As
we sat listening to Randy Lovely respond to questions about his experiences in
the journalism world, I could only think of how exciting this opportunity was. Not
only did we get an exclusive glimpse into the industry, we also experienced the
thrills and frustrations often felt by our students. The tight deadlines proved
to be humbling, to say the least. Whenever I am asked “What do you teach?” I
often respond, “I teach kids.” But the reality is that as teachers we are preparing
our students for their future careers in journalism. This includes providing
them with skills, knowledge, and experiences that will allow them to grow the
skills and talents they already possess. These skills and talents must be transferable
(into the workplace) or they are irrelevant. When asked what he looks for in a
prospective employee Lovely responded, “What I look for (when hiring) is
someone who has an openness to change and a sense of wonder for what is
possible.” He went on to say “Learn it all, because you need to be exposed to
everything.” These lessons are important to our future journalists. These ideas
will definitely become part of my lessons.
Claudia SolorzanoWharton High School
Tampa, FL
I love what you said about what you teach, Claudia. One of my favorite things about teaching journalism is that I never have to fight to create that human connection with the kids, nor do I ever question the point of the curriculum. Sadly, my lit classes are much harder to negotiate, between my department's hoices, CCSS, my school district's requirements, and the students' lack of wanting to take the course I have to work hard to create joy and intrinsic purpose in learning for those classes. On the bright side, this workshop and the conversations I have had have given me some ideas about how to more smoothly get that sense of wonder into those classes as well.I want to get back to teaching kids, not the curriculum.
ReplyDeleteForgot to sign--that was Bonnie Katzive in the comment above.
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