ADVISER UPDATE
PAGE 11A
h❤me
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By Ellen Austin
W
FALL 2013
Ellen Austin
is the News Fund’s 2012
Journalism Teacher of the
Year. She is the director of
journalism at the Harker School
in San Jose, where she advises
the yearbook, newspaper and
online publications. She chairs
the Student Press Law Center
Steering Committee and is a
JEA Northern California board
member. She can be reached at
[email protected].
BLACK
P01.V52.I4
teacher, the main thing I hoped
for (and prayed for more than
once) was that this very talented
and bright young man would
survive to reach the vibrant and
happy adulthood I knew was
waiting for him. And thankfully, he
did. You can see some of his work
in Vanity Fair and Harper’s now.
Over a pint of cider, Rick
mentioned how glad he was for
me and other teachers in his
school who had taken a stand
against those who bullied or
taunted kids like him.
I asked Rick whether he
thought a young man growing up
now in Cannon Falls would have
the same challenge and sense of
danger and isolation that he had
faced a dozen years ago.
He thought for a bit and said,
“No, because kids growing up
queer now have the Internet –
and with the Internet, it doesn’t
take you long to figure out you’re
not alone anymore. You find the
‘It Gets Better’ videos [a heartfelt
project championed by Seattle
columnist Dan Savage] pretty
fast.”
Rick faced bullies in a bricksand-mortar hometown. He didn’t
expect the town to be shut and
locked: he just expected us to try
to keep it safe.
Perhaps that’s how we need to
start seeing social realms: it’s a
“hometown” for a generation, with
the great ways of bringing people
together, and also the potential
for harm. It’s part of our job to
help keep it safe.
We all need a tribe, and we will
search until we find a safe place
to call home. I’m grateful that a
classroom and a camera led me
to mine.
CYAN
someone who isn’t your favorite
person and who has the potential
to trash talk you. For adults over
30 or so, this probably brings to
mind an actual recallable party in
the past, and the actual face of a
frenemy.
You keep a close eye on
that person during the party, to
check on what’s potentially being
said about you. You wouldn’t
say you’re being “addictive” or
“paranoid,” but rather socially
savvy in guarding your reputation.
Move the cocktail party to
the world of thumb-driven and
instantly disseminated messages
online. If your reputation could
be maligned and torn down in 30
minutes of vicious status updates,
comments, and sh \