The video production class Joe Fatheree and Craig Lindvahl developed and co-teach in Effingham, IL is more than curriculum, it is a culture in which high school students feel comfortable to express themselves creatively and openly through film making. I had the opportunity to attend the fifth annual Aha Film Festival highlighting the top 29 films the evening of March 31. My favorites included a documentary on “Plow Day;” a deeply moving film on the life of a man after killing a young child in a drunk driving accident; a young teen dealing with her mother’s diagnosis of cancer; and a stirring interview with a student who shares her obsessive compulsive disorder of pulling her hair out.
The day of the event Mr. Fatheree, Mr. Lindvahl, their students, and guest speakers shared ideas in a variety of workshops. I attended a workshop by Apple and another with Mr. Fatheree in which he shared the growth of his program from a few outdated PC’s to where it is today. Joe Fatheree is passionate about the program, would like to see other schools embrace it in their curriculum, and is willing to help in any way he can.
Read about the festival and films here: http://www.effingham.k12.il.us/aha/.
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