Many have noticed that Grady Days don’t take place in the Performing Arts Center (PAC) anymore, but are now entirely pre-recorded. Originally, the format of Grady Day was switched because it was deemed unfair that most students could only watch it live in classrooms while only a select few were allowed to watch it live in the PAC. Students watching the performances in the PAC were able to feel more of the atmosphere and vibe of the entire show.
I interviewed assistant principal Ms. Dwyer on why she believed it was better to switch the format of Grady Days. From her perspective, pre-recorded videos allow more participation from other students and staff. Previously, it was difficult for teachers to be included in the performances because they had to monitor a class. However, with the pre-recorded Grady Days, teacher participation has improved as science, math, and history teachers have been introduced into trivia games. There is now also a Grady Day Committee that gets involved during different segments, making participation in Grady Days altogether much more coordinated.
Dublin High junior Yma Santos stated, “I miss our Grady days being in person due to the excitement of live performances, but I really enjoy the pre-recorded ones that allow more educational videos to be included that are able to accurately represent cultures and fun clips like the teacher trivia!” The videos, in other words, are much more inclusive and have more content, a goal that Ms. Dwyer was aiming for.
Another benefit of pre-recorded videos is that Grady Day will not run undertime or overtime. Previously, some performances had to be cut short while others ended early due to participants speaking too fast or slow or a lack of rehearsal.
While pre-recorded videos have brought a more inclusive atmosphere for Grady Days, they also have brought some challenges. One of these is that the live energy and spontaneity of an in-person performance is noticeably absent, and some students feel disconnected from the presentation. Indeed, the applause, student reactions, and thrill of the performances are difficult to replicate in a recorded format. With this, some students in their classrooms completely ignore the videos and use their phones or talk with their friends. Ms Dwyer understands this shortcoming, finding that pre-recorded Grady Days may cause less engagement for students in P.E. and Gael because it is much more difficult to support a televised format in these environments. Some teachers have sought to mitigate these effects by mandating their students to watch the performance and treat it as if it were live and in-person. There have been mixed reactions to these initiatives, with students saying that they prefer to multitask (do homework or talk with others, for instance) while watching the performance.
Overall, the new format of Grady Days has many benefits and drawbacks that are likely to be improved upon in the future. Ms. Dwyer stated that pre-recorded Grady Days are still an experiment and that other formats are being explored, so pre-recorded Grady Days may or may not be here to stay.
