What they didn't teach me in school

Tell us a story about a time you learned something outside of school (could be something you learned online or from someone you know) and how it expanded your worldview. Check out the guiding questions below to get started, but with this option, we want you to create a 60-second standalone story directly to camera.

Check out SRL’s tutorial on how to record a video diary. Practice before you record, speak from the heart (don’t read from a script!), and remember what makes a compelling story -- a great hook, a conflict or challenge, and a beginning, middle, and end.

• For this option, you can submit raw footage OR an edited piece. No matter what, please include a transcript.
• If you choose to submit an edited piece, have fun and be creative! Feel free to use the editing tricks you use on Snapchat, Instagram and TikTok

Conduct a pre-interview and find a peer who discovered something outside of school that changed how they think about the world (could be something they learned online or from someone they know). Then, use the guiding questions below to record your interview. Remember, these questions are a guide. Feel free to add your own questions and be sure to improvise follow-up questions if your subject says something you want to know more about.

Instruct the subject to look at the camera while speaking. Submit raw footage with a transcript. No editing required.

GUIDING QUESTIONS:

**ON CAMERA IDENTIFICATION: For the record, please say and spell your full name (first and last) on camera. Also please describe how you want to be identified in this video. For example, “I’m an 11th-grade student at Canyon High School in Santa Clarita, California” NOTE: SRL’S EDITORS NEED THIS INFORMATION AND WON’T BE ABLE TO PUBLISH YOUR VIDEO WITHOUT IT**

• What topics do you think should be taught in school that aren’t?
• Tell me a story about something you discovered on your own -- can be from social media, someone close to you, a book etc. -- that you probably wouldn’t have learned in school.
• How did learning about this on your own feel different from learning something in school?
  • Do you think these kinds of things should be taught in school?
• How has learning things about the world outside of school changed your worldview?
  • Do you think you’d have the same views if you only learned these things in school?
• Tell me about any social media creators from whom you’ve learned something new. Why do you like them?
• How could schools take advantage of the new ways teenagers discover and learn?

• Decide which option you’d like to pursue
• Talk to potential interview subjects and choose someone who has something interesting to say; if you’re recording a personal narrative, make sure to think ahead about what you’d like to say, but remember, no reading from a script!
• Set a time for your record session, prepare a quiet space with good lighting and test your equipment
• Have anyone appearing on camera sign this media release form
• Record your interview or personal narrative
• Transfer your footage to your computer or device and transcribe using otter.ai or similar service
• OPTIONAL: Use your creative editing skills to make your story even stronger!
• Watch your video back. Make sure it’s clear. Submit raw or edited footage.

• Subject should look directly at the camera
• DO NOT READ - It’s good to prepare and even have notes, but we want to hear you speak from the heart, not a script
• Use the SRL Rapid Response Skills and Standards Checklist

This challenge does not have an active deadline to submit to PBS NewsHour Student Reporting Labs. However, students are encouraged to publish their stories on their school/club/program website or through video/social platforms such as YouTube, Instagram or Twitter and tag Student Reporting Labs. Check with your teacher to find out instructions for class submissions.

FACEBOOK: /STUDENTREPORTINGLABS

TWITTER: @REPORTINGLABS

INSTAGRAM: @STUDENTREPORTINGLABS

TIKTOK: @REPORTINGLABS