On news engagement day,
let’s engage others
with news about censorship
Oct. 7 is #newsengagementday, a national event created by AEJMC.
The idea is to encourage everyone to engage with news issues and ideas with students, family and, well, everyone.
National News Engagement Day was created to:
- Raise awareness about the importance of being informed.
- Encourage everyone to engage with news from reading and watching to tweeting and discussing.
- Help people of all ages discover the benefits of news.
- Educate the public about the principles and process of journalism.
- Ensure news engagement does not die out.
JEA has endorsed the idea and urges all to participate.
I know journalism programs do this daily anyway, but let’s take this one step further.
Let’s spend the day spreading the word about the banality of censorship, particularly that kind of destructive practice we have seen at Neshaminy High School, Highlands Regional High School, Fond du Lac High School and numerous others.
Numerous other resources exist for each school, all findable by searching.
Censorship practices at those schools, past and present is newsworthy in itself, but it also blocks students and related communities from experiencing news.
Making censorship and its effects the focus on news, and using the #newsengagementday hashtag to let others know, would be a worthy use of the day.
Read MoreWhere do trust and prior review meet?
Leading a scholastic media staff in the shadow of Hazelwood
by Chris Waugaman, MJE
A lack of trust can destroy scholastic journalism. We have seen it in a number of recent cases.
The scenario involves a student publication and a disgruntled administration. The cause of this tension can come from a variety of places, but in the end what has been broken is trust.
After this point, the battle of what you can and cannot censor in prior review becomes the first battle in an all out war. Sometimes it is unavoidable. But if there is a way to stop this from happening it begins with trust.
Read MoreTwo examples showing the need to protect
the information gathering process
When a school system tells students in a new policy it proposes that it wants student media to train students in journalism, it might be time to cheer.
But not when, in the same policy, it calls for student media “to foster a wholesome school spirit and support the best traditions of the school,” and reinforces prior review.
That is the case, according to a Student Press Law Center article published Sept. 30, about what’s going on at Highlands Regional High School in New Jersey.
Read MoreGetting everyone on the side of quality journalism
by Matt Smith, Adviser, Cardinal Columns
Fond du Lac High School
On August 25, the Fond du Lac Board of Education gave the official go-ahead for student publications at Fond du Lac High School to begin the new school year operating under new publication guidelines that scrap last year’s policy of administrative prior review.
The new guidelines are not the end of the journey (the language could be more consistent in designating the paper as a public forum for student expression and would be more protective if it was incorporated more directly into actual school board policy), but they are a huge step forward.
Students will no longer submit their work to the principal for approval prior to publication. They will also have the benefit of the more powerful learning and critical thinking development that comes with taking more responsibility for the quality journalism that they produce. The biggest benefit of all, however, may have come from the mere act of finally getting together all the stakeholders involved to craft the new guidelines.
The fact we got students and teachers and administrators and district staff (and eventually the superintendent and board of education and other community members) talking constructively about the importance and practice of journalism in our school was truly powerful.
Read MoreBe disaster aware, be prepared, take action
by Glenn Morehouse Olson
Throughout September, I find my classes cut short time and time again as the school works to squeeze in the required fire, lockdown and tornado drills. I’ve never really given it any thought. It’s an important part of preparing students in case of an emergency.
However, on Sept. 19 an email appeared in my in-box from the U.S. Department of Education, and it turns out, September is National Preparedness Month.
The headline read:
Be Disaster Aware, Take Action During National Preparedness Month
I have a number of friends and colleagues throughout the country who have faced their worst nightmares in these situations and who understand the importance of being prepared in time of great stress. Although nothing can truly prepare us for disaster, having a plan ahead of time helps.
“Safety and effective learning go hand in hand. So, although September is a very busy time of year for the education community, it’s also a good time for students, school staff, and families to make sure they are up-to-date in their knowledge of school emergency plans, policies and procedures,” the Homeroom Blog stated.
Just as our schools take time to prepare for physical disasters, September is also a good time for journalism teachers to make sure students are up-to-date in their knowledge of legal and ethical policies and procedures that can help prevent prior review and first amendment disasters from happening or, at least help them navigate the storm should disaster strike.
Read MoreWhat filters hide: a lesson
Title
What filters hide
Description
Students will research common net issues with filtered sites. This lesson goes with information on this SPRC link.
Summary
Students try to access several commonly banned (but legitimate) sites. They then will create interview questions for the internet gatekeeper at their school. Students could write a news-feature story on this topic. For an extension activity, students could debate the legitimacy of banned websites. Students could then write an opinion piece on the website gatekeepers
Objectives
- Students will discover what types of worthwhile sites are banned by their school district
- Students will learn the filtering software was mandated by federal legislation.
- Students will create interview questions for the person in charge of deciding whether to open the “gate”
- Students will write a story about internet filtering at their school
Common Core State Standards
| CCSS.ELA-Literacy.SL.11-12.1 | Initiate and participate effectively in a range of collaborative discussions (one-on-one, in groups, and teacher-led) with diverse partners on grades 11–12 topics, texts, and issues, building on others’ ideas and expressing their own clearly and persuasively. |
| CCSS.ELA-Literacy.SL.9-10.2 | Integrate multiple sources of information presented in diverse media or formats (e.g., visually, quantitatively, orally) evaluating the credibility and accuracy of each source. |
| CCSS.ELA-Literacy.SL.9-10.4 | Present information, findings, and supporting evidence clearly, concisely, and logically such that listeners can follow the line of reasoning and the organization, development, substance, and style are appropriate to purpose, audience, and task. |
| CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.9-10.2a | Introduce a topic; organize complex ideas, concepts, and information to make important connections and distinctions; include formatting (e.g., headings), graphics (e.g., figures, tables), and multimedia when useful to aiding comprehension. |
| CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.9-10.2b | Develop the topic with well-chosen, relevant, and sufficient facts, extended definitions, concrete details, quotations, or other information and examples appropriate to the audience’s knowledge of the topic. |
| CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.9-10.8 | Gather relevant information from multiple authoritative print and digital sources, using advanced searches effectively; assess the usefulness of each source in answering the research question; integrate information into the text selectively to maintain the flow of ideas, avoiding plagiarism and following a standard format for citation. |
| CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.11-12.7 | Conduct short as well as more sustained research projects to answer a question (including a self-generated question) or solve a problem; narrow or broaden the inquiry when appropriate; synthesize multiple sources on the subject, demonstrating understanding of the subject under investigation. |
Length
100 minutes: (two 50-minute class periods)
Materials
Computer lab and Internet access
Lesson step-by-step
Day 1
- Introduction — 5 minutes Ask students if they have ever been denied access to a website while researching at school.
Ask students to brainstorm what they were searching for at that time. Either the teacher or the students should write what students say on the board.
Additionally, ask if they know of anyone who has gone around the filtering system by means of a proxie site.
- Online readings — 20 minutes
Ask students to read the following stories and take notes on their reading. Please let them know they will be interviewing the person who is in charge of the gatekeeping at their school. Remind students they should be professional in the interview.
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/09/29/education/29banned.html
http://abcnews.go.com/Technology/wireStory/apnewsbreak-web-filter-lifts-block-gay-sites-25539616
Students could also see if they can think of legitimate sites that fall under the following often blocked categories and check to see if they can access the site:
Alcohol and tobacco
Illegal gambling
Militant/extremist
Drug use
Satanic/cult
Intolerance
Gross depictions
Violence/profanity
Search engines
Sports and leisure
Sex education
Sexual acts
Full nudity
Partial/artistic nudity.
- Question generation — all but the final 10 minutes of the hour.
Have students create questions based on what they have read. Each student should have between 5-10 good questions for the press conference during the next class.
- How to act — 5 minutes
Remind students they need to be polite and courteous, but not be afraid to ask the tough questions.
Day 2
- Introduction — 5 minutes
Introduce the speaker and remind students of proper protocol for a press conference.
- Interview — remainder of the hour
Extension:
If the “gatekeeper” isn’t available, students could write an opinion piece about what they researched or a feature article on their research of blocked sites.
Read More