Black Nature and I presented our plans for the WeOwnTV workshop and spoke at the Marin School (www.themarinschool.org) in Sausalito, CA last Thursday night. Wonderful night. We were invited by Kieran Ridge who teaches English, Film and Journalism at the High School. Kieran is an amazingly warm and supportive individual and has been a big supporter of us for a few years now. Two years back he invited Nature and I to screen the SLRAS documentary www.refugeeallstars.org and do a Q&A. We were both blown away by the students. They were all interested and engaged in the film; they hosted the entire evening with student presenters; the Q&A was moderated by a student etc... etc... A community of creative, supportive educators and a passionate student body.

What I have learned most through watching Kieran is how important it is to give students responsibility, to treat them like equals. If you can make them believe that they are creative and able young adults that is what they will become. And when Kieran rocks out with the school band on guitar, don't think i'm saying he is solely doing it for their benefit, he is genuinely Rockin' out!. To be a great educator you don't have to be a life long kid, but a life long student. Passion and interest need to be alive in the teacher as well.

Here is a quick quote lifted from The Marin School website, "At The Marin School, we celebrate the individual, and everything we do is designed to inspire, guide and empower each student to achieve his or her full academic and personal potential."

So thanks Kieran for giving us that teaching as we embark on this new adventure of our own.

Collaborator or Educator? This question has been a kind of touch stone for us. If it requires an answer it is undoubtedly: 'both'! When we first met Nature during SLRAS production, he wanted to learn how to use the camera immediately. DAY 1. look here, push here - and he was off. I remember reviewing the footage and I remember learning from it. Incredible footage. Having that camera was special to him. There was a sincerity how he interviewed. We all learned from that immediately.

(the footage he took that first night starts about 1:56)
And now here we are, about 6 months away from the start of our workshop. I am excited for us to go and teach what what we know. We are currently working on the workshop curriculum and I am proud of what we have planned. But in this post today I want to say that I am also excited to go and learn, to go and collaborate, to go and make beautiful art and to share our stories and our lives together.

The man pictured behind the screen above, and in this picture below is Ibrahim Sorie Sesay.
Most of the interviews we did in Freetown had some level of pre-planning. Invited individuals had been recommended for an interview or we worked with a local community group who would organize a gathering or small group for us. While we were interviewing in Seaside, Ibrahim called to us politely from his window. After we finished an interview and said he wanted to ask us some questions about our program. He had not been invited by anyone, but happened to live next door to where we were shooting. Turns out Ibrahim is a self taught play write and drama group leader and perfect fit for the program. We opened up his screen and interviewed him on the spot.

Don't be shy. Reach out when you have something to share. This is something that I am trying to get better at, and in a way this blog entry is a first step for me. So thank you Mr. Sorie Sesay for teaching me about that.

Hope to have more to share and the confidence to put it out there very soon,
Sincerely,
banker white
WeOwnTV