Posters for films like Hotrod, Galaxy Quest, and Fall Guy adorn the walls of AV teacher Cassandra Randall’s classroom. You wouldn’t expect these to be in a classroom, but for Randall, who teaches multiple subjects like animation and movie making, these are the tools of the trade.
Originally an English teacher, Randall didn’t realize how everyone felt about her chosen discipline until becoming one herself.
“I have English degrees and I was an English teacher for the first five years because I like reading and writing, and I thought everybody did — but they don’t. A lot of people feel about English the way I feel about math.”
While Randall enjoyed teaching English, she was always on the lookout for other options. When she was an English teacher, one of her ways to motivate her class was to create a grammar competition modeled on The Hunger Games, where students are placed in different districts, or teams and compete against one another for points. To get students excited about the contest, she decided to create a video to get them hyped.
“They had to be there one day for funding, but we didn’t do anything, so I shot a film,” Randall said.
She created the film with all of her students, giving them props and letting them shoot suction cup arrows and attack one another with plastic swords. They all looked to be having a good time, with horrible acting and dramatic moments giving it a comedic vibe.
Another moment that made Randall fall in love with filmmaking occurred around her first year of teaching in 2014, when she created a short film about being a zombie until she drinks her morning coffee. The creepy video features super dark grainy lighting, until the coffee machine appears and magically transforms Randall into a functioning human. When Mrs. Randall’s zombie character first sees the coffee machine, she looks UNHINGED.
“This was my first time studying How To Shoot Video That Doesn’t Suck. It was my first one. . . my first time using a camera, first time using DSLR. I didn’t know anything about Lighting or Framerate,” Randall said.
Randall has many talents and has taught several courses over her career.
“I have taught AP Computer Science and Robotics, I also have a certification in Journalism, so I can do Yearbook too,” Randall said.
Surprisingly for someone so committed to education, Randall did not specifically study teaching in college, and instead focused on a degree in script writing. Randall loves the environment of Jordan High School and her co-workers and administration.
“I didn’t think that I would last, honestly, like three years? But, this is my tenth year, and I love it here. I’ve spent half of my career here. This place is the best. If our Principal or Mrs. Booth ever retire, I tell them all the time, I’m leaving teaching, I can never work for another Administration because THIS, THIS is what people who want to teach want to be at, like this
is the school to teach at.”
