SchoolTube: How long have you be teaching?
Christine Strahan: 8 years.

ST: How long have you been teaching video?
CS: 5 years.

ST: What subjects do you teach/have you taught?
CS: English, Yearbook, Newspaper, Journalism, Mass Media, Broadcast, Photojournalism.

ST: Did you always want to be a video teacher?
CS: No, I never gave it a thought. I thought I would be an English teacher. I agreed to advise the newspaper at my first school (just because I really wanted a job!), and fell in love with advising journalism classes. When I switched schools, this broadcast position became available, and it sounded fun. I love working with the kids as they make the show.

ST: What is your favorite part about teaching video?
CS: The seemingly endless amount of cool stuff the kids can learn and do. They love to learn graphics and technical stuff, and I love to learn about people and news, so we fit well.

ST: How did the video program at your school start? How old is it?
CS: Nancy Freeman, the current newspaper adviser, started the program as KCHS in 2000. We changed the name to Greyhound News Network in 2005.

ST: Why do you consider video a class worth offering at the K-12 level?
CS: Many of our program's graduates have gone on to study journalism or work on college broadcast/video projects, and some have even gotten jobs and internships for NFL Films, HBO, and local broadcasting stations. To me, even if it's just a couple of students a year who find their career path because of broadcast news, it's an important class to have. For those students who don't continue in this area, they are still leaving with the knowledge of how to tell a story, how to use highly technical software and equipment, and some other great skills.

ST: Do you have any advice for other video teachers?
CS: Have patience. When you let the students run the show, but be firm about the quality you expect, they will eventually get there. There were times when I thought we would never stop using copyrighted music or never be able to do great voice overs. Kids love to say "but they did it last year, so why can't we do it this year??" I kept fighting for them to make their own music, focus on scriptwriting, and low and behold, they did it. Things may not change overnight, but they can change. Also, make sure you have Motion or some other animation program, and tutorials about how to use them. My kids love it. It gets them more interested in editing in general.

ST: Do you have any memorable stories from your teaching experience?
CS: I went to a convention and while I was gone the kids ran a show. When I came back, we got ready to critique the show. The entire program was full of things I've taught them not to do: terrible framing and b-roll, awful interview questions and answers, jump cuts, miserable lighting. I lost it. I felt like I had failed. Just when I was about to walk out of the classroom and quit, they burst out laughing and one of them told me that they had made a fake show that didn't air for us to critique. They did all of the things I told them not to do on purpose to play a prank on me. It was unbelievable. Hilarious, but I was about to have a heart attack. Then we watched the actual show that aired, which was better. Not great, but better.

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