Jeff Day

Day’s innovative teaching idea, “Historic Film Studio,” focuses on helping students make documentaries and docudramas to demonstrate what they are learning through their history-focused research projects. They will produce news shows covering historical events with “on-the-scene reporting” from the Golden Age of Greece, the trial of Martin Luther or the Gettysburg Address, among others. The Voya Unsung Heroes grant will help fund the purchase of video production equipment and the conversion of a history classroom into a film studio, so students can become content creators rather than passive consumers. Day’s goal is for the students to see a world beyond Rappahannock and to have another way to express themselves beyond writing an essay or creating a PowerPoint. Filmmaking affords an artistic expression that they may not have otherwise.