Tufts Blogs

Rarely do I mention classes in my blogs, but today, I am especially excited about a project I am completing for my Creating Children’s Media class. Creating Children’s Media is a course taught by Professor Julie Dobrow, under the Child Study and Human Development department. So far, we have examined what makes children’s media good, how to foster diversity, equity, and inclusion in the media, how to develop characters, and how to adapt books to films, among other things.

Our last project was to pitch a children’s book that should be made into a film. My group chose the picture book, Interstellar Cinderella, a spin-off of the classic tale Cinderella, in which Cinderella decides to pursue a career instead of getting married to the prince. We pitched the book to a panel of film executives, all of whom are very high up in their industry. For example, one of the panelists is the founder of Walden Media, which just produced the TV adaptation of The Babysitters’ Club! After we presented our pitches, the experts gave us critiques on how we could improve them, helping us gain the skills we will need if we decide to pursue careers in the media industry.

Our current project is even more up my alley. We are tasked with writing an episode of Arthur or Hey Arnold!, two very successful children’s TV shows. I chose Arthur and I am having a blast writing the script. I have never written a script before, so I am watching Arthur episodes “for research.” To make the assignment extra challenging, our episode has to be an idea that hasn’t already been used, and since Arthur has 25 seasons, thinking of a novel idea was difficult; however, I think I did it! (I would tell you the plot, but then I wouldn’t be able to use it to get famous.)

The reason why I like this project so much is that it lets me relive my childhood while also learning new skills that may lead me to a career path. I wasn’t sure if it made sense for me to take this class, because I don’t think I plan to go into scriptwriting or a media-related field (unless my Arthur script hits it big), but even if I don’t, knowing how to pitch and write is always helpful. My Emma’s advice for you today is to choose classes that will teach you vital skills and be entertaining. Not every course needs to be in your major, or something that you think will be directly applicable to your career. College is a time for exploration, and while we are all trying our very best to adult, sometimes, you have to embrace your inner child!