I like working with teenagers. They can be very funny and I gotta tell you...some of the hardest and loudest laughs I've had, I've shared with my students.
It's always a good idea to find humor in every day things, especially things you stress about. For instance, the recent hijacking of a ship by Somali pirates is disturbing. What makes me giggle about this story is that we are talking about "pirates"! I think of the bandanna-wearing, eye-patched, sword-bearing, knicker-wearing mean guys on the high seas in Disney movies, NOT modern day criminals...which is what they are. When the Nightly News anchor says "pirates" in his broadcast with a straight face, I can't help but giggle.
There is a guy who is writing a book about procrastination, William Pannepacker from Hope College....but he's a year overdue getting the book to the publisher! That's funny! I heard about this the other day and it's true. Life is funny.
Deadlines are the banana peels on the sidewalk of my students. Deadlines cause more slips than a lingerie factory and more trips than an overworked AirTran flight attendant for my well-intended video production kids. Not sure why. But I don't find it funny. Procrastination is a symptom of this disease for which I know of no cure.
I'm told that procrastination happens because you are anxious or nervous about completing something. Some studies say that some personality traits predispose certain individuals to do things...manana. We talked today in class about looming deadlines. We have a LOT to do and NOT a lot of time to do it in the next few weeks. This causes me GREAT anxiety, but not because it's something I have to complete...it's because it's something my STUDENTS have to complete. I have to relinquish control to my great, loving, grateful-to-Mrs. Watson-dedicated, talented students. Did you hear all those compliments? What are you afraid of? I believe in you; not for what you can do to ease my anxiety but what you can do for yourself and how you can put your stamp on this program! You're great!!!! I really believe that.
No, I'm not trying to butter you guys up, but I'm trying to encourage you to do your best work, as I've said before. That work that I've seen before. You can't drop the ball now. Hit the ground running this last six weeks. Show me what you're made of! Surprise me by doing really fine work and turning it in early! Make me incredibly proud! Learn some new tricks and incorporate them into your final few projects! Ask questions! Answer questions of other students! Don't waste one minute! Stay in the game! Don't let these last couple of deadlines bite you on the booty! An injury there is not pretty! One of my former students at Mount Zion had to have 13 stitches there...because he missed his deadline.... jk...he fell off an anchor chair, but it still wasn't pretty.
Here's my deal....dig deep in your tired, homework-depleted, worn-out-from-11-or-12-years-of-high-school self and find your second wind for the last part of the race. You do that, and I'll try not to be too stressed. Deal? Let's laugh and have fun these last few weeks because we have nothing to stress about because you're going to turn your stuff in by or before deadline.
Blog back to me about how excited you are about your last projects...your documentary and your senior video segment and your "how did I do this package" presentation. I want to hear motivation and excitement. You can do it. Tell me how you're going to do this. How will you keep yourself motivated and on-track. You've been given much by Eagle TV...give back, in a big way! Go out with a bang! What can we expect from you?
Actually I am VERY excited about these last few projects... Because I know that when we're done then school is over & its summmertime (: Then I wont have to deal with any of this for 3 whole months... Uhhh, I guess I can do this by thinkin these are my last projects & I should make them the best... (then maybe my grade can come up :] ) And hopefully everything will come out for the bessstt!!!
ReplyDeleteIm not sure if i'm excited about the last projects or not. I'm excited to start working on the band documentary, but at the same time it intimidates me a little. How to i tackle such a big project? How do i make it flow? How do i not sound like a siren? When will i have time to start my "How did i do this package" project? Oh the stress...
ReplyDeleteI am a little excited about working on the band documentry, but am stressed out a little about how detailed, how long, and how much time it will take to complete the entire assignment, and weather it will be good enough. The stress over the documentry leads into more stress dealing with all of the other projects, including the last project about how we worked on a package, wich of course there is only one thing to do that project on, because it is the only one with pictures of the accaunt, and it is the project in which the majority of the semester was dedicated to.
ReplyDeleteThese last projects are going to be excitng for me because they both are new experiences to me. I like working on the senior dvd and the documentory should be fun to. So as long as we stay on track and finish our work it should be a very good experience.
ReplyDeleteWithout a doubt I am extremely excited about the idea of creating a documentary. My topic is one which interests me and it is something I have never done before. However I feel as though time is not on my side, not that I do not have enough of it, only that I do not know how to manage it. I feel as though I am wasting class time, but I have already set up interviews, events to attend, and written a script for my documentary. It seems like in order to produce a good documentary you would have to spend a good deal of time interviewing and filming your subject. What if I just don’t have that time outside of school? How do I make up for the video I could not get? If only the events I needed to film took place 10:10-11:49 Mondays-Fridays.
ReplyDeleteI am extremely anxious to finish my senior segments; however most of the footage we have to work with is …. How can I say this…? “Booty” So we have decided to use footage that we shoot on senior week, which has yet to come (SENIORSSS!). So what do we do now? Select the music? Check! Write a script? Check! What else can we do to prepare? I have a feeling that when its crunch time/ time to sit down and edit I will be able to think of plenty of things I could have done to prepare.
Like michelle and brittany both, I too am exited and stressed. I chose a segment of the senior dvd that apparently never gets put into the final product, and my documentary is over a very serious and sensitive topic and I want both of these final projects to show off how hard I worked and that I was dedicated to the tasks. Oh yeah, and I want it to be on time .
ReplyDeleteTHANKS , boo :)
These last projects are going to be the best of the best because it will be my last porject for Eagle Tv. I will miss this class so much that i might just fail my classes just to come back to take this class again...j/k never that! I hope everyone can be efficent and work hard and STOP procrastinating
ReplyDeleteThese last projects are going to be wery exciting because it gives me a chance to show all that you have taught me and it lets me use all the skills I have learned to show off a special talent. Senior video is what I am excited about the most because I have been waiting on this ever since I first got into broadcasting. Even though I wish I had more footage its okay I'll just make the best out of what I got. This will be fun and appreciate the experience.
ReplyDeleteI actually am really excited about putting together our last projects! I think our senior video segment is going to come out pretty amazing, so be prepared Watson. :) There's alot of stress going on because we have the documentary too, but i'm sure we can pull it together. We're gonna have to!
ReplyDeleteI am really excited about the band section of the senior DVD because I can finally get time on the edit machine alone. I feel like when it gets done it will be my own creation and I like the idea of editing one of the coolest organizations in the school in the senior DVD. Our documentary is a little depressing so i'm not that excited about it and I just don't like anything that has to do with a tri-fold presentation board.
ReplyDeleteI am excited at the fact that I expect it to look great when it's done. Doing the work can be tedious, but I know it will pay off in the end. While doing my senior dvd video segment, I am trying to add a little "pizazz" to it. I don't want it to just be a plane ordinary sports segment. For the documentary, let's pray that comes together well. I will be honest, I forgot all about the "how did I do this presentation" project, so I will start having to think about how I am going to construct that soon. As for all of this work, I know it will be arduous, but I am in it for the long run.
ReplyDeleteIm not even gonna lie im not exactly ecstatic about my senior DVD segment but i am very excited about the Documentary
ReplyDeleteWell, I did want to have a very busy and creative class. I thought yearbook was the only one at first... then i joined broadcasting. Broadcasting (A.K.A, AP Yearbook) is a work load, not saying I can't handle it, but it requires time and commitment. In combination with many of my other activities, they have to be managed properly in order to get things finished. I haven't worked on that tri-fold poster project yet, my Academics segment for the SD is in the works (need a little more footage before I can edit) and as far as my documentary, I couldn't do my second interview with Anik with additional footage of him working(Mom's van broke down). So hopeful this week I will get a lot done (especially since i am by myself).I like working alone instead of working in groups because I feel as I can get a lot more accomplished, and when I get things done, I feel accomplished. Even though it's a lot more stressful, I know while I am working, everyone is on the same page (i.e Myself). I learn a lot when working by myself. It helps develop my productivity, it prevents me from slacking, I am able to solve my own problems, no one will argue when ideas clash, and I am in charge. But anyway, I will work hard on all of the projects to insure that I receive a good grade on them.
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