The Weekly Scroll for Friday, Sept. 1
News, tips and advice from the Quill and Scroll International Honor Society.
Compiled and written by Marni Wax, Allison Wunder and Emily LaGrange.
The Lede:
The water is coming, the water is coming!
For all of our teacher or adviser readers…first day of school jitters this year? Just think about how jittery these teachers were, when they didn’t know if their students were safe from the water in Houston. “I’m lucky to be safe and dry, but I worry for the thousands of others who are not as fortunate — particularly many of my students. One of my students was being evacuated when I called to check up on her.” Click here to educate yourself on the schools that have been closed in Texas because of Hurricane Harvey.
You can help Texas’ high school journalists
Feeling inspired from the article above that you just read? We’re sure you are. So do you wanna help journalism students in Texas? Here’s how.
Think you can cover the unthinkable? Think again
Unfortunately, advisers and student journalists too often have to weigh the decision to write about student suicide in their schools. Here, from the Student Press Law Center, is an article on best practices when confronted with covering suicide.
It’s an honor:
Like it? Write it. Quill & Scroll Q&A with the founder of Global Student Square
Journalists, have you ever discovered a newsworthy story on accident? Students, have you ever told a teacher a story that shaped your relationship? Put these two in action together and you have the nonprofit Global Student Square. Click here to see how the students have told their stories and how founder, Beatrice Motamedi, planted the seed for the non profit.
A word from one of our own
Here’s a story from Long Island Herald (N.Y.) written by Mikelly Baptiste, a student at Elmont High School. Elmont High School is a Q&S charter school. Baptiste, a Haitian-American, vividly describes what she sees when she looks at the audience at the annual New York State School Music Association competition, where she plays the flute. “I’ve always gotten looks,” she said. “People look at me differently, whether it’s regarding dance, music or my academics. They just don’t think of me as the same.”
What’s Viral:
What should we do here?
ESPN football analyst Ed Cunningham, a former college and professional football player, announced his retirement from broadcasting this week, citing the number of head injuries in the sport as his reason for quitting. “I think people are starting to think, What should we do here?” How do your high school and the state’s athletic governing body feel about head injuries, not just in football but in all sports? What measures are being taken to reduce them? Are those measures effective?
Amid the floodwaters, journalists persist
School starting always causes distractions and commotion in itself. If you’re like us at Quill and Scroll, regardless of those distractions and where your head may be, your heart is in Texas this victims dealing with the disaster of Hurricane Harvey. So, we’re pausing here to spend a few moments with Texas journalists, and how they have covered stories about the rising waters in Houston.
Just a Thought:
Attention, avid texters.
Is your tone fun? Is it sarcastic? Is it professional? Click here to see the trends in learning to develop a personality or style through the use of acronyms as you further your writing career.
Say what?
“Keep using that word, hon. It doesn’t mean what you think it does.” Someone ever say that to you? Have you ever thought that when listening to someone speak? Well guess what…browse over here and see the decoding done by The Skimm of some of those phrases.
