Installment+31

South of Denver - Chapter 31

March 13, 2006

Boy, am I glad no one was taping my Newspaper class a few days ago.

I didn't compare President Bush to Hitler, as a geography teacher from Overland High School did back in January - at least I don't think I did. Jay Bennish was accused of not providing enough balance in his teaching. But that teacher will be back in the classroom today, and he said he will continue to push students to become better critical thinkers and he will continue to promote social justice. He may also self-censor just a bit. Wouldn't you? The sophomore who taped him on his iPod and then shared 21 minutes of an incendiary lecture is pretty sure he will be transferring to another school. Even Bush weighed in on the issue last Friday (on the side of free expression, to his credit).

Twenty miles away, in the Rock Canyon pub lab, I made no attempt to provide any sort of balance.

After listening to several class periods of mushy thinking about non-issues, with many in the class of 22 not contributing much of anything to our coverage brainstorming for the March 15 issue, I had had enough.

"You have this amazing opportunity here," I said, "but you don't seem to want to do anything with it! Where is our passion? Where is our outrage? Where is our joy?"

Seeing no immediate reaction, I escalated. "I'm starting to suspect that we have no interest in anything beyond ourselves. To be a journalist you have to care more about others' stories than your own. Oh, we all have ideas about our columns, but interest in getting out there and telling other students' stories? Forget it! Honestly, is there going to be any actual journalism in this paper?"

Still nothing.

"I'm beginning to think we don't have any serious ideas." Now I was really going over the top, but there are some days when a teacher simply wants ANY reaction. "Maybe you just don't have a thing to say in a serious way."

And then I assigned everyone to write no more than 150 words in an editorial voice. "No first person," I warned. "Just about ideas. I don't think you can do it. You are going to have to prove me wrong."

I eventually ran out of steam. I had called out 22 staff members intellectually, but they didn't defend themselves. Didn't fight back. Sigh.

Susie stuck around for two minutes after the bell.

I asked her why my challenges seemed to have no effect.

"Those of us who have been on staff for awhile know what you're doing," she quickly replied. She also had that half smile that signifies amusement at the old guy's motivational flailings. "We know you don't really mean it when you jump all over us."

Crap. Game over. Where would I be without those rousing, indignant and increasingly passionate locker room sermons?

But the next day every kid in the class handed in 150 words, and some of the mini-editorials were quite good. None of them will see print, at least in those versions, but it's thinking that's important.

And Susie spent five nights with the musical cast and crews last week, observing, interviewing, analyzing. She brought in ten pages of densely typed notes last Thursday, covering just the last two nights of dress rehearsal, and she brought in a feeling of excitement about getting out there and being part of something outside herself. She spent so many hours with the cast that they invited her into their pre-performance circle of warm-ups. They invited her to the cast party.

Her enthusiasm about the behind-the-scenes narrative that she wanted to write carried the day with the editorial board, and they swapped out a hazy pre-Prom package on the double truck in favor of a spread on the musical, which had previously been jammed onto a news page.

Actual journalism may break out in "The Rock"! Imagine that.

Jack Kennedy

Rock Canyon High School

Highlands Ranch CO 80124

 jkkennedy@comcast.net

 jack.kennedy@dcsdk12.org

Note: This is the latest chapter in a series of columns on working with a young staff in a young school (this semester we are up to 22 staff members and we have no senior class). It is cryptotherapy for me. It may occasionally provide something positive for you. Please go to the JEAHELP archives to read the previous chapters if you missed them and have absolutely nothing else to do.