Editor’s Notes: Career fair opens up world of questions
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I had the pleasure this week of talking to Edison Middle School eighth-graders as part of a career fair that made me wish that sort of thing had been available when I was in middle school a very long time ago.
Who am I kidding? I've been a newspaper person since I was a toddler. Which means I would have spent such an event peppering each presenter with questions until they shuffled me off to the next station. But I would have had a blast.
In fact, one of the challenges I encountered as I spoke with rotating small groups of young people was reminding myself to shut my mouth and stop asking them questions so they could get a word in edgewise and ask me something.
One young man asked me what the best part of the job is, and I said "I get paid to ask questions!" and he rolled his eyes and sarcastically said, "I can't tell."
I do hope I was able to help them understand better both the importance of the jobs we do in newsrooms AND that it can be an incredibly fulfilling -- even fun -- career.
At least a couple of students really did give me a glimpse of their own question-asking and critical thinking abilities and had good insights into how the old folks who work in the industry now might be able to better serve readers who consume their information the way "kids these days" do.
As happens nearly every time I interact with students, I left energized and hopeful.
(I'll even give a pass to the young man who made sure I saw that he had written "boring" at the bottom of my section of their worksheet. It was the last rotation, and the smell from the cafeteria kitchen was delicious enough that I was having a hard time concentrating, too. And hey, I'll take honesty in reporting over trying to tell the reader what they want to hear any day.)
Another student asked me a question that stopped me in my tracks.
He said "How much do newspapers lie?"
I might actually have stammered.
Then I thought, what has this child seen, or what has he been told -- what is he perceiving if he watches some of the newsertainment outlets?
So, I told him I could answer only for those of us in the local news industry who care very much about holding ourselves to journalistic ethical standards and doing the job right. After all, I told him, and the other three who were sitting with their mouths open because of what he had just asked, if the product I'm selling is a newspaper, or website, or newsletter, how can I afford to do something that makes readers believe they can't trust it?
At our level, we MUST be thorough, fair, accurate and accountable. I explained that if we do get something wrong, we correct it as quickly as possible; and point out that we have made a mistake and are correcting it.
He seemed satisfied. Or he might also have just been ready to move on to lunch.
Either way, the morning wrapped up as Principal Janet Sears was beginning to take stock of what went well and what needed to be adjusted for next year's event. She and school counselor Andrea Moore did a fantastic job putting together a dual event -- combining the "Get a Life" budgeting simulation with a career fair.
From where I was sitting, very much went right. And I don't see how students could have come away without being better prepared for the thinking and planning they'll have to start tackling over the next four years (and well beyond).
Thank you, folks, for inviting me to be part of it.