Returning to Shanghai last summer, my best friend Eric introduced me to their school’s new course on video editing and showed me his latest one million clicks video on Tiktok! Utterly amazed by his accomplishments in such a short time, I wonder why GP offers no similar lectures in the current curriculum. Compared to other high schools in America, Georgetown Preparatory School has an undersized pool of courses for students to pick from. While some students may feel satisfied with their current circumstances, I hear many voices complaining about the limitations on their academic progress. Thus, I recommend adding a video editing course to the schedule since it supports students’ future careers and provides time for relaxation.

The supplement of video editing in the curriculum would assist students in their future careers and help them seek potential opportunities in AI development. YouTube, the most popular online video platform in the United States, requires intensive video editing skills. According to Influencer Marketing Hub, a platform focused on social media,  a YouTuber earns around $0.018 for each view, which amounts to $18 for every 1,000 views on average. If a channel could get its entire fanbase of 1,000,000 to watch two new videos per week, it would receive $18 x 1,000 x 2 = $36,000 from advertisements alone(Geyser). This wealth does not even account for the entire income, which might include invitations from brands or TV Shows. Compared to an American’s average salary of 59,384$ in Q4 of 2023, a successful channel yields the same fortune in less than two weeks! Imagine using this money to stay in the best hotel in Dubai for two weeks when your peers are sitting eight hours daily in the office and repeatedly doing arduous work–The joy is unimaginable. While some GP students are concerned about their chosen industry's attractive returns and freedom, others care more about the correlation of this job to the blooming AI industry. Gimmy, both my father’s friend and one of the senior engineers who worked at Google for twenty years, emphasizes the importance of User Experience (UX) Design. “We must find our unique selling point,” he comments, “The control of consumers’ experience determines their attitude towards our product.” While many AI applications involve creating content, such as generating images, videos, or text, the acquired video editing principles teach them the corresponding length, background, and music of engaging products to catch users’ attention. Thus, it can be beneficial when working on AI projects that involve content creation, such as generating and enhancing synthetic media. Whenever they struggle with video editing, they always have another choice: job hopping to another company focusing on product design. With the lucrativeness and flexibility of this job, many GP students will choose this course as a starting point for their future path. 

The video editing course also offers students time to relax at Prep. A recent Pew survey illustrates that 70 percent of teens say “anxiety and depression” is a "major problem" among their peers, and an additional 26 percent say it's a minor problem(Pew Research Center). Students in different grades suffer from various sources of pressure, including high parental requirements, mounting assignments, or ostracization in social life. The pressure exerted can result in students’ resistance to going to school and low efficiency in accomplishing tasks. On the other hand, my best friend Eric shares his delight after taking the video editing course. Although he selected five AP courses in his Junior year, with relatively easy exercise and light workloads, this course helped him relieve the stress and restrain his studying time to under three hours. Less requirements for memorization and more flexible tasks help him find his lifetime interest. A two-sided win occurs under this circumstance. For the school, the complaints from parents and students drop due to increased students’ creativity with more detailed hands-on practices and instructor feedback. He proposes brilliant ideas for TikTok videos, including the one that attracts more than one million viewers! For the students themselves, their anxiety disappears as they focus more on the quality of the work rather than rushing to meet deadlines. As a result, the tensions from all sources will diminish, allowing the students to balance academic responsibilities with other aspects of their lives, such as extracurricular activities, hobbies, and socializing.

Although video editing provides solace during unceasing school life, many parents argue that the proposed course will not meet Prep’s current academic requirements. Prep demands four years of math, English, theology, and social studies and requires at least two years in lab science, Latin, and modern language. With such a heavy burden on students’ shoulders, they do not believe their sons can pursue their interests in video editing. However, this argument proves insignificant when considering the relatively loose schedules of upperclassmen. Juniors and seniors typically have at least one place left for elective courses. Aside from English, Math, and Theology, seniors even have a total of four free periods apart from lunch, providing them with sufficient time to establish their foundations on any lessons. Thus, given the distributions and arrangements of courses at Prep, requirements do not hinder students from video editing courses. 

As the ancient Greek philosopher Heraclitus demonstrated, “The only thing that is constant is change.” The wheel of history is rolling forward, from industrialization to the recent blossoming of the AI industry. Adding a video editing course at GP represents a step towards preparing students for the realities of the 21st-century job market and a commitment to nurturing their holistic development and well-being. Just like ChatGPT renews its database every second, Prep can empower its students to thrive in an increasingly digital and dynamic world by embracing innovation and diversifying curriculum offerings. Should not Prep breed the students with skills that transform their lives in the future?