Reality Check!

Today's classes were a serious reality check for me.  I really had no idea what I was getting myself into when I accepted the journalism position at my school.  I can teach kids to write, but teaching them how to report is clearly an entirely different monster.

The handout on planning out a story is a great idea to use with my students as it makes them think about how a story really comes together instead of putting something down on paper and calling it good.  I am also planning on using the interviewing activity that we went through today, which was loads of fun.  It is a great way to keep students active and alert in their learning.

The old saying, 'you don't know what you don't know' is exactly how I feel about all of the information thrown at us today. The more we learn about, the dumber I feel!  However, I am excited to continue learning about the technology that will bring journalism out of its rumored extinction.

I am excited to learn more about how to use InDesign.  I have really enjoyed using it with my students, but they clearly have learned more about it than I have.  I also look forward to the section on using the camera.  My lesson on camera usage tanked last year because all I knew was  the rule of thirds which was explained in about three sentences.  I definitely need some information n this!

I look forward to the challenges and continued reality checks over the next two weeks.

Kathryn Wilkins
Kearns High School