If the newspaper was a class, would you take it? I know I wouldn’t. I just got started writing for the newspaper and I love writing pieces. When I am writing an article, the words just naturally flow and I can express myself, my beliefs, and my research through writing. I plan on continuing the newspaper in my senior year, but that may not be a possibility for me if the newspaper becomes a class. At the most recent monthly Board of Education Meeting, the idea of Cardinal Nation being offered as a class arose. This begs the question – given this happens, will the newspaper as a club continue? Will there be an extracurricular to continue participating in Cardinal Nation for those not in the class?
Opinions of Cardinal Nation Staff Members
This year, I am taking eight classes, six of which are APs. This is an intense workload that takes up most of my time with softball, Model U.N., Speech and Debate, and Cardinal Nation taking up the rest. I simply do not have room in my schedule for any more classes, and this will be the case next year as well. This is something that is shared by most of my fellow members of staff. Staff writers Ayesha Faruki, Nathan Colagross, Nicholas Payne, and Ethan Burress all have expressed these same sentiments, which reverberate through almost the entire group. These members of staff are some of the most contributing members, writing the most pieces for the paper throughout the entire year. If we want the success of the newspaper to continue, we need to make sure that it is accessible to all those who want to participate, not just those who have room in their schedule. Any student currently has the ability to join Cardinal Nation. We meet every Friday right after school and any student can write an article any time they wish.
Benefits of Being Involved in the Newspaper
According to the Newspaper Association of America, “High school journalism students earn higher grade point averages, score better on the ACT college entrance examination, and demonstrate better writing and grammar skills in college, compared with students who do not have those journalism experiences.” These skills are vital for success in a student’s future. The ability for students to express their opinions through writing helps establish a better understanding of the world around them, improves their communication through writing in other situations, and benefits their overall academic performance. According to the National Center for Education Statistics, “In a world changing as rapidly as ours, where knowing about current events is a responsibility of every adult citizen, it is important that our adolescents develop a desire to seek and appreciate knowledge about national and world issues.” Being educated about political, cultural, societal, and local issues is vital for students. When a student is informed, they can better understand the world around them and have a more successful future. Being involved in the school’s newspaper facilitates incredible opportunities by providing a platform for you to write about your passions. Such incredible opportunities, however, would be severely inhibited if students were restricted in their ability to participate in Cardinal Nation.
What Is the Future Plan for Cardinal Nation?
The current proposed idea is to turn Cardinal Nation into a class, although there is currently not much information available on the specifics of this change. The curriculum is not made, there is not a teacher assigned to the class yet (Advisor’s Note – this was true at time of writing, but Superintendent Heath stated at the March 11 Mentor School Board meeting that a teacher is now tentatively attached to this new course), and students can not yet sign up for the class, as it will be made available later this year, which creates an issue for students who already have a full schedule. The only information that we have regarding the class is that it would be year-long and count as an English credit and the fact the class is happening is pretty set in stone even though there are no specifics.
Questions remain about whether people who are unable to take the class will be able to contribute to the newspaper through the extracurricular, assuming that it still exists next year. Would students be allowed to continue writing about any topic they want? Would the approval process for articles change in the class format? Furthermore, Mentor High School also already offers a journalism class. This is a Pearson Online class that is available to any student in any grade, so why do we need another? These questions remain regarding the transition.
Extracurricular Aspect
While not everyone is ecstatic about a class being formed, we understand that this class could be beneficial to some students, especially those who want to go into the journalism field as a career. This class would provide an opportunity to learn even more about certain journalistic practices than Cardinal Nation can address when meeting once a week. However, just because there is a class, why couldn’t the extracurricular continue as well? Every member of Cardinal Nation wants the extracurricular aspect to remain next year because of our busy schedules. If there is only a class and the extracurricular is eliminated, then many current writers would not be able to continue with the newspaper.
Why Is This an Issue?
Another issue, with making this a class is that the students currently on Cardinal Nation have full schedules. We have no room for another class, so does this mean that we can’t write articles anymore? If we are unable to participate in the class because of our schedules and the extracurricular aspect is eliminated, then the students who are truly passionate about Cardinal Nation will be harmed. This is a question on every staff member’s mind.
Taking this extracurricular away from hard-working students would take away our ability to put Cardinal Nation on our college applications and take away an outlet for our current members of staff. Another issue is that there is a possibility that there will not be enough people to have a class. If this happens, does that mean that Cardinal Nation will be eliminated entirely? Ultimately, the staff of Cardinal Nation all want to be able to continue writing because we enjoy, and deserve, the ability to research, write, and express our ideas to others.
