Lights, Camera, Action! On The Life of a Middle Schooler

Some of the cast and crew holding up a poster of their magnificent achievement, The Life of a Middle Schooler.

We can test them again and again and again, and it means little or nothing.

We can set them free and let them pursue their dreams, and it means everything,

Camden Jewell and Chandler Watson had a dream.  They wanted to do a movie.  A movie that would be done completely by middle schoolers.  A movie that would be about what it was like to be a middle schooler.

They couldn't just do it.  They needed a sponsor.  They needed a teacher to volunteer to sponsor their club.  So many teachers having to give so much of their time to keep up with the pressure of standardized tests, and with the demand of so many other extra curriculars, who could they find who would willingly give up their time for such an enterprise?  Well, they found one.  Ms. Lisa Martin gave generously of her time and resources, and let the middle schoolers follow their dreams.  Over two dozen students did everything.  They wrote it.  They produced and directed it.  They acted it.  They edited it.

They spent many months putting it together, most of the school year.  And I saw the results yesterday afternoon.  A forty five minute movie that was clever, imaginative and fun.  It told an interesting, compelling story that was well written, directed and edited.  The actors came across with clear, distinct personalities, and the non-verbals were very good.  The story was entertaining and funny, but it also contained a serious message about bullying.

My son Benjamin played the second lead.  He was the primary character's best friend, and he was the comic relief.  He played his part with verve and emotion, and just the right amount of smart-alecky sass.  He was at times a scene-stealing ham, a trait that I have no idea whom he picked up from.

I laughed at much of what he and the other students were doing, but I also was kind of teary.  I was overwhelmed at the magic these students were doing, and of seeing my son do something I could only dream about doing when I was young.

This is what inspires learning.  This is what gets you ready for life.  No standardized test in existence can motivate you to learn and grow as a person as much as students being allowed to achieve their own dreams.  Let them put together a movie.  Let them build a robot.  Let them design a car.  Let them write and perform music. Let them run a store.  If learning will help you DO things, you learn so much more than trying to learn for a test designed by people who care so much more about how much money than make off the test than the they do about the students taking it.

So here's to the dream weavers, each and everyone, and to the teachers and parents and community members who help them dream.

Bravo, Film Club!  The Life of a Middle Schooler is a great film, and if you ever get the opportunity to see it, you should.  It's fun and fresh, and an important statement about what's really important in the world of education.