It is quite easy to fall accustomed to judging when you aren’t a part of what’s being judged. But is it right? Should you really be placing judgment without much knowledge of the judged?
Ms. Maria Molina, head of Lion Television, better known as LTV, voices her disappointment and concerns on the harsh and ignorant judgment placed on ILS’s broadcasting show and the 50 students who participate in its production.
For the program, Ms. Molina strives to use LTV to enable students with a variety of media skills to experience the exposure of a real-world experience.
“The main goal is to allow the students to find stories outside of school and supply them with experience in multi-media overall,” she stated.
Ms. Molina explains that the program helps her students develop social/emotional skills in addition to academic skills some high schoolers may lack.
“Those who take the class develop security in themselve, courage, public speaking, and writing skills. All of these attributes prepare them for life outside of school,” she added.
Junior Sebastian Loughlin, a fellow LTV student, agrees that the program has aided him in adapting new found skills that are useful for his future.
“Since LTV is a fast media production, I’ve learned to work under pressure and with a short time frame,” he shared.
Despite all these efforts and accomplishments, Ms. Molina continues to hear and feel the harsh discernment placed on the program by some.
“It breaks my heart when my students come back to the class and tell me the teachers turned off or muted LTV. It is rude to our students given all the hard work they have done and to my dedication to improving the class,” she lamented.
In comparison to real-world broadcasting stations with anchors and producers being paid a salary, LTV is a production filled with students broadcasting for a grade. Ms. Molina believes this aspect of LTV is forgotten when viewers judge the segments.
“People can be quick to judge the show and easily forget they are just high schoolers learning to broadcast. Broadcasting alone is difficult and LTV is made up of young people who are learning the ropes,” she said.
In addition to this, the pressure of the judgment is an everyday occurrence that sometimes overwhelms the class, making it difficult to keep their spirits high.
“LTV is produced everyday, meaning everyday it gets judged by its viewers. And, everyday I have to hear about it,” she added.
Sebastian also feels people overlook the difficulty it takes to produce a show for the whole school.
“People don’t realize that LTV requires work in and outside of school. You need to create scripts, go to conferences on the weekends, edit. There is a lot more than what people see,” he explained.
No one likes it when their work feels undermined and unfairly judged. Yet, most continue to do so to others.
Are you a part of the mass judgment of LTV? Have you succumbed to the pressure the class feels?
Why not watch an LTV program, consider all the hard work behind it, and instead of criticism, offer the broadcasters some words of support.
