by Beth Marshall

I believe you are never too old to learn something new. Even though I have been teaching English for  25 years, I am new to the world of scholastic journalism. Two years ago, I was approached to become the yearbook adviser and journalism teacher at Richmond-Burton Community High School.

I was familiar with the structure of our course and yearbook program, but I had never taught journalism before.  I knew that I would need some guidance, so during my first year of advising I joined KEMPA and JEA. I also joined the JEA mentoring program and attended the JEA Advisers Institute. While the information, professional connections and guidance were great, I still felt that I was lacking some of the background knowledge I needed to better prepare my students, so I enrolled in the online Masters program for Journalism Educators offered by Kent State University.

Last summer, I re-entered the world of higher learning and took two five-week courses: Advising Yearbook and Research Methods for Mass Communications. Advising Yearbook was exactly what I needed. Sarah Nichols was a great instructor and since I had attended some of her sessions during the Advisers Institute, I knew I was in good hands. I felt better prepared to organize and lead my yearbook staff this year.  I was able to collaborate with other advisers around the country, read about current trends and issues and create meaningful lessons, rubrics and a staff manual for a final project.

The second course of the summer was rigorous.  Every week we had readings, online lectures, quizzes and 500-750 word paper. The weekly writing assignments tied into the final project that was a draft of the research project I will complete near the end of my program. My instructor was very accessible whenever I had questions on material or the research project itself. Conducting a literature review was very helpful because I had to learn how to use the online library database and citation tools to manage all my digital sources. While the actual research project will be at the end of my coursework, I did still gain some skills on surveying that I was able to pass on to my journalism students.

I was definitely nervous to take a course while teaching this semester. I wasn’t sure how I would be able to balance my school work with my own homework and other family activities. I have three active sons; my oldest has Down syndrome and is involved in Special Olympics, and my two other sons, a sophomore and senior, are in competitive marching band and soccer. I am happy to say I did find a balance, but the house was not always as organized as I hoped.  

In Teaching Photojournalism, I was able to gain basic skills and the confidence to help my students improve their photography.  Over the 15 weeks, we had required readings, discussions, online chats, photography assignments and lesson plans.  I would try to dedicate one night a week to do the readings and photography work and then one day on the weekend to complete my lesson plans. The final project was a photographer’s manual that I can use next year in our summer boot camp for journalism.

Even though I still have a ways to go, I do feel more confident in my skills and abilities to advise my staff. By following a new path, I have become re-energized and I am able to share my love of learning with my students.

Beth Marshall, M.Ed., is the yearbook adviser at Richmond-Burton Community High School in Illinois. She is a new member of the KEMPA board. Her blog post focuses on continuing education courses for journalism advisers.