Laughter, inspiration, creativity; these were all things that went on during my seventh period StoryTelling Through Film class when Christine Forbus was teaching it. On October 16, I went to class expecting a normal day full of film talk and script writing, but instead I heard the worst news ever.
Forbus sat before us with a solemn face. Confused as to why she looked like that, I sat anxiously waiting for her to tell us we were attending the Austin Film Festival.
“I’m not going to be teaching this class anymore,” is what she said instead.
I think switching Forbus is a huge mistake and anyone who has ever taken her classes would agree.
“The switch has made me feel like the idea of film is taken like a joke here,” senior Antonio Salmeron said. “I feel hopeless and insulted as a person that is trying to pursue a career in film.”
Forbus even attended screenwriting workshops just so that she could be more knowledgeable about the subject she was teaching us.
She has really stepped up to the plate since her arrival to Akins last December. Not only is this a huge mistake, it’s also a slap in the face because I feel Principal Daniel Girard and the rest of the administration does notcare about us as a class.
We are overlooked and our education is suffering for it. A lot of the students really care about what we were learning. Some of us even want to pursue a career in this field and to have a great teacher teach us this and then be taken away halfway through the semester shows that this class is unimportant to those in change.
Proponents that support the executive decision of the switch might argue that it was not Forbus responsibility to take extra classes and become so involved in her work knowing that her position is not permanent.
Though they might think that, I still think that’s what makes her such a great teacher. It wasn’t her responsibility but she took the responsibility upon herself, to go the extra mile and give her students a better learning experience, and that has made all the difference.
Though this change is unfortunate I won’t let it stop me from doing what I love. I will continue to write and make short films.
I cannot say the same thing for the new people that are in Forbus’ classes because they lost a great teacher and weren’t in the class last year to grasp what we are suppose to be learning now. I walk into class now with a blank mind and hope that everything will turn out for the very for everyone in the program.
