29 Jun What Kind of Day Has it Been? by Elijah Reynolds: How Do You Come Back From Today?

From daycare to 12th grade, my schools have always emphasized the importance of fire drills. It was right of them to do so considering the dangers of fire. However, it wasn’t until I was in the fourth grade that my school taught us how to act for another dangerous event. A school shooting.

What Kind of Day Has it Been? (2019) by Elijah Reynolds does not jump right into a school shooting. Instead, it focuses on the lives of a few high school students, who are all connected in a way. The children shown are in every aspect typically high schoolers who are preparing for college. What I really respected about this film is that it was extremely easy to relate to, myself having been in high school just four short years ago, and brought back bittersweet memories.

As a high schooler, we thought that the biggest thing to worry about is getting into a good college. But it isn’t, and that is the reality. In a perfect world we would have it that a student’s biggest concern would be their studies. In the real world however, students of every age and grade level are at risk for a school shooting.

The film, What Kind of Day Has it Been?, shows how a normal day at school can be turned into a nightmare. And even though students can be prepared with practice drills, we can see in the film how that does not always save everyone.

Then the question arises, “What do you do when someone you know is killed in the same vicinity that you are in?” The director makes such a compelling statement with his short film. It seems as if adults do not fully understand the type of environment they are putting their children through. It is stressful, it causes mental health problems, and it can potentially be life threatening.

What Kind of Day Has it Been? Is not a documentary, but it has just as much truth as one.

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Chynna, 2020 American INSIGHT Intern, Temple University, Class of 2021