The Case of the Missing Links
...Minnesota. Being that it is a first ring urban community, BCHS is extremely diverse with its student population. BCHS has a very high immigration population which contributes to many low-income households; this is in addition to, many other blue-collar and poverty stricken families. The large majority of BCHS students do not know the meaning of stability and dedication. The concept of reading a novel outside of class, staying after school to work on the school paper, or attending extra-curricular activity practices on a regular basis is foreign to many of our students. Every morning when I step into the trenches of BCHS, I become not only a teacher, but a counselor, parent and at times a friend. The students of BCHS are extremely needy and deserve all of the support they can receive. As I mentioned earlier, I dove into the position of journalism instructor and advisor feet first. I had no prior teaching journalism experience, little guidance from staff and not an iota of technology training. This first year has truly been a learning experience in the making for my students, my staff, and myself. The first quarter of the year was very frustrating; the publishing company that the former advisor had been using was not compatible. Our first issue came out in December, Xeroxed on the school copy machine. Issue two came out the end of January when I found a new publishing company out of New Jersey. Finally our stories and pictures were in newsprint with the ink left on our hands to prove it! We are currently in the process of designing issue number three. I took it upon myself this fall to attend two technology workshops; one on Adobe Photoshop, and the other on InDesign software. I still have very little grasp or understanding of the software programs, but I am trying. Next year I will lose my lead designer when he graduates and I want to be able to master these programs to train new students next year. The Centaur staff deserves to get off to a smoother start next year, as they have this second semester. What makes a strong newspaper advisor? After reading article after article and book after book, there are so many contrasting viewpoints an...