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Teacher Idea Exchange On this webpage, I want to display pieces by teachers who write about student publishing, share their secrets of success, and provide us with down-to-earth, practical advice. “Words of the Wise” is collection of advice by award-winning journalism teachers, whose advice is relevant to any student publication. |
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Words of the Wise: National High
School Journalism Teachers of the Year Share their Secrets of Success
Give each staff member an alphabetical list of
staff names, addresses, phone numbers, and e-mail addresses—saves
communicating with the adviser after hours and aids in helping each other. At the beginning of the year give each staff member
and the principal a schedule chart for each issue, including: day and
dates for the news meeting, ad list deadline and layout, news and photo
assignment deadline, first drafts, revised stories, press nights, distribution,
bills, and exchange papers out. For ad copy, make a year’s chart by month---blanks
for name of advertiser, size of ad, and in last columns, amount due, paid,
total. This gives a panorama for the year and comparison of revenues from
year to year. Post a list of contests for the year and due dates
in each month. Put a staffer in charge of keeping track and readying entries. Have a regular reporter assigned to cover PTA meetings
and write a report for the PTA newsletter. This reporter serves as a liaison
between the school paper and PTA, which provides a source for funds or
equipment for the school newspaper at the end of-year fund distribution. Have a regular reporter assigned to cover the principal
before each issue—provides a good source of news, makes principal
more aware of paper and job Develop a handbook with a job description of each
position so a staffer knows his/her responsibilities. Following the previous tip, formulate a contract,
signed by each staff member at the beginning of the year, to protect the
adviser if a student has to be fired. Build or buy a pigeon hole mailbox for the newspaper
office and paste each staffer’s name on a box. This increases pride
in work, provides communication with each other and is a means for the
adviser to return corrected stories, etc. Develop a list of sports verbs alphabetically,
distribute to staff, and post one on the newspaper office bulletin board.
Avoids overuse of “beat.” Advisers, copy all fan mail letters, particularly
those of parents, and put them in your official folder in the school office.
When your evaluation rolls around, you have ammunition to counteract any
quirky letters sent to the principal. |
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From Wayne Brasler, 1981 Have a dream. All the top advisers in scholastic
journalism history have tenaciously pursued an individual vision of student
publications. Be aware of what’s going on in the field, and do value
ratings and honors as measurements of what you are accomplishing, but
chase that dream. It’s the adventure that gives flower to all else. You need to know how to do it before you can teach
your students how to do it. Beginning advisers need to get in there and
do the work with the staff, experience the satisfaction, panic, disappointment,
disorder, and triumph of doing student publications. Only when you’ve
done it can you appreciate what your students are going through. As the
years go by, you can remove yourself more and more from the process until
you are strictly advising. Know the past. The history of scholastic journalism
is remarkably rich and often surprising. School papers of the 1920s, 1930s,
and 1940s in some ways are equal to the best being done today. There’s
a heritage there to build upon. Keep your eyes firmly fixed on the future. In scholastic
journalism, like pop music, you’re only as big as your last hit.
And you are always auditioning. When you’ve done something great,
you’ve done it. It’s time to do something else great. Keep moving, keep changing, keep taking chances. It’s the students’ publication. Words
we say a lot in our field, but don’t often live by. You must insist
on legalities and quality, but you really must let editors make the decisions
about content, editorial positions and direction. You can argue all you
want, but in the end, if it’s legal and it passes the quality test,
the publications must belong to the students. It’s the only way they
really, truly learn. Let students learn from their errors, but try not
to let the errors be multiplied by the press run. Do whatever you can
to catch factual errors, potential libel and bad writing so editors can
tackle the problems and solve them before publication. They learn from
the experience without you and them spending hours in the principal’s
office, or worse. Beware the cookie cutter. Has anyone else noticed
that hundreds of high school papers today look the same and are virtually
interchangeable? In a field once famed for being ahead of daily press
design by some 20 or 30 years, “following the rules” has become
the standard. But, interestingly, the best papers are often the most individual
(I’m thinking particularly of the Little Hawk from Iowa City, Iowa).
Our field badly needs an infusion of fresh design. Maybe you’re the
adviser to bring it in. Administrators are our friends. A friendly, honest
and open relationship with your principal is well worth building and nurturing.
Your principal has enough worries and pressures without student publications
being one of them. The editors should be meeting regularly with administrators
to talk over story ideas and get their reactions to and advice for student
publications. Administrators need to be a part of the publishing team,
not potential adversaries or censors. Know the law. You do get the Student Press Law
Center magazine, don’t you? |
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From H.L. Hall, 1982 Maintain a positive attitude. Praise often. I once
read that 90 percent of the friction of daily life is caused by the wrong
tone of voice. Research has shown it takes 40 positive comments on the
average to overcome one negative comment. People remember the negatives,
but they tend to forget the positive. Don’t look for failures. Be Firm, be Fair,
be Flexible. Those are the only three F’s an adviser should be concerned
about. Good supervision is the art of giving someone a shot in the arm
without letting him or her feel the needle. Keep an open mind. Be an active listener. Every
staff member’s ideas should be respected. Every staff member should
have a voice in all decisions. A publication is not the adviser’s,
nor is it the editor’s. It belongs to all staff members who are creating
it for the readers. Recognizing failure is often the first step necessary
toward success. Help staff members learn from their mistakes. Most individuals
who try something new usually mess up. Help them realize that a critique
by some judge is not the end of the world if it is not totally positive.
Learn and grow. Maintain a good sense of humor. Laughter helps
release tension, it promotes retention and it creates attention. It would
be impossible to survive a year as an adviser without a sense of humor. Do everything with enthusiasm. It’s contagious!
If an adviser loses his/her enthusiasm for a publication, the staff will
also lose its enthusiasm. Being excited about every aspect of the publication
is important. Never give up on anybody. Continue to encourage
those staff members who do not meet with instant success. Without encouragement,
staff members may quit. With encouragement, hidden talent may come to
the forefront. Patience is an important virtue. Be a coach, but don’t be a player. Make suggestions
and critique the outcome, but don’t make the plays. A math teacher
would not solve the problems for his/her students. Neither should a journalism
teacher solve the problems for his/her students. Students should do the
work on a publication, not the adviser. The adviser should advise, not
write the copy, create the designs, or take the photographs. At the same
time, the adviser must be competent in all journalistic areas to be able
to offer sound advice. Help staff members stretch their minds. Urge them
to try something different, something they have never ever seen done in
another publications. However, always urge them to do everything journalistically
well. A successful adviser is a planter of ideas and a developer of imaginations.
Staff members should create and finalize their ideas; not the adviser
or some other adult like the yearbook company representative. Be a motivator. Have fun! Lead the staff in a rousing
cheer. Celebrate birthdays. Dress up for special occasions. Make up words
to songs and sing them. Shake a pica, shake a pica. Shake a pole, shake
a pole.Takes a mighty fine publication to satisfy my soul! Get a little
bit crazy. |
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From John Bowen, 1983 Student working knowledge of law and ethics should
be evident in all areas of student learning and production, from information
gathering, reporting and coaching, to visual creation and production. Encourage student journalists to “question
authority” in all they do. How else can they gather adequate information? Encourage, reinforce and recommend. Positive support
fosters student growth. Establish the desire for more information in terms
of what you produce. Encourage a thirst for more ideas and access to them.
Stress content above image. Create designs to supplement
and enhance the content. Your publication is the guardian of the First Amendment
and not just for those students. You give life to the parchment it’s
written on and help readers know its importance. Student success comes in many guises and at many
levels in journalism. Give all students a chance to reach that goal. Create a forum for all to voice their thoughts,
desires and philosophies. Then, listen as well as comment. Lead not only editorially, but in coverage. Challenge your readers to be informed. |
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From John Cutsinger, 1987 Make a wish. Every year set realistic, attainable
goals with ways to measure your personal and professional growth success. Make a difference. Know that your involvement with
your publications staff(s) members changes their lives and that they reciprocate
in making you a different person. Make friends. Nurture a kind-spirited, mutually
respectful relationship with staff members, their parents, fellow teachers,
administrators and peer advisers across the country. Make time. Never get so caught up in a moment that
you don’t have time for the little things that mean a lot---things
like a thoughtful word, a random act of kindness. Make lists. Keep yourself and your staff organized
by making “to-do” lists. Reward yourself by checking off those
items accomplished, so that at the end of the day you feel good about
what you have done. Make educated choices. Think through as many consequences
of a decision and weigh how all the individuals it touches will be affected
before making it final. Make do. That’s right. Use what you have or
do something constructive about it. Complaining rarely resolves inadequacy
in people, time, equipment, or supplies issues. Make sense. Say what you say, do what you do for
all the right reasons. Don’t let anyone ask “why?” Build
that into your reasonable approach to advising. Make waves. When it bests your program and your
staff members, move to the cutting edge. Read everything on the subject,
go to conventions to raise the quality bar of your publications. Make merry. Above all, create and maintain an environment
in which you and those around you feel good about themselves and what
they do. |
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From Jack Harkrider, 1987 One of the best things about teaching journalism
is we have the opportunity to teach so much more than subject matter.
We can teach life! Take advantage of it! Always find something to praise
in every student. You'll be amazed at the results . . . or maybe you won’t,
but it will make a difference in their lives. Don’t try to accomplish it all in one year.
Success is built over a number of years. If you can improve just two or
three things a year, you’re doing a great job. Do things for yourself on a regular basis. Attend
an opera, read a sleazy paperback, have dinner with a friend, build a
hang glider, smoke a cigar, start a garage band, whatever. If you don’t,
you’ll turn into an old grouch or witch, then you won’t be worth
a flip to anyone, especially your students. Write, photograph, design for your audience, not
judges. Work to produce the best and be the best, and the awards and recognition
will come. Trust me on this. You have to have a staff manual that includes a
production schedule, organizational chart, job descriptions and responsibilities,
and a style sheet, or you and your staff will produce mediocre publications
and y’all will go crazy doing it. Build rewrite time and screw-up time into your
production schedule ‘cause nothing ever goes the way you plan it,
so you might as well plan for it. Don’t be afraid to ask for help or seek a
shoulder to cry on. All of us have been there, done that, and the greatest
times in our lives are when we can help others. We carry extra tissues. Your students will learn more from what they do
wrong, than what they do right. But don’t play “gotcha.”
Encourage their creativity and effort, then, when they screw up, help
them learn from it, get over it, and encourage them to rush on to the
next mistake. After all, what’s high school for, anyway? Don’t be afraid to make a mistake yourself
and don’t be afraid to get weird at times. When you’re willing
to display your warts in public and laugh about them, it |
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From Bob Button, 1988 Have fun! There is nothing more exciting than watching
young people grow and mature, at least partially because of your interaction
with them. When work, even work as demanding as journalism, is fun, no
one notices that it’s work. Readers come first! The best publications serve
the staff because they really serve the readers, not because they are
built on the staff’s interests and friendships. You have to know the school. If you are going to
serve the entire school community, you have to know who those people are,
where they come from, what Good journalistic writing is built not on what
the reader knows, but on what the reader does not know. When publications
come out long after the news has already reached the readers, the why
and how are often the only angles really new. While officers in student government often do little
more than plan homecoming and their own re-elections, the student newspaper
should be students’ strongest voice in the leadership for the school.
Often that leadership comes more from information than from opinion, but
editors might find more success with editorials if they think less about
criticism and more about problem solving. At a time when moral and ethical values are under
assault, publications offer one of the very best opportunities to teach
values. The question is seldom, “What can we print?” but “What
should we print?” and “How do we best serve our readers?”
No matter how great the challenge or excitement
of modern technology as it relates to publication design, the content
comes first. The purpose of design is to draw attention to content. It’s
backward when the content is planned to fill the design. One of the greatest failings in advertising design
is that too often ads are designed for the advertiser, rather than for
the reader. Good ads think reader first, advertiser last, building on
a plan to attract, sell, clinch and support. Don’t rely exclusively on the school’s best and brightest. Yes, if committed, they can bring tremendous talent. But a student who really wants to do it is far more valuable and will gain more from the experience than one who dabbles in everything the school has to offer. Sometimes, the best staff members are unwilling
to put themselves forward and needs encouragement to get involved. A staff that reflects the diversity of the school
is much more apt to produce a publication that serves the diversity of
the school. |
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From Candace Perkins Bowen, 1989 Emphasize press law and ethics so students learn
not only what they COULD publish or broadcast, but are able to evaluate
what they SHOULD do as well. Be a role model for everything from writing with multiple drafts to treating others with respect. Focus on the process and the product will take
care of itself. Set high standards for students and encourage them
to do the same for themselves. Teach students to critically evaluate their work
and use what they find to keep improving. Provide opportunities and supply strategies for
using teamwork. Emphasize the importance of collaboration in many settings. Value the right of others to speak their minds
and listen to what they say. Encourage students to do the same. Reward the traits that matter: tenacity, dependability,
creativity, adaptability, critical thinking, cooperation, etc . . . then
learn how to bake turtle brownies as a tangible expression. Continue to retrain and rejuvenate yourself and
your students through workshops, conventions, classes, READING and studying
other media. |
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From Steve O’Donoghue, l990 Read everything you can printed on paper, regardless
of format. Use the best as models for students (e.g., Molly
Ivins). Keep your students focused; cover the news, not
just the fads. Teach tolerance, fairness, objectivity by example. You’re the coach, they're the players; you
don’t go into the game to play for them. When you and the students mess up journalistically,
remind your administrator that it is “a teachable moment.” Make a habit of tearing good models of writing
and design from newspapers and magazines.You
won’t remember everything. The First Amendment (freedom of speech) is most
important when what students write is most offensive to you. SAT scores don’t necessarily predict the contribution
a student will make to a publication. |
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From Gloria Olman, 1992 Advise; don’t do. The publications must be
the students’ work and their responsibility. If they know you will
do it, they won’t. Stress professionalism in every aspect of publication
activity. Set high expectations for staff and challenge them to achieve. Remember that good enough is the enemy of excellence.
However, know when to say when---for student work, and your own health
and sanity. Little things do matter, from small details to
treats and small pats on the back. Nurture ownership. The more students understand
that the publications belong to them, the more pride and effort they will
put forth. Promote program successes. This will help to build
the program, help the community to recognize the integrity of scholastic
journalism and thwart censorship. Join scholastic journalism groups. This helps to
build a peer network, strengthen individual programs and identify a support
system. Take a break. Have a party once in awhile to celebrate
the little things. |
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From Jack Kennedy, 1993 Steal, or adapt, whichever term you prefer, from
the best advisers you can find. Read all the professional journals, attend
state and national conventions.You are not alone. The number one responsibility of a school paper
is to help readers be more effective students, better informed citizens
and less confused humans. Your paper is the Readers’ Guide to Your
High School. Just like a football coach going over game tapes,
you should carefully critique each issue with the staff. This is the single
most important educational moment Find ways to distribute the paper without charge.
And make sure hundreds of copies get into the community through grocery
stores, banks, etc. How else can the The standards for the use of our language don’t
change with age. Keep pushing for correctness of expression---and it doesn’t
matter if they are only sophomores. Find ways to flatten your organizational chart.
They’re all high school students, after all, and they all deserve
a shot at some power. There had better be fun in the newspaper, fun in
your class, and fun in your heart. The work is too hard if you’re
not having fun. Buy two class sets of books: The Radical Write
(Bobby Hawthorne), and Newspaper Designer’s Handbook (Tim Harrower).
Make everyone memorize them. Be tight with custodians and secretaries, the true
powers in any school. Be a true “amateur,” that is, love what
you do. |
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From Merle Dieleman, 1996 Don’t use a textbook. Develop your own curriculum
based on your needs for publications. Don’t require a journalism class in order
for students to work on publications. Many students are prepared to do
this without a formal class. Make your yearbook or newspaper production a class
with full credit. Let students teach students. You don’t have
to be the only teacher. Don’t expect to be an expert on everything.
Students often are more adept with computers or photography than you will
ever be. Let the kids do it. Students should have the responsibility
of all aspects of producing a yearbook and/or newspaper. Relinquish control.
Educate them and then trust them. Don’t censor yourselves. If someone wants
to censor your publications, let him do it, not you. Advertise all successes. If a student or the adviser
wins something, make sure it gets in the local media. Don’t sweat the small stuff. Both students
and advisers should take their jobs seriously, but not themselves. Many
people in authority positions in education take student publications much
too seriously, as far as content is concerned. |
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From Kathleen Zwiebel, 1998 Honor kids on their birthdays with something simple,
but do it in front of the entire staff so everybody hollers, “Happy
Birthday!” Run an awards PUB Board once a week. Editors nominate
staffers for Staffer, photographers for Photographer, etc., of the Week.
Ribbons are given out on Fridays. Conduct leadership training sessions in the beginning
of the school year for your editors, showing them how to organize their
time and work, plus how to deal with various personnel situations which
may arise. Keep a graphic portfolio box. Have students clip
best headlines, pulled quotes, oversize initials, etc., various graphic
elements. Divide by category and keep on file. Designers use them for
inspiration. Conduct a Candidate’s School for new staffers
after they are selected. Editors do “basic training” for them. Form a parent booster group, Parents of Publications
Students (POPS). They raise money for a year-end banquet and take care
of all the details, plus provide Editors compile a weekly update that includes deadlines
by staff, coverage assignments, fund-raisers, sporting event shooting
dates, upcoming convention info, and staff birthdays for the week. Distribute
on Mondays. This will get you organized for the week. Have editors turn in a weekly status report (what
we accomplished, what we did not complete yet, editor comments, and adviser
comments) for their staffs which the adviser responds to with positive
reinforcement. Maintain a sense of humor! You cannot exist as
a publications adviser without one. Compiled by Jack Harkrider, Anderson High School, Austin, Texas Home||About Chris Weber || Publishing with Students|| Research||Online Resources ||Award Programs & Competitions ||Favorite Student Stories |