Essay

The Long Lasting Effects of Middle School Journalism

In middle school journalism, many things are taught. Things such as design, photography, and journalistic writing. These things are taught by the advisor, but the following are taught by journalism itself: responsibility, focus, organization, and so much more. The direct effects that journalism has on life are not as obvious, due to the fact that they can be learned through many things, but thanks to my two years on staff at Sierra Middle School, I am able to say that I have learned some of these things from yearbook.

Design can teach organization through the fact that spreads are made on grids. A spread has to have readability which means it has to lead the reader through the page. In order to do this, a staffer must have near perfect organizational skills. Applying the way a spread is organized to the way a I organize my backpack and workspaces in other classes greatly improved my quality of work. The five sections I keep my backpack organized in makes my efficiency around school much better.

Photography can teach responsibility because, “Do you know how hard it is to take a good picture,”. Taking a good photo consists of being in the right place at the right time with the right camera and the right lens. Taking a good photo also consists of taking responsibility for all of the bad photos that have been taken. It is said that in a photo shoot, less than 10% of the photos taken will turn out well. Learning to understand that I would fail more often then not was the hardest thing I will probably the hardest thing I will ever do. That being said, I know that I can cope with failure now and how to come back from it in the future. Taking responsibility for things that have been done wrong, naturally carries over to any activity due to the way the human brain works.

Journalistic writing teaches focus. In a middle school, focus is hard to come by. But sitting in front of a computer, writing words that relate to a theme that only consists of a phrase, takes focus. The ability to focus not only benefits in a journalistic environment or an academic environment. It also benefits in sports, extracurricular activities, and almost any other aspect of life. Coming into yearbook I had a good amount of focus for a seventh grader, but leaving seventh grade I found that I had the same amount of focus as an adult. This will be beneficial for the rest of my education and throughout my career.

These disciplines not only carry over from outside of the journalism room, but also to outside of the walls of middle school. Once the disciplines are free from the confined principles of middle school, there is no limit to where they can take a student in their life. These disciplines can carry students through high school and get them into colleges. Journalism, therefore, is transforming the next generation of doctors, lawyers, actors, (and in my case Neonatal Nurse Practitioners) and any other profession that can be dreamt of. Journalism is an art form like no other, that teaches disciplines to middle schoolers that cannot be found on any other platform.