Today, Zach and I interviewed Mr. Pasquier for an upcoming commerical to convince the school that STAC isn't what it's misconceptions say it to be. Pasquier is my french teacher for two years now and it has always been obvious that he is very into the arts in addition to being proud to speak french- living the french lifestyle. He is very interested in the musical aspect of culture and always has a song for each class to sing in french. He almost strives to be unlike any other teacher which is why it is definitely clear why he would produce a great interview for STAC publicity.
There was, of course, a strange moment we encountered. Noticing from the beginning of the interview process, he wasn't as excited to speak up for STAC as we had hoped. In fact, he asked Zach and I to tell him why we thought STAC was good. Initially, this seemed to be a simple teacher-student moment where the teacher wants to get more out of the student. Later on, during the interview, this idea was even more emphasized. As we explained the purpose of these commericals- to clear up the misconceptions about STAC- he changed his tone. Again he asked us what we thought of STAC and why STAC was important to us. Using careful wording he went on to state the exact misconception we have heard numerous times about STAC. Inching along he proceeding with something along the lines of- Have you ever considered perhaps that you as students kind of bring that misconception of isolation from the rest of the school. It almost seems that you are in your own wing of the school. You stay there and... maybe like a cult. At that moment Zach and I or at least I know I didn't think about what could be the right thing to say. He kept on by saying that there should be a collaberation between STAC and other classes where teachers use these students who are more experienced in the arts to help those who aren't. I sort of just nodded and went on with the interview. Now that I had time to consider exactly what he said, I realize that what he said does have some merit. I am also bias in that I see him in class always exclaiming that he wishes the chorus or technical department would help student to student with our projects like powerpoints and movies etc. which would help our class do better in projects and help our skills. But as I thought even more about it.. even in writing this blog entry... I realized that the whole point of this is to get more people, the right people, to join STAC and those kids who would want to learn how to make movies and do all the art stuff should just join STAC. Yes, STAC should come out and help them learn but to a minimal amount where it leaves them wanting more- which is what STAC live is about. Also, the people new to STAC including myself in addition to those who were in STAC last year, we still all do not know much of the skills that can be taught and we aren't really experts yet. We are in this learning process now, we choose to be in STAC for this reason and deserve to have the 3 periods in "isolation" to learn. Why is that a crime?
Amen sista!
ReplyDeleteYou're very perceptive, VV. There is merit in what Michel says. I think what he wants is all education in the school to have the hands on creative element that we have - the chorus singing in French, lots of cross collaboration across subject areas. He singles out STAC because in many ways, our program is the closest thing to what he envisions. It is really a complement.
ReplyDeleteI have a different philosophy on the whole thing, though, not that I think Mr. P is wrong, but I would look at collaborating with another class as a two way street. The kids in French learn powerpoint, but what does a STAC student get out of it?
I think you are in STAC to learn the way of the artist, to learn how to harness your creativity for your own use and also to put it at the disposal of others, to complete tasks on your own and in collaboration and community. You also are in STAC to learn about yourself in ways no other class can guide you to. That is a lot. How much more can we add to that? This is one of the reasons we avoid doing projects with other classes - it moves us away from what we're suppose to be doing. As an analogy, the French class doesn't get involved with learning Russian for the same reason we do what we do within what we do. Does that make sense?
Great post from you.