Bailey MeCey

Education is a tricky subject to discuss, due to its complexity and its sensitive nature. Because of this, there is not a lot of information out there covering education and the growth of non-traditional models that are popping up across the country. Given that I was educated in the traditional model, it has been fascinating to learn how these models function and the communities they serve.

To help understand the rise of these non-traditional education models that are growing across the country, I wanted to create a four-part video series. The series, that will be posted on YouTube, will cover these models and how they are changing the role of education in the United States. The introduction will also cover the traditional score-based model, and how its failures have resulted in new systems.

To begin, it was important to build a research base that will help inform the pre-production and writing that will turn into the videos. The research is a mixture of books, research journals, and blog posts. There is also a wide range in terms of the content, from books praising these education models and others that criticize these models.

From there, I created a project proposal that highlights the key points of my project. The proposal highlights the need for a spotlight on these models, and how my project aims to provide a solution. The goal is to create a four-part video series that will be available on YouTube. I am still playing with the runtime for the videos, but I aim to have them between five to ten minutes. I hope that there is enough time to discuss the matters in-depth, but not so long that they become overbearing. The series also needs to be completed on time, so it doesn’t allow for wasted moments.

The timeline of the series follows that the first few weeks will involve research, pre-production, and drafting of the scripts. The middle section will be finishing the scripts and filming. The last section is for editing, post-production, and publishing the videos. With a seven-week turnaround, it will be important to keep everything organized and on task. Some areas are out of my control for the filming section, but I feel with enough preparation I can make do.

My reason for choosing this topic is that I have become much more interested in learning about education as I started working at a school. Learning was something I always enjoyed, but I wanted to cover these new models from an investigative lens. I hope to use this opportunity to educate myself about these models and what the future holds for education in the United States.

The episodes will cover:

• Traditional Education Model
• Montessori Model
• Emotionally Responsive Practice Model
• Waldorf Model

Given this is a video series, the most difficult aspect of the production will be accruing the material necessary to create the videos. Schools can be difficult to visit currently due to COVID, but I hope I can reach out and set up some opportunities to visit some schools in the area that employ these models. I also want to do some interviews with teachers and school leaders, to help give a perspective from individuals who work in these non-traditional models.

I hope that this series will help inform a lot of people that might have a vague assumption of these non-traditional models, but have not taken the time to learn themselves. That’s not their fault, a lot is going on in the world to spend time learning about every education model. However, this is important as it has the opportunity to shape a child’s future.

I have some other ideas floating around that would be interesting to do a video series on, but this one is the one that stood out. The reason is as for me, this was the one that I felt like I could learn the most from. I want to take the time to understand a subject I am not familiar with, but there are some downsides. Thankfully there is a lot of writing and research, so my biggest problem will be narrowing down what I want to include.

When it comes to production, getting the necessary material will be tricky. Especially given the timeframe, it will require a lot of planning but I hope by starting early I can make it happen.

This type of video series is something I have never done before, and I’m both excited and nervous about how it will come together.