Franklin High School has not had a journalism program in at least five years. During this school year, Journalism was offered as an elective that students could take. Lydia Sarraille, a former reporter, teaches the class in C-102.
Journalism is a class where students can create content and publish their ideas and opinions. Students learn to gather information, conduct interviews, write articles, and edit content. They inform the community about what is happening at FHS.
“You can write about anything, the possibilities are endless,” Erika Cortes (10), a student in Journalism, said.
Journalism is a tool that is used by the majority of people, especially students. In a high school context, journalism allows students to place checks on the authority of teachers and administrators.“Journalism allows us to hold powerful people to account,” Sarraille said.
Students in Journalism are able to voice their concerns, issues, and other problems that are significant to them.
Being a part of Journalism has many benefits such as increasing communication and writing skills. Students receive a lot of different feedback not only from the teacher but also from peers. They are able to gain self-confidence by communicating more verbally.
During this school year, students have been focused on written content such as creative stories and articles. However, Journalism also encompasses different forms of expression such as photography and digital media.
Next year, they hope to include video and audio production. Students are able to create anything that adheres to the journalistic standard.
Additionally, next school year, there will be a Journalism Club for those whose schedules conflict with the actual class. The president of the club, Kimberly Sanchez (10), created it so that as many people could join as many as possible.
You do not have to be excellent in writing, editing, making podcasts, and more to be a part of Journalism. But you must be able to motivate yourself to get your work done.
You must be eager to gain these skills, and you have to be willing to work hard on and work through when it gets difficult.
“When something is difficult to obtain, during the end result, when you do attain that skill, even just by making progress… there is a deep sense of satisfaction,” Saraille says.