Some time last term I agreed to take part in a film being made by the National Library about 21st century school libraries. Suddenly it wasn't just a note in my diary for some future date, it was today, and I found myself in front of a GIGANTIC camera. Me, the person who hides behind the camera was in front of one for two whole hours. Okay, maybe the camera wasn't gigantic but it was a big one like they use for TV not a handycam.They filmed me doing typical things around the school and library, and then they did a one-on-one interview with me about the Amesbury School library. I also organised groups of students to do various activities in the library and a couple of other teachers were interviewed too. The film crew were at school for five hours and by the time they left I was both exhausted and exhilerated. They said they were really pleased with the the material they had which was a relief. After they had filmed me working with children one of them asked me if I had a background in performance arts. That took me aback for a moment but then I realised that all I had been doing was normal teaching stuff and interacting with children as usual. I guess teaching often is a kind of performance as you're always thinking about the way you present yourself to children to engage them in learning.
So despite my nerves and fears that I wouldn't say the right thing or express myself articulately I ended up feeling pretty good about the whole thing. They will have hours of film from about four different schools and in the end I suppose there will only be a few minutes of us at Amesbury. Hopefully those minutes will be a true and worthy reflection of Amesbury School library - the place, the people and the learning.
Mike, the cameraman - agreed that he couldn't object to me taking a photo
of him after pointing the camera at me for so long.
