Noteworthy information for the start of a new school year
As we prepare to return to school, several pieces of information are worth our attention:
• Another Washington school argues it is not responsible for student media content. The SPLC in its news flashes today ran a story about the Seattle school district saying it would not be responsible for content in a potential libel lawsuit.
• SPLC director Frank LoMonte authored an oped piece for The Philadelphia Inquirer on the topic of cyberbullying. LoMonte forcefully argued that more speech in schools, not less, is the sound way to deal with societal issues.
• A Churchill County Nevada judge this week tossed out a teacher’s lawsuit about an article the teacher said damaged her reputation.
• Sign the First Amendment as part of the 1 for All program. Other information about the program and the First Amedment can be found at the organization’s site.
As a new school year begins, let’s remain aware of the censors around us and look for the numerous groups around the nation who will continue to support student expression.
Read MoreJournalism requires civic engagement
As we start the new school year, we need to remind ourselves that journalism is civic engagement. I have been thinking about this for some time because journalism is a discipline that requires more than reading the book, completing a FIB (fill in he blank) sheet and then taking a test. Rather, journalism requires that students fully engage in the discipline to learn it.
I believe journalism is a global discipline because it incorporates many skills found in other disciplines. It is a discipline that uses all 21st century skills in tandem as defined by Partnership for 21st Century Skills “critical thinking and problem solving, communication, collaboration, and creativity and innovation…” As I see it, journalism, is that one foundational class that provides writing skills, technology savvy, as well as the P21 concepts. It is LIVE learning, not traditional BOOK learning and that is why so many principals struggle with it because they are not in a place where they understand the engagement in learning that journalism provides for students. This global learning model requires student ownership and not teacher ownership of learning.
Moving students from teacher ownership of learning to student ownership of learning is difficult because students have been programmed to do as the teacher says instead of exploring new ideas, which is what we really want in education.
Over the years, as my students learned to move from the book to really learning, I found that I became a better teacher by letting them OWN their learning because their brains stretched much more. However, that was difficult for several administrators because they could not SEE me teaching. I have always thought that peculiar, because, in my principal certification training, I was taught to look at how the students were learning though the teaching. Perhaps we need to reteach principals to look at students’ growth over time. They also need to look at how journalism students actually engage in the wider world though civic engagement. We practice and practice for a football game, but we rarely provide opportunities for students to practice civic engagement because we are afraid what students will learn and publish.
I have created my personal definition of civic engagement: “Taking action that provides solutions for identifiable public concerns for the greater good of the individual and collective stakeholders in the wider community.”
If I can help one student take an action through writing that provides some greater good for the wider community, that means my students have LEARNED journalism and they OWN their learning.
Read MoreGetting source consent when handling sensitive issues
Because some student journalists have had issues, including facing litigation, with identifiable sources claiming they did not give consent for the publication of information attributed to them, JEA’s Scholastic Press Rights Commission recommends student media organizations follow a consistent process to help prove consent was obtained and to avoid potential legal conflicts.
The Commission recognizes that thorough reporting sometimes requires obtaining private or intimately sensitive information to give credibility to a story. It also recognizes that journalists want to avoid unwarranted invasions of privacy and related legal claims.
The Commission does not discourage reporting of sensitive topics, but urges student journalists, when they pursue such stories, to rely on more than verbal consent any time identified sources provide information that would normally be considered private and intimate.
The Commission recommends student journalists obtain consent for such information in writing or via audio or video in which the source explicitly states he or she understands the information is intended for publication.
Additionally, if journalists believe a source who is a minor is incapable of appreciating the consequences of giving such consent, they should obtain consent, also in writing or via audio or video, from a parent or guardian.
The Commission believes scholastic journalists should always be sensitive to the lives and needs of their sources – and audience – as they engage in the information gathering and reporting process.
The Commission recommends students contact the Student Press Law Center with legal and ethical questions about this process.
For more information on the use of consent, handling anonymous sources and other reporting issues, please go to the Scholastic Press Rights Commission’s news update on its website.
See Quicktime ethicsaejmc of the PowerPoint on source use presented to the Mile High Teach-In in Denver Aug. 3.
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