On the fence about next year’s courses? Need an extra class? Journalism is the class for you! Journalism is first offered to rising sophomores. Your first year of journalism focuses on developing writing skills, learning the code of ethics, and practicing writing articles for your next year on The Print. The next two years of journalism – if you decide to take Journalism I your sophomore year – focus entirely on writing articles for our online newspaper. Here are ten reasons why journalism may be right for you.
1. It’s So Much Fun:
Journalism has brought about so many new friendships. It’s not just a class focused entirely on work; we laugh and talk and joke all while writing articles. It’s a good way of balancing your work and your social time.
2. Develops Writing Skills:
Journalism I is entirely focused around building proper grammar and writing skills. Not only did these skills help me to become a better writer, but they’ve also helped to boost my SAT scores on the English section.
3. Boosts Creativity:
This class has always been a way for students to come up with new fun article ideas. Not everything we write about is serious – clearly. We’re always looking to come up with interesting and informative articles for our school.
4. Teaches Communication Skills:
It’s so important to learn how to talk to people in journalism so that you can properly communicate about your articles as you turn them in for editing and revision. Not only do you need to properly communicate it, but you need to ensure you are respectful. Being respectful ensures a timely review and approval of your article; the less respectful you are the less likely you are to earn respect in return.
5. Keeps you Informed:
As a journalist, you must always be on the lookout for a new article to write, and there is never not something to write about. We’re always listening to the announcements and looking through social media, so we’re always updated on the latest news.
6. Explores Interests:
When working for The Print, you must write a lot of different articles; you’re bound to find a topic you like or discover an area you would like to write about, like focusing on sports.
7. Teamwork:
One thing I’ve learned from this class is how to delegate and work with others. Journalism is a class full of students who can work on a time crunch and get their articles in before a deadline. We all work together to write, edit, and publish our articles, which brings us closer together.
8. Boosts your Resume:
Even if you’re not sure you will pursue a writing career in college, Journalism looks good on your college resume – especially writing for The Print, and eventually, becoming an editor.
9. Develops Leadership:
If you choose to go through three years of Journalism, you may get the offer to become a part of the “editing team” as a senior. This role requires you to manage your time and work effort as you will be both editing other articles before they go up on The Print page and writing your own. And it happens to be really good for a future college role or career.
10. Leaves a Legacy:
Being a part of the journalism team gives you a role not many people in school have. Journalism preserves your history; your writing will serve as a role model for future students, and you will forever have lasting memories of this class.
So, will you take journalism?
