IHSPA Insider
August 2025
Journalism Students Discuss What They Need at the Start of the Year
By Joe Akers, IHSPA At-Large Executive Board Member
It doesn’t matter what year of teaching you’re in; the beginning of the school year always brings a lot of the same old tired chestnuts: the mile-long lines at the copiers, the exact same blood-born pathogens video you watched last year, an endless string of meetings-that-could-have-been-an-email. Some things just never change, and the start of the year also brings a host of articles where the newest teaching expert provides a list of all the things you should be doing to “Make it your best year ever...” But, what do students say about the beginning of school? More specifically, what do journalism students say they’d like to see at the start of the new year? These student-journalists from Noblesville are veterans, and as a result, they’ve seen the good and the bad when August rolls around. Here’s what they say they’d like to see—and not see—when their journalism classes begin in the fall.
What do you want your journalism teachers to know or do at the beginning of the year? What are you looking for or what are you worried about?
Quinn Matthews, senior, NHS News Broadcast Editor: I want my journalism teacher to set the expectations for the year on the first day. If all rules and jobs are laid out and communicated, there’s less confusion and disorganization throughout the year on what staff members need to be doing. Everyone should have an idea of what is needed from them, whether they know how to execute it yet or not.
Mina Vendt, senior, NHS Mill Stream Managing Editor: The beginning of the year can feel awkward in a journalism class. It can feel too early to get started working on the publication, but busy work won’t help. I think the best way to go is to use the very beginning of the year to help build a positive staff culture because this will set the tone for a strong year and allow all students—new and returning—to get excited about being on staff.
Aidan Colbart, senior, NHS News Broadcast Editor: I would like my journalism teacher to come prepared to class because an unprepared class could cause major problems. I would also like them to know that everyone is a different learner, and that all students learn at different speeds, and those accommodations are going to need to be made.
Lilah Cross, senior, NHS News Broadcast Editor: For the beginning of the year, I want my teacher to know that every student is on a different level when it comes to journalistic skills. Some students come into the staff with a great amount of prior experience, while others have never even picked up a camera. I hope that journalism teachers see that and take the time at the start of the year to teach every aspect of the staff before jumping in and expecting a final product from those students at a beginning level.
Atlas Spurlock, senior, NHS Mill Stream Editor In Chief: The most helpful thing is for journalism teachers to know that even as editors, or veteran staffers, we are adjusting to something new too. A lot of journalism teachers want to leave it to their editorial board, but knowing that we are jumping into a high-stakes position, and being there to guide us, is just as important as not hovering and letting us learn by experience.
What do you want your journalism teachers to NOT do at the beginning of the year?
Matthews: I do not want my journalism teacher to expect perfection at the beginning of the year, or keep the same expectations as the previous year. Every year, the staff is a little different, and it might take some staff members longer than others to get into a groove. It’s important to understand the students you’re working with and what they are capable of, so you can take their qualities into consideration when setting new, and or different, expectations from the year before.
Cross: I don’t want my journalism teachers to be too relaxed or “chill” at the beginning of the year. I think discipline is a really important part of managing a staff, so I think teachers and leaders should start the year with more of a tighter reign. After students understand the rules and expectations for the staff, then that is the time for teachers and leaders to pull back and put fun back in their top priorities. This might help with things like missed deadlines throughout the year.
Eryn McMahon, senior, NHS News Broadcast Editor: I do not want my journalism teachers to worry too much about the new kids. The editors and veterans will make sure to do their jobs well and take off some of the pressure on the teacher.
Cobart: I don’t want my journalism teacher to throw us into advanced projects or projects right at the beginning of the year. Students need the time to really get to know the material and equipment they are working with in order to learn more effectively.
Vendt: Don’t give students busy work or assignments that are not constructive. This can frustrate students and make them less enthusiastic about working on the publication throughout the rest of the year. Focus on work that has an explicit and obvious goal, like building interview skills, learning or reviewing the use of necessary technology or software, or creating staff procedures and norms.
Spurlock: Busy. Work. There should definitely be attention to building the culture, but little monotonous assignments aren’t going to help the flow of the staff get going. If it doesn’t ultimately matter to you as a teacher, it probably doesn’t help the students either and will just set an early roadblock.
Think back to when you were taking your first-ever journalism class. How would you have responded to the questions above? What should journalism teachers know, or keep in mind, about beginning journalism students?
Colbart: Journalism is usually something that isn’t often super-heavily covered in middle school, which means that it is a new world for most students. New students should be taught about the environment that they are working in before they have heavy assignments given to them.
McMahon: For journalism students, everything at the beginning is a new process. It is a whole new world that people are entering, and they need more help than you think.
Spurlock: Even though journalism is such an essential piece of culture and current events, most people don’t know a lot about how it functions. So, it’s really important to be extremely thorough. Even if it seems redundant, or like common sense, it’ll pay off in the long run. And even when students don’t think that it’ll be beneficial, it serves much better than having to go through it again and again later in the year.
Matthews: Something to remember with beginning journalism students is that they have no confidence in their work yet. They need some teaching to build up their confidence so they can produce the best work that they are capable of. They might need more attention than kids with more experience, but if you give them more attention to build their confidence, then they will catch up to everyone else and not need it later.
Cross: When I was taking my first journalism class, I would have hoped for my teachers to know that the main thing beginning journalism students lack is confidence. Whether or not a teacher shows patience and encouragement in those first classroom days could make or break that confidence, so it’s super-important that teachers provide the support needed for beginning students to thrive. Most students are eager to learn, but they’re held back by their nerves, so fostering their potential early on is key.
Virginia Association of Journalism Teachers and Advisers (VAJTA) Resources
- 10 Tips To Get a Solid System in Place To Report Breaking News
- 9-5: Making a Complete Story
- Ask Better, Edit Better, Write Better
- Journalism Bootcamp
- Be a Coach, Not a Boss
Rowena Harvey Awards Deadline Coming Up
The deadline for the Harvey Awards is coming up on Sept. 15, 2025. Make sure to submit your staff's best journalism from the 2024-2025 school year. Winners will be announced at the Jan. 20, 2026 IHSPA State Convention. Check out the links below for information about the awards.
- About the Rowena Harvey Awards
- Contest Instructions and Categories
- Better BNC Website for Submitting Awards
- IHSPA Invoice for Submitting Payment
We want to highlight and share great journalism resources in our monthly newsletters. Use this form to suggest lessons, curriculum, classroom ideas, places to find resources, etc. in a future newsletter. Basically, please share anything you think would help your fellow advisors.
School Spotlight: Noblesville High School
Advisers: Joe Akers and Samantha Deane
Noblesville offers a diverse group of student publications for students. Their online news site Miller Media Now offers regular coverage of Noblesville High School and the surrounding community. Once of month, the print magazine Mill Stream dives deeper into the world of Noblesville. On the broadcast side of things, NHS News covers the daily life of high school while Around the County is a monthly news magazine show. The Shadow yearbook continues the schools long history of excellence in yearbook production. Check out some of the great work from their publications below.
Miller Media Now (Online)
Mill Stream (Print)
NHS News (Broadcast)
Shadow (Yearbook)
Social Media
Submit the best of your student's work here. Every month we'd like to highlight great journalism from IHSPA journalists. We'd like to high light a variety of journalism, including print, yearbook, broadcast, writing, photojournalism, podcasts, etc. So, keep submitting your student's work throughout the year!
