Editor-in-training Aly Dusing is a two-year member of the Wildcat Chronicle who not often writes opinion pieces. The views expressed in this piece are her own.
Reporting. Communication. Fact-checking. Writing. Organization.
Amongst these valuable life skills is a subject that incorporates them all into its curriculum: journalism.
Journalism is an English elective available to all students and offers valuable skills that can be applied both in and out of the classroom. However, students who develop a passion for this class and consider enrolling in journalism production—an advanced, hands-on, and independent step up from regular journalism—face a dilemma. Joining journalism production does not count as a full English credit, which often leads students to shy away from it. As a result, they end up doing more work without gaining additional credits, discouraging them from pursuing this advanced opportunity.
At WCCHS, seniors can take journalism as a semester-long elective, which can be combined with another English elective in the other semester. However, journalism only counts for general credit for students in other grades, despite the effort required to excel in reporting. The same policy applies to the J-Pro program across all four grades.
“I think the work done that the journalism students do – especially the journalism production team – do arguably more work than the other English classes,” former Wildcat Chronicle reporter Carlos Allen said.
Considering this, J-Pro should be counted as an English credit, as it is essentially advanced journalism. Additionally, J-Pro can become an advanced placement (AP) class with a planned-out curriculum and a credible teacher to run the course; WEGO has both of these, yet the board rejected the idea, which blocks students from earning college credit in a subject they find important.
“Mrs. Fireman, our Journalism teacher, has already taken steps to grow our program. She’s attended several conferences and shared resources and materials with myself and our Assistant Principal of Teaching and Learning to advocate for growth and change,” Language Arts Department Head Lauren Stewart said.
Local Illinois schools such as Conant High School have brought this dream to life through their own AP journalism classes. Conant in particular offers an AP Seminar class that highlights aspects of communication and critical thinking, skills that create a high-achieving reporter.
“We are able to submit course approvals in the spring with a committee who oversees and approves those changes. Any accepted courses in the spring will be offered during the following school year’s course selection. For example, three years ago we knew we were going to run a new state-required course–Modern Rhetoric. It was offered at course selection last year and ran for the first time this year since. It takes time to effectively plan any changes,” Stewart said.
Participating in journalism production not only demonstrates dedication and responsibility and enhances a resume, but it also highlights a student’s efforts in researching and writing about our school and community. This work brings attention to important issues and interesting topics that are part of WEGO.
Giving full English credit for journalism production would open up schedules for those involved in the class, as being a dedicated journalist can add multiple hours of work onto already busy schedules, and oftentimes the process takes more willpower than most assignments given out by other English classes. This means students can ensure their writing and reporting skills are sharp, as they would not have to worry about an additional class involving literature and language skills on top of that.
“As a person who enjoys journalism and fell in love with it, not being able to continue the class is really unfair. My counselor told me that J-Pro does not count as an English credit, but he allowed it for one semester and not the other,” senior reporter Mariah Varnado said.
Opening up an AP Journalism class to students would attract more attention to the school newspaper. Many dedicated underclassmen are often seeking ways to enhance their resumes or earn as much credit as possible. Currently, the only AP classes available in the first and second years of high school are AP Human Geography, AP World History, and AP Computer Science, with exceptions for students who excel in advanced mathematics. For those interested in a career path related to English, the earliest opportunity to enroll in an AP course is in junior year with AP Literature. However, if AP Journalism or a credited J-Pro course were offered, students could begin their engagement with journalism much earlier.
“As a school, media and journalism is the perfect discipline for us to expand our pathways,” Stewart said.
While considering solutions to students’ wants and needs, the board should revisit the idea of adding Journalism Production as an English credit. In a survey sent out to students, a main request was for “more English electives and classes related to various career paths“. As the Strategic Planning Committee reviews these in their upcoming meetings for #WEGO2030, they should incorporate J-Pro credit or AP Journalism into the school’s future.
“[Mrs. Fireman’s] learning has resulted in her continuous adjustment of the curriculum to reflect the changes that journalism as a discipline is experiencing as well as ensuring our program meets the needs of post-secondary courses. She routinely attends conferences as well that energize her to try new ideas. She is a great model of professionalism in this way to our staff and students,” Stewart said.
This would increase the writing, interviewing, reading, and research skills of students. These benefits outweigh the effort it may take to make it happen, as writing and reading are crucial material across the board in subjects, and interviewing and research skills could help students down the line with finding jobs and being professional and factual. Additionally, journalism teaches reporters about accountability and responsibility, something kids have been taught to put into practice since kindergarten.
“My hope for future students is that they have the opportunity to thrive in journalism and continue on its legacy,” Varnado said.
