Let the right one in

I recently read a book called Let the Right One In. It was a vampire book and so I didn't really think it I would make any personal connections. But, as I reflect on teaching my Applied Theatre class, I realize that I needed to be aware of who to "let in". Over the course of this semester I have decided to let my entire class into my metacognitive process concerning the class. This was somewhat successful and yet has caused me a great deal of anxiety -- still does.
I have told my students that this is the first time I am teaching this class and giving these assignments so I have no idea how they will go. They have to trust me, I have to trust myself, I have to trust them. I've given assignments and seen eyes roll only to find out later that they enjoyed doing them. I've given other assignments that are official flops. Yesterday a student wrote to ask how long his final paper should be. He was concerned because he said that his draft is getting lengthy. I wrote back and told him I would stop reading when I got bored. Having never assigned that paper before I could only guess at page length. My general instruction to the class is to include all the parts that I've asked for and write until you are finished. We will see how long they are.

Today will be another adventure. They have no idea what they are walking into. Over the past six weeks we have taken a lot of pictures and video footage of the after school program where we volunteered. The other day I imagined it would be fun and interesting to edit this raw footage into something for the class. And then, I thought, "What if they edited the video themselves?".
By the end of the day I had reserved a lab, made CDs of the footage and called a colleague to help with some basic instructions about iMovie. Today is the day. I am going to put them in groups of three and ask them to come up with a creative 3-5 minute video that represents their experience of working at the after school program. There will be 8 videos produced and my hope is that they will all be different.
We spent some time this semester talking about how people are represented in plays, films and books. I am looking forward to how my students choose to represent themselves and the children with whom they worked. And, I am hoping that 8 very different films are produced.
To be sure, if we show up next week and watch essentially the same film 8 times it will be painful. I have actually a few fears about this project. Part of me is excited. It is a creative idea. My students will get an introduction to video editing (a great skill), they will work in groups and be required to collaborate, and they will apply some of the ideas we have discussed this semester in creating the video.
On the other hand, there could be technical difficulties. What if one of the CDs doesn't work? What if they feel overwhelmed by the idea of learning the editing process? What if groups of three are too many? Should it be 2s? What if they just think it's stupid and then when they complete my instructor/course evaluations I get slammed?
So, in about 20 minutes these questions will begin to be answered. I am a little nervous about showing up for class today. I feel like I am always selling my next idea like it's a Ronco product.