We have the responsibility to ensure
administrators see journalism’s values
In the spirit of Constitution Day, help administrators. know what journalism means to the continuation of America’s democracy:
School administrators can feel tremendous pressure to protect their schools’ reputations, so it’s understandable that they may be wary of supporting a scholastic press where students have final say over all content.
Educating administrators about the value of journalism at the high school level is a crucial step towards empowering student journalists and building a future with more engaged democratic citizens.
If we, as educators and school leaders, want to teach our students the importance of citizenship, we must empower them to be citizens within the school walls. [pullquote]
If we, as educators and school leaders, want to teach our students the importance of citizenship, we must empower them to be citizens within the school walls.
Administrators can do that by hiring a qualified journalism adviser to teach students the foundations of ethical, responsible journalism, and journalism advisers should encourage ongoing dialogue between student staffs and their school administrators.
[/pullquote]
Administrators can do that by hiring a qualified journalism adviser to teach students the foundations of ethical, responsible journalism, and journalism advisers should encourage ongoing dialogue between student staffs and their school administrators.
Providing school leaders with a copy of Quill & Scroll’s Principal’s Guide to Scholastic Journalism is a good start, but busy administrators may not find the time to read it.
Journalism advisers and publications staffs should reach out to administrators to engage in face-to-face dialogue about their publication process so school leaders can see the logistics behind selecting, pitching, reporting, editing and publishing content, including how editors handle controversial stories. Students can explain how abstract common core goals come to life in their work as journalists and make a strong case for supporting their publications.
Scholastic journalism provides students with 21st century skills, curiosity about their world and a concrete experience of citizenship. Journalism classes encompass more 21st century skills set out in the Framework for 21st Century Learning than any other high school class, including global awareness, civic literacy, media literacy, collaboration, initiative and self direction, leadership and many more.
Scholastic journalism also connects to a vast number of Common Core goals. Research suggests that students in journalism classes also get better grades in high school, earn higher scores on the ACT and get better grades as college freshmen.
In addition to these positive academic outcomes, scholastic journalism programs led by qualified journalism educators foster responsible civic engagement, as students learn about their First Amendment Rights and become engaged with their school, local, national and global communities.
Student journalists with final say on their own content embrace their roles as democratic citizens who take ownership and are accountable for their decisions. Administrators who support scholastic journalism programs are supporting a future with more engaged democratic citizens
Topic: Administration and scholastic journalism
Guideline:Publication staffs should reach out to school administrators to educate them about the benefits of scholastic journalism and to build trusting relationships.
Social media post/question:Why should administrators support scholastic journalism?
Stance: Administrators should support scholastic journalism as a tool for building collaborative, creative and civically engaged citizens.
Administrators who understand the process of responsible journalism and the 21st century skills inherent in becoming a student journalist are more likely to support publication programs and student press freedoms.
Reasoning/suggestions: Scholastic journalism is a crucial part of school culture, as it provides students with 21st century skills, curiosity about their world and a concrete experience of citizenship.
Journalism classes encompass more 21st century skills set out in the Framework for 21st Century Learningthan any other high school class, including global awareness, civic literacy, media literacy, collaboration, initiative and self-direction, leadership and many more.
Scholastic journalism also fulfills to a vast number of Common Core goals. Additionally, researchsuggests students in journalism classes also get better grades in high school, earn higher scores on the ACT and get better grades as college freshmen.
In addition to these positive academic outcomes, scholastic journalism programs led by qualified journalism educators foster responsible civic engagement, as students learn about their First Amendment rights and journalistic responsibility, and become engaged with their school, local, national and global communities. Student journalists with final say on their own content embrace their roles as democratic citizens who take ownership and are accountable for their decisions.
Administrators who support scholastic journalism programs are supporting a future with more engaged democratic citizens.
Resources:
Introductionand Civic engagement and journalism, Principal’s Guide to Scholastic Journalism
The 2017 State of the First Amendment, Newseum
High School Journalism Matters, American Press Institute
Framework for 21st Century Learning, Partnership for 21st Century Learning
Civic Implications of Secondary School Journalism, Journalism and Mass Communication Quarterly
Principals, presidents and getting along, JEA Scholastic Press Rights Commission
Teaching grit for citizenship — why we must empower, not shield students, JEA Scholastic Press Rights Commission
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Statement of importance of student journalism
Title
Statement of importance of student journalism
Description
A lesson on writing an editorial to explain the function of scholastic media.
Summary
This advanced lesson will take students through examination and discussion concerning the importance of journalism so students can write an editorial explaining their points. When students publish, they may send the article for inclusion in the JEA/NSPA editorial project e-book, which will appear on JEA’s site.
Objectives
- Students will learn and understand the Five Freedoms outlined in the First Amendment.
- Students will begin to see how these Freedoms are present in their lives.
- Students will understand how the First Amendment, which was written more than 200 years ago, has withstood the test of time.
Common Core State Standards
| CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.9-10.1.a | Introduce precise claim(s), distinguish the claim(s) from alternate or opposing claims, and create an organization that establishes clear relationships among claim(s), counterclaims, reasons, and evidence. |
| CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.9-10.1.b | Develop claim(s) and counterclaims fairly, supplying evidence for each while pointing out the strengths and limitations of both in a manner that anticipates the audience’s knowledge level and concerns. |
| CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.9-10.6 | Use technology, including the Internet, to produce, publish, and update individual or shared writing products, taking advantage of technology’s capacity to link to other information and to display information flexibly and dynamically. |
Length
150 minutes
Materials
Note taking
Questions for discussion
White board
Computers
Internet
Google doc access
Lesson step-by-step
- Introduction — 4 minutes
Choose one editorial (maybe even a local one) from CNN’s list printed for Aug. 16 in which the professional media addressed the importance and function of journalism.
- Text reading — 8 minutes
Ask students to read through the Boston Globe’s introduction here. Ask students to find three big takeaways or items they found poignant.
- Large group discussion — (10-15 minutes)
Ask the students what they noted. Each student should post their thoughts on the whiteboard. (Having five or six post at one time helps move this along.)
- Small group discussion: 10 minutes
Ask students to identify trends they see. (They may note the shock of the populace actually stating the need for state-run media or the percentage of people who believe the statement “the press is the enemy of the people.”)
How can scholastic journalists fight this?
What are the ways students can make sure they are taken seriously as journalists and believed by their classmates and staff?
(Answers here should include verification, few unnamed sources, accuracy, interviewing a wide array of people, etc.)
- Small group reports — 10 minutes
Small groups should report what they think to the class.
Day 2:
- Revisit notes — 5 minutes
Ask students to review their notes from the previous day.
- Evaluating what the pros did — 10 minutes
Students will choose one of the editorials listed on the Boston Globe site or on NPR. What were the talking points of the editorial?
- Discussion preparation — 5 minutes
Explain to students they are going to work to come to a consensus concerning writing one of these editorials.
- Student editorial discussion in groups of 5-7 — 30 minutes
Students should come up with talking points and then write a staff editorial concerning the discussion.
Day 3
Production day (50 minutes)
Option 1:
Students should spend the first 30 minutes writing the staff editorial (in groups using Google docs) and then the rest of the class period editing the work. For the editing, each student group should pair with another to receive feedback and then, subsequently, make any necessary changes.
Option 2:
In addition to editing, students could work to meld all of the editorials together to make one that encompasses all points they deem necessary.
If the resulting editorial is published in student media, please send the content to keekley@gmail.com by Sept. 25 for inclusion in an e-book.
Extension
Bring in a focus group and examine your school media credibility.
Use Constitution Day as a kick off for media literacy education for your students.
Read MoreStudent Expression Rights (What are they, exactly?)
Title
Student Expression Rights (What are they, exactly?)
Description
Students zero in on how the First Amendment protections apply to student speech, especially when it comes to walkouts, dress and publication related to protest.
Objectives
- Students will understand how the First Amendment was applied to students taking part in walkout protests in 2018.
- Students will examine rules governing student expression in their own school.
- Students will evaluate how students can and should conduct protests that are both legally and ethically sound.
Common Core State Standards
| CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.11-12.7 | Integrate and evaluate multiple sources of information presented in different media or formats (e.g., visually, quantitatively) as well as in words in order to address a question or solve a problem. |
| CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.11-12.8 | Delineate and evaluate the reasoning in seminal U.S. texts, including the application of constitutional principles and use of legal reasoning (e.g., in U.S. Supreme Court majority opinions and dissents) and the premises, purposes, and arguments in works of public advocacy (e.g., The Federalist, presidential addresses). |
| CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.11-12.1 | Write arguments to support claims in an analysis of substantive topics or texts, using valid reasoning and relevant and sufficient evidence. |
| 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. |
Length
50 minutes
Materials / resources
Student Handout (and answers):
Student Expression Rights Handout (Students):
Student Expression Rights Handout (Teacher Answers):
Article for Reading/Reference:
CNN article on Parkland walkout protests
Other Options for Reading/Reference if you Prefer More Explanation:
Vox article on walkout protests
Newseum article on walkout protests
Explainer articles for yourself or to make available to students, if you would like:
Student Press Law Center explainer on student protest rights
CNN article explaining student protest rights
First Amendment Center’s FAQ regarding student speech
Lesson step-by-step
Step 1 — Introduce Constitution Day and the lesson (2-5 minutes)
Pass out the handout and any article(s) you expect the students to be reading as a resource, and introduce the point of the lesson (something along the lines of the following: “Constitution Day celebrates the writing and signing of the United States Constitution, from which we get our system of government as well as our rights as citizens. We would especially like to zero in on our freedom of speech rights and what restrictions can or cannot be placed on students.”
Step 2 — Students read resources and answer front of handout (Part One) (15 minutes)
Students, either individually or in groups, read the article(s) distributed or linked by the teacher and respond to the questions on the front of the handout. You may provide the text (or a link) of the CNN story or one of the others from Vox or the Newseum, if you prefer (those articles include more direct instruction on student expression rights than the CNN one). You may also provide printouts (or links) to one or more of the student expression explainers from CNN, the Student Press Law Center, or the First Amendment Center or to information explaining expression/dress rules at your own school. Even without all these resources, students should be expected (either individually or in groups) to provide the best answer they can for each question, even if it is a bit of a guess.
Step 3 — Discuss answer for the front of handout (Part One) (10 minutes)
Go over answers (or possible answers) to each question in Part One. You may want to ask individual students or representatives from different student groups to provide their answers and then clarify or correct as necessary so that everyone is on the same page.
Step 4 — Students respond to scenario prompts on back of handout (Part Two) (10 minutes)
Students, either individually or in groups, turn the handout over and respond to the scenarios to the best of their ability (and using information learned from the front of the handout).
Step 5 — Review responses on back of handout (Part Two) (10 minutes)
Go over answers (or possible answers) to Part Two. It would be especially good in this section to have students (or student groups) share responses and discuss justifications and specifics with teacher guidance.
Step 6 — Students respond to final question (Part Three) (2-5 minutes) (Optional)
Depending on remaining time, quickly explain how ethical considerations are also important and ask students to provide a response to the final question (Part Three) as an exit slip or final response. These can be collected to discuss briefly in a future class or shared out before the end of this class period.
Differentiation
Student may benefit from small groups if they will have difficulty answering the questions on their own. Providing technology such as computers and/or Internet access may make it possible to link to multiple articles or even look up additional resources to help find answers.
Read MoreLetter to editor
Write a Constitution Day Letter to the Editor
Use this assignment to have your students engage with your local newspaper to share their free expression experiences as a student in your school or community.
Objectives
- Students will explore the rights of the First Amendment and discern how it impacts their lives.
- Students will engage in their community through the act of writing a letter to the editor of their local newspaper
- Students will edit and proof each others work before final submission of a selected letter
Common Core State Standards
| CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.11-12.2.B | Develop the topic thoroughly by selecting the most significant and relevant facts, extended definitions, concrete details, quotations, or other information and examples appropriate to the audience’s knowledge of the topic. |
| CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.11-12.2.E | Establish and maintain a formal style and objective tone while attending to the norms and conventions of the discipline in which they are writing |
| CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.11-12.3.A | Engage and orient the reader by setting out a problem, situation, or observation and its significance, establishing one or multiple point(s) of view, and introducing a narrator and/or characters; create a smooth progression of experiences or events. |
| CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.11-12.5 | Develop and strengthen writing as needed by planning, revising, editing, rewriting, or trying a new approach, focusing on addressing what is most significant for a specific purpose and audience. (Editing for conventions should demonstrate command of Language standards 1-3 up to and including grades 11-12 here.) |
| CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.11-12.6 | Use technology, including the Internet, to produce, publish, and update individual or shared writing products in response to ongoing feedback, including new arguments or information. |
Length
2 class periods of 50 minutes
Materials / resources
Editorial pages explained from the Minneapolis Star Tribune
Letter to the Editor rubric
Lesson step-by-step
Step 1 — 10 minutes
Ask students to brainstorm in small groups of 2-3 what they know about their First Amendment rights and their application to their particular school.
(Encourage students to apply any previously learned court cases for this activity.)
Step 2 — 10 minutes
Ask student groups to share their brainstorm.
Step 3 — 30 minutes
After a discussion of how students in your school practice the First Amendment, introduce the following prompts to the students and ask them to choose one of them to write a 250-word letter. The Star Tribune published an annotated page detailing the purpose of the letters to the editor.
Prompt #1 In honor of Constitution Day, write a letter to the editor of your local newspaper that illustrates the benefits of your application of the First Amendment in your school. You may write this from the perspective of a journalist or as a student in general. Make sure you reference Constitution Day.
Prompt #2 In honor of Constitution Day, write a letter to the editor of your local newspaper which illustrates the what voices and viewpoints you would empower if you could exercise your First Amendment privileges more freely. Be careful not to make this an attack, focus on the power of your voice and what you could or should be doing with it. Make sure you reference Constitution Day.
Day 2
Step 1 — 50 minutes
On the second day, you as a teacher select at least 5 of the best letters and copy them for the students to assess in groups you select using the rubric attached. Each group should select the letter they believe is most convincing and/or representative of their school or community and make suggestions and revisions before the final. The letter with the most votes from different groups will be submitted by the student after final edits.
Differentiation
As a means of differentiating, students may do this activity in groups of 2-4 and may also use the time to facilitate generation of ideas to support one of the prompts. A teacher may also add on a day before the assignment to brainstorm ideas to support either prompt for the whole class.
Read MoreNever doubt the reality and power
of the First Amendment
by Stan Zoller, MJE
It’s a staple of any journalism curriculum.
It’s on T-shirts.
It’s on ties.
It’s on posters and protestor’s signs.
It’s on our minds.
But is it in our hearts?
It is the First Amendment.
Attention to the First Amendment has escalated lately with the number of walkouts and demonstrations by students in wake of the tragedy at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida. 
It is another case, tragic as it is, of people – not just students – rallying around the First Amendment when it becomes a necessary tool. Fact is, the First Amendment needs to be front and center all the time.
Far too often scholastic journalists use the First Amendment to celebrate various special events like Constitution Day or Scholastic Journalism Week, which make sense as the First Amendment is the foundation which enables journalists, scholastic, collegiate or professional, to practice their craft.
Unfortunately, fear sometimes creates a roadblock for the practice of the First Amendment. All too often journalism educators quiver over the possibility of running a “controversial story” because they may get in trouble with their administration.
[pullquote]As difficult as it may seem, more journalism educators – and student journalists – need to take that chance and tell their administrators that scholastic media’s job goes beyond reporting on Muffy and Chip who were selected Homecoming Queen and King.[/pullquote]
As difficult as it may seem, more journalism educators – and student journalists – need to take that chance and tell their administrators that scholastic media’s job goes beyond reporting on Muffy and Chip who were selected Homecoming Queen and King.
Here’s where the challenge comes in. Don’t just tell people you have First Amendment rights – practice them.
Fear is a great motivator by many school administrators. We should overcome that fear by using the First Amendment.
As journalism educators we need to teach students to emulate the work of leading reporters who don’t live in fear by practicing the First Amendment.
Like Jamie Kalven. That’s probably not a name many, or if I dare say, most scholastic journalism educators will recognize. Kalven is, a writer and human rights activist. His work has appeared in a variety of publications. In recent years, he has reported extensively on patterns of police abuse and impunity in Chicago. He is director of the Invisible Institute (invisible.institute.org), which, as noted on its website, “… is a journalistic production company on the South Side of Chicago. Our mission is to enhance the capacity of citizens to hold public institutions accountable …”
Kalven’s background (Kalven background) is beyond impressive, as is his work. He has gained notoriety for pursuing the release of the dash cam video of Chicago Police officer Jason Van Dyke who allegedly shot Chicago teenager Laquan McDonald 16 times.
Kalven’s work related to police actions has received national attention and earned him numerous awards.
But what recently propelled him into a First Amendment fight was a subpoena he received as part of Van Dyke’s trial which, in Kalven’s words, demanded that “I answer questions about the whistleblower whose tip prompted me to investigate the fatal 2014 police shooting of 17-year-old Laquan McDonald.”
Kalven, in an article, “The First Amendment Transcends the Law. It Gives Us Strength In Dark Times” notes that a major thrust of the intent of the subpoena was that he had received documents about the dash cam video “… to seek to compel me to testify on the basis of their claim, for which they offered no evidence, that the source had given me documents protected under the Garrity rule, which protects public employees from being compelled to incriminate themselves during internal investigations conducted by their employers.”
Kalven writes that “From the outset, I made it clear that I had received no Garrity-protected documents and that I would refuse to answer any questions that might reveal the identity of the source. There was nothing heroic about this stance. It was not a choice. I was simply doing my job as a reporter.”
Read that last line again: “There was nothing heroic about this stance. It was not a choice. I was simply doing my job as a reporter.”
Which is what journalism teachers need to teach their students. Kalven’s piece, which can be found at Kalven article is an amazing tale of the court battle surrounding his subpoena. It is an outstanding teaching aid and journalism adviser and educators should incorporate it into their First Amendment curriculum.
How did Kalven’s subpoena battle work out?
As he describes it: “In the end, the hearing proved anticlimactic. Gaughan (Judge Vincent Gaughan) distributed a written order quashing the subpoena. He did not reach the issue of reporter’s privilege. “To uphold the subpoena of Jamie Kalven,” he wrote, “would be nothing more than a fishing expedition in search of information that the timeline of events, discovery documents, and testimony suggest simply does not exist.”
And, writes Kalven, “The ruling has been hailed as a victory for freedom of the press.”
Which, when all is said and done, is what we are all striving for.
[pullquote]“If civic courage is a social value, rather than an individual endowment, then we have the capacity to generate it — to give each other heart for the intensifying struggle to preserve First Amendment freedoms that lies ahead. Speaking as a grateful beneficiary of that dynamic, I have no doubt of its reality and its power.”–Jamie Kalven[/pullquote]
Kalven’s article doesn’t end there. He details the impact and importance of the First Amendment in his walk-off in which he notes:
“If civic courage is a social value, rather than an individual endowment, then we have the capacity to generate it — to give each other heart for the intensifying struggle to preserve First Amendment freedoms that lies ahead. Speaking as a grateful beneficiary of that dynamic, I have no doubt of its reality and its power.”
Its reality and its power – journalism educators need to factor that into their lessons on the First Amendment. Its importance goes beyond posters, t-shirts and merely memorizing the 45 words.
In the end, it comes down to two things: its reality and its power.
Additional resources:
About Jamie Kalven: Kalven background
About the Invisible Institute: invisible.institute.org
Kalven’s article: The First Amendment Transcends the Law. It Gives Us Strength in Dark Times
A guide to Freedom of Information and Sunshine Laws: FOI and Sunshine Law Info.
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