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the middle school level, but they
don’t tell the whole story.
“A strong journalism program
is equally essential for a middle
school as it is for a high school,”
said Jed Palmer, a journalism
adviser for Sierra Middle School
in Colorado. “Students are able
to learn valuable academic and
work world skills in an authentic
environment. Students are able
to have a voice within their school
community through the use of
journalistic publications and are
also able to document the events
of the school with a powerful
student perspective.”
Palmer hits on several key points.
Administrators love the term
“authentic learning” and if there’s
anything journalism does, it
creates authentic experiences.
Journalism programs provide
students with a voice and allows
them to document life and learn
ways to use their voice in a positive
and structured setting (and we
know how middle school students
love to use their voices).
“Middle school students
already feel they are experts in
communication,” retired journalism
adviser Mary Patrick said. “It may
not be the types we hope they
would use, but when we educators
channel that enthusiasm that
students have for social media
into all types of media, wonderful
projects may be created.”
Middle school journalism shouldn’t
be considered a luxury like
steak and lobster. Middle school
journalism should be featured on
every school’s menu of choices.
MICHAEL
MALCOM-BJORKLUND
Michael Malcom-Bjorklund,
CJE, advises advises the Ascent
yearbook and The Rocketeer
newspaper while teaching
8th grade language arts
and journalism at River City
Science Academy Innovation in
Jacksonville, after a successful
14-year professional career in the
media industry. With a degree in
journalism, masters in education
and a dozen design awards
under his belt, Malcom-Bjorklund
recently earned a spot on the JEA
board as Director-at-Large with the
hopes of enhancing the viability
of middle school journalism. He is
also the webmaster for the Florida
Council of Teachers of English.
Malcom-Bjorklund can be reached
at mwbjorklund@outlook.com or
904-382-3876.
“A strong middle school journalism
program can put the high school
program ahead of districts that
have no middle school program,
especially in basics such as design,
photography, writing, teamwork,
and meeting deadlines,” Patrick
added.
Think about that, high school
advisers – ready-to-roll freshmen.
Think about the time you will save
teaching the same foundations of
journalism. Think about what you
can do with those extra weeks.
Ultimately, think about how that
extra time will prepare them for
their college and professional
careers.
We must understand, although
journalism won’t be a forever
home for many students,