Transcript
Speaker: Welcome to JLI's journalistic learning podcast, where we talk with teachers who are leading journalistic learning projects in their classrooms.
Speaker: Hey there, I'm your host Beau Brusco, a former high school ELA teacher and multimedia journalist.
Speaker: Today, I'll be joined by the executive director of the Journalistic Learning Initiative, Ed Madison.
Speaker: We'll be picking up where we left off with Cora Moore, an ELA teacher at a charter school in Coos Bay, Oregon, who is currently leading a journalistic learning project with her sixth, seventh, and eighth graders.
Speaker: This is Cora's second year implementing our effective communicators course, which is the JLI's 10-week instructional plan that takes students through a journalistic learning project start to finish.
Speaker: Let's jump back into it.
Speaker: Yeah, I was going to say that one of the things that's unique about the program is that the students generate the topics.
Speaker: And I'm just curious if you're noticing like different trends amongst the different grade levels in terms of what they're interested in.
Speaker: I was really curious about that, too.
Speaker: And I was actually really surprised.
Speaker: at the similarities, especially the younger one, they notice so much.
Speaker: They know they have kind of a beat on what's going on in the world that maybe we don't realize that they do.
Speaker: And they're curious about things that maybe they aren't sure they know how to ask about them yet.
Speaker: And so
Speaker: There was a pretty similar list of topics across the grade levels.
Speaker: Homelessness came up a lot.
Speaker: That's something that's been really evident in our community.
Speaker: That's on a lot of people's minds.
Speaker: Suicide prevention.
Speaker: ableism, vandalism.
Speaker: Quite a few were just like, we're really worried about the economy.
Speaker: We don't know what we're worried about, but we're really worried about it.
Speaker: So I'm not sure what direction that's going to take yet, but I'm like, let's check it out.
Speaker: See what you find.
Speaker: Bullying,
Speaker: homophobia, pollution.
Speaker: One that surprised me, we're in a rural community on the coast.
Speaker: And I had one student speak up and say, I really want to know more about why there's not more services for children with autism in our community.
Speaker: And then I had another one speak up and say, that's a great idea.
Speaker: So now there's a whole group that's looking into that.
Speaker: So I
Speaker: Very wide variety.
Speaker: Cora, can you tell us about a time?
Speaker: Because it sounded like when you were just talking about the topics they generate in general and letting them explore and that process of discovery and seeing where they go with that kind of curiosity.
Speaker: Can you recall a time and maybe share with us when you were also surprised by where a topic started with students and where it ended?
Speaker: So probably the most extreme example is I had a club group last year.
Speaker: They started with gas prices and they ended up writing about local restaurants.
Speaker: You got to drive to get to the restaurants, right?
Speaker: Yeah.
Speaker: And it was just kind of funny to see the path that that took.
Speaker: I think the point that really narrowed things down for a lot of students was our interview process.
Speaker: And that was kind of the point where it was just really cool to see how it went from something that was so challenging to narrow down and so nebulous and then
Speaker: We actually know what we're writing about.
Speaker: And so for that particular group, they started out, they were really mad about gas prices and their parents are talking about gas prices and complaining about gas prices.
Speaker: We don't really have a lot of control over the gas prices in our community.
Speaker: There's.
Speaker: They kept looking and they kind of kept hitting dead ends and they're trying to figure out how to interview.
Speaker: And we kind of just sat down and talked and we're like, well, what's the underlying issue here?
Speaker: And it kind of came down to the economy in general and just how we're spending money and how COVID has impacted things and
Speaker: A lot of different thoughts kind of were going on.
Speaker: And then it got closer to the interviews and they still didn't have a person.
Speaker: And we ended up having...
Speaker: a small business owner from our community.
Speaker: He owns a couple of restaurants in our community that came in to interview with another group.
Speaker: And it kind of just ended up being like, you know, why don't you guys tag on and see what you can find out about how all these things have affected our community.
Speaker: And so they ended up having a really wonderful interview and they were able to kind of come up with a topic that they were really excited about, even though it was so late in the game.
Speaker: and they were kind of able to see a connection there between some of the different things economically happening in our community.
Speaker: Yeah.
Speaker: You, you mentioned COVID and I'm just, so these are kids that would have been what first, second, third grade when all that was going on.
Speaker: Then I'm just curious if you're noticing any difference, you know, with this, this cohort of students, middle schoolers compared to previous ones you've taught.
Speaker: Well, I noticed that, um,
Speaker: particular in reference to the project specifically last year, there was a lot of emphasis on COVID when students were trying to come up with topics.
Speaker: It was very much on the forefront of their mind versus this year.
Speaker: Uh, we've kind of moved away from that a little bit.
Speaker: Um, and they're more interested in a lot of the other things happening in the world.
Speaker: Um, in general, I think having missed a lot of school that, um,
Speaker: this is hard work and they weren't ready for hard work.
Speaker: Yeah.
Speaker: When you're first, second, third grade, you're just learning sort of those, those sort of social norms about raising your hand and asking for a pass to go to the restroom and all those kinds of things that happen in school.
Speaker: And so if you don't have that, I can imagine, I mean, I am hearing stories from some of our public schools that teachers are just to some degree alarmed by, um,
Speaker: The fact that students have missed that important piece of preparation.
Speaker: I think having had some smaller class sizes, we've kind of been able to curtail that to a degree where we're at.
Speaker: Some of the students that have come in new to us the last couple of years have had a very challenging time because they are very much trying to relearn those things.
Speaker: And that does make it really hard to teach a topic that's really deep and requires a lot of thinking and a lot of hard work.
Speaker: I think what's really rewarding from these experiences, especially for kids, is not only are they intrinsically motivated because they're allowed to choose a topic and investigate that topic that they're interested in, but also it really bridges that gap between school and the real world, right?
Speaker: Yes.
Speaker: Homelessness is a really big topic in a lot of places.
Speaker: And not only is it a topic because it's widespread and affects a lot of people, but also it's a big topic because there's not one sort of solution to it all.
Speaker: What approach has been successful for you when it comes to helping kids take a larger than life topic like that and find a narrow angle to investigate it with?
Speaker: I think that kind of came down to the interview as well, finding someone in our community to interview, somebody in our community who's got maybe a more narrow view of what's happening versus something very big and
Speaker: hard to comprehend.
Speaker: So the group I had that did homelessness last year, they got in touch with somebody who runs one of our local community shelters.
Speaker: And she came in and was able to just really talk about the things that they're doing to help people, you know, and saying, you know, we don't have a solution yet, but these are some tangible things that we're doing to help.
Speaker: And I think that that was really eyeopening because, um,
Speaker: the whole time they're just sitting there complaining.
Speaker: And my dad said he's tired of all these motorhomes parked on the side of the road.
Speaker: And I saw this guy, you know, and they're just like, you know, telling all these stories of things that they see out in the community.
Speaker: And it's like, how do we kind of bring that back to something that's really human and really respectful to a situation that's really difficult for a lot of people?
Speaker: That's it for today's episode, but join us next week to hear Cora share which part about leading a journalistic learning project required the most from her, but was also the most rewarding.
Speaker: Before we sign off, I wanted to share a quick tidbit of news.
Speaker: I know we are well into February by the time this episode airs, but it's Black History Month.
Speaker: And here are two things you might not have known about it.
Speaker: First, did you know that every year the Association for the Study of African American Life and History chooses a different theme for the month?
Speaker: Well, they do!
Speaker: And this year's Black History Month theme is African Americans and the Arts.
Speaker: Here's a statement about it from the association.
Speaker: In the fields of visual and performing arts, literature, fashion, folklore, language, film, music, architecture, culinary, and other forms of cultural expression, the African-American influence has been paramount.
Speaker: The second thing you might not know about Black History Month, or Black History in general, is that only a dozen states in the U.S. have any kind of requirement or mandate about teaching Black History.
Speaker: Those states are Washington, Colorado, Illinois, Arkansas, Tennessee, Mississippi, South Carolina, Florida, Delaware, New Jersey, New York, and Rhode Island.
Speaker: And many of the mandates in these states are actually lacking in substance, and some even have laws that put parameters on what and how race and race-related topics are taught.
Speaker: The Journalistic Learning Initiative wants to unapologetically say that black history is American history, it's human history, and through studying, exploring, and appreciating black history, we expand our paradigms, increase our capacity to empathize, and ultimately come closer to understanding what it means to be human.
Speaker: Thanks again for tuning in.
Speaker: We have a new episode coming out Monday.
Speaker: Be on the lookout for that.
Speaker: I'm Bo Brisco.
Speaker: We'll see you next time.
