Are odds
stacked
against
middle
school
journalism?
JUNIOR HIGH PROGRAMS
LEARN TO ADAPT, SUCCEED
IN CHANGING SCHOLASTIC
JOURNALISM LANDSCAPE
By Mike Malcom-Bjorklund
T
he adage says, numbers
don’t lie — but could
numbers ignore an
important truth?
•
Strong middle school scholastic
journalism programs equal strong
high school programs. In theory, it
sounds simple.
But why is the former much
harder to achieve than the latter?
To answer this question, we must
address the key factors hindering
this from happening.
• FUNDING It isn’t that
building a journalism
program at the most
primary of levels
requires taking out a
loan on the school. It’s
just that many schools
don’t have much to give
providing the current
state of finances in
many local counties and
states.
• STAFFING: Again,
money often rules the
roost here. We must also
consider whether there
are enough well-trained
journalism educators
equipped to start a
journalism program and
•
prepare students for the
next level.
SCHEDULING: In
addition to staffing this
position, there are only
so many elective spots
available. Now, think
STEM. You know, the
theory that classes in
Science, Technology,
Engineering, and Math,
are the keys to global
dominance. Although
there may be some merit
in this, because of STEM,
schools ditched an
important component
of a child’s education –
the A. Thankfully, recent
trends are shifting again
on the arts and putting
the STEAM in STEM.
INTEREST: If scheduling
a journalism elective
isn’t an issue, there
must be a desire by
both the administration
and student body to
initiate one. The media
profession has taken
a hit over the past few
years and maybe there’s
not as much interest as
there was when many of
us were growing up.
Sure, the odds might look stacked
against inclusion of journalism at