Ep. 92: The Teacher As Filmmaker/Jodie Foster
Image credit: Franz Richter
Transcript:
Melissa Milner 0:07
In this Teacher As Filmmaker minisode, I'm going to share some of the thoughts Jodie Foster had in her Master Class about planning and scheduling. This was a really great part of her Master Class that I really, really saw connections to teaching. One big, big message she sent was that scheduling protects your ability to be creative. It is absolutely true for teachers, as it is for directors. When you have things scheduled, then, if something's going long, you know what's coming next, you know what you have planned for the week, and you know when you could maybe make it up another time, and finish what you're doing and let the students stay in the moment. It helps you to be more creative, it helps you to plan and know what you need. Once you have all that it loosens you up to be able to be your best self and be creative. So I absolutely related to that. I've always loved Jodie Foster. And now I love her more because wow, how true is this. She said, be intentional, and be well prepared. She said prepping helps you save time and energy, and you get more done. Amen to that. Also, as a teacher, it absolutely is true.
Melissa Milner 1:29
She then goes in a little more detail. She says, plan for who your actors are, some need more time than others, or need to talk it out and get support. So when you're planning your lessons, keep your students in mind. Are you going to need to do a shorter frontal lesson to enable you to get to those small groups quicker? Or if you have more than one adult in the room, some are small groups, and maybe someone's taking a one on one for student who needs it. You can be flexible if you're planning for what your students need. And some students like, for instance, in a math class, some students might need more work on whiteboards and using manipulatives where others are working in, you know a workbook, you know your curriculum's workbook, and are able to just go ahead and use scratch paper. And also, maybe you have push-in services, and plan your lessons accordingly for those students and those support staff.
Melissa Milner 2:30
You may want to do something because it's easier or more convenient, but if it's not right, for the actors, don't do it. This is something she talks about that I thought obviously, you know, your first consideration is the actors. And in our case, as teachers, really obviously our first consideration needs to be the students, what they need, what will interest them, how to reach all students, how to make them feel they belong, how to help them collaborate in groups. I also thought this was cool. Our team does this not necessarily on the lesson level, but on the you know, what are we doing for the week level is alone, with a co teacher, or with a team look at your lessons and identify weaknesses. Right the ship before shooting the scene. So that's again, a director's... Jodie Foster's directing philosophy there. As teachers sometimes it's after the lesson that we realize and we reflect and know what we should have done instead. But having another person look at your lessons can only help.
Melissa Milner 3:37
Jodie Foster also says be adaptable, evolve and change based on what your actors need. And that's why I never teach the same year to year. I'm always doing different things based on my students needs, interests. So I guess Jodie Foster really probably could have been a teacher. Same with Spike Lee in the past minisodes. And same with some of the directors I'll be talking about next. Thank you. For my blog, transcripts of this episode, and links to any resources mentioned, visit my website at www.theteacheras.com. You can reach me on Twitter and Instagram @melissabmilner and I hope you check out The Teacher As... Facebook page for episode updates. Thanks for listening. And that's a wrap.