Support your local high school journalism program!
I just came across this story on the KCRG website: the journalism program at Vinton-Shellsburg High School is in dire straits and has begun fundraising efforts to stay afloat. The program is now in debt and the adviser thinks it will take $4,000 to ensure that journalism classes are available for students next year. (The article mentions that the money needs to be collected by “May of 2012.” I am pretty sure that is a typo, and in the worst place ever: an article about the struggles of a high school journalism program. Perhaps it is a good thing, though: this is why you should support high school journalism.)
Having been a high school journalist myself, I definitely feel for these kids and will write the program’s adviser about how I can help. High school journalism programs are under threat across the country as districts wrestle with budget constraints so this may be a sneak preview of coming attractions. It is a shame, really, because I feel student-run newspapers and yearbooks offer excellent, hands-on learning opportunities for those interested in editing, writing, photography, design, marketing, publishing, and accounting. Media studies in general, I feel, is overlooked in high school curriculums, much to the detriment of students. I think it would be beneficial if students learned about the news and entertainment industries so they, as consumers and citizens of a democracy, can understand their inner workings.
Support your local high school journalism program!
Having been a high school journalist myself, I definitely feel for these kids and will write the program’s adviser about how I can help. High school journalism programs are under threat across the country as districts wrestle with budget constraints so this may be a sneak preview of coming attractions. It is a shame, really, because I feel student-run newspapers and yearbooks offer excellent, hands-on learning opportunities for those interested in editing, writing, photography, design, marketing, publishing, and accounting. Media studies in general, I feel, is overlooked in high school curriculums, much to the detriment of students. I think it would be beneficial if students learned about the news and entertainment industries so they, as consumers and citizens of a democracy, can understand their inner workings.
Support your local high school journalism program!
