Upfront Texas Association of Journalism Educators

August 2008

Pulitzer Prize-winner Sheeler

TAJE
P.O. Box 5554 Convention
Austin, TX
78763-5554 Changes
taje.org
to keynote Fall Fiesta convention a ke
T
NOTE
Lori Herbst
President
972-539-1591, ext. 141
Jim Sheeler, Pulitzer
HerbstL@lisd.net Prize-winning report-
er, will be the keynote
Sheryl Floyd speaker at the closing • Registration will end at
President-Elect 2 p.m. on Saturday. In the
512-594-0500
ceremonies of TAJE’s
Fall Fiesta convention past, it ended at 3 p.m.
sherylflo@aol.com
in October. Everyone will need to be
Lisa Van Etta Sheeler, who former- registered by 2 p.m., and
Secretary Best of Show entries and
281-856-1071
ly worked for the Rocky
Mountain News in Den- carry-in contest entries
Lisa.VanEtta@cfisd.com
ver, now teaches report- must be turned in by 2 p.m.
Cindy Berry ing and writing at the
Treasurer • Students may use comput
940-627-6495
University of Colorado
in Boulder. He won the ers in the on-site contests.
cindy.berry@
decatur.esc11.net 2006 Pulitzer Prize for Students who choose to
“Final Salute,” a story use computers will need
Susan Duncan to bring a printer. Students
State Director
that chronicled the sac- Jim Sheeler
rifices of military fami- from the same school can
903-295-5031,
ext. 265 lies as seen through the in burying military person- all use the same printer, but
sduncan@ptisd.org eyes of a casualty notification nel (‘it’s like the names are all contest entries must be
calls officer. just floating out there, wait- printed and turned in by the
Pat Gathright end of the contest. No one
Convention Director Sheeler expanded the story ing,’ says a man who carves
210-325-7793 into a book, “Final Salute.” those names into headstones), will be given extra time.
pgathright@ He previously authored the he does a fine, dignified job
yahoo.com * Bring a power strip if
book “Obit” and contributed of conveying the range of re-
to “Best Newspaper Writing sponses to such loss.” students will be using
Brenda Slatton
Assistant 2006-2007” and “Life on the Sheeler has won numer- computers.
Convention Director Death Beat.” ous national writing awards
210-442-0300, ext. 350 • We are asking advisers to
Janet Maslin of the New York and served as a featured guest
jefnbreslat@msn.com let students in the on-site
Times said, “This book enters a speaker for military and jour-
Sue Jett number of homes and follows nalism organizations. He has a photo contests select the
Assistant their occupants through the B.A. in journalism from Colo- photos they turn in to
Convention Director be judged. Part of the con-
grieving process. ‘Final Salute’ rado State University and an
210-442-0800, ext. 262 test is judgment, being able
suecjett@yahoo.com is organized through chapters M.A. in journalism from the
about these individual fami- University of Colorado. to select the highest quality
Peggy Miller lies. Sheeler was born and raised photos.
Past President
“As Mr. Sheeler chronicles in Houston. His parents live in
281-498-8110,
ext. 2460 the many quiet tasks involved Brenham.
Peggy.Miller@
aliefisd.net

Rhonda Moore
You can register online for the convention at taje.org
Executive Director
512-414-7539 Remember: Check the newsletter and contest rules for changes to contests
rmoore003@ Clip contest deadline is Dec. 12
austin.rr.com
2 Texas Association of Journalism Educators August 2008
Teaching editors to become leaders
Camp gives students, adviser opportunity to strengthen roles
Have you ever worked for a boss
who just didn’t seem to have a clue?
Threats and yelling comprise his reper-
toire of motivational techniques, while
he is the very one who misses dead-
lines and calls in sick on vital days. He
passes the buck, takes all the credit and
passes along any blame, all the while
kissing up to his own boss—frequently
at your expense.
If so, you have probably found your-
self thinking, “I wish all bosses were re-
quired to take leadership classes.”
Yet most of us probably put our
editors in the very same position: we
appoint them to leadership positions
without giving them the training to
help them reach success. I know that’s
how I’ve done it in the past. A strong
writer, an organized and dependable
staffer, an intelligent kid who catches
on quickly—these are obviously our
prime candidates for the role of edi-
tor. But while some people are natural
born leaders, not everyone is that fortu-
nate, and, to be honest, even the natu-
rals could benefit from some ideas and
techniques about how to improve their
leadership skills.
With this in mind, this year I decided
to offer a Leadership Camp for incom-
ing yearbook and newspaper editors.
I planned it for mid-August, both so
the techniques would be fresh in their
minds and as a way to generate some
enthusiasm as they begin the year with
their new staffers.
I sent out formal invitations to six
yearbook editors and 10 newspaper
editors, everyone from news editor to
photo editor to editor-in-chief, to meet
in the classroom from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.
The first positive aspect of this camp is
that it made them feel important; they
began to truly embrace the responsibil-
ity that comes along with the job. As
advisers, we need that commitment
from our editors, and a camp like this
can reinforce that they are in charge of
the publication.
I spent quite a bit of time determin- achieve that? Meet with each staffer on
ing the content of this camp. What did a regular basis, provide specific feed-
I want editors to gain? What did I want back, both positive and negative, con-
concerning their behavior and their at- nect with each as an individual. Once
titudes towards staffers? What, to me, we had all shared and refined our lists,
constitutes the essence of good leader- I encouraged them to leave those in
ship? This thought process also gave their boxes in the room and read them
me a good opportu- once a week or so to
nity to evaluate my From the President make sure they were
own philosophy of Lori Herbst staying on track.
leadership and how Flower Mound Marcus HS The rest of the
well (or poorly) my morning was devot-
TAJE President
own behavior reflects ed to tips for editors,
that philosophy. discussions about expectations—of our-
After all that deep thought and pon- selves as well as the staffers—ideas for
dering, here’s what I ultimately came team building, and specific people skills.
up with. We spent the morning talk- After we broke for lunch, we spent
ing philosophy. I created a PowerPoint the afternoon talking about editors in
titled “So You’re an Editor—What the role of teachers. They broke into
Now?” We started the camp with some three groups--writers, designers, pho-
of the same directed deep thought in tographers—and generated lists of
which I had engaged. I provided edi- the skills staffers would need in each
tors with a series of questions designed of those areas. Then they figured out
to guide them towards being the kind lessons they could use to teach those
of leader they really wanted to be. skills. Finally, we created a calendar of
For example, I reminded them of our days on which they would teach those
end-of-the-year Senior Day in class, lessons. Of course, I maintained my
during which each individual senior “right” to chip in my opinion and ad-
takes a turn sitting in front of the class, vice whenever I felt like it, just as they
and the staffers talk about what is spe- maintained their “right” to disagree
cial about that person and what they with me when they had solid, persua-
gained from having that senior in their sive reasons.
lives. With that in their minds, then, my Though the year has not yet started
first question to editors was this: When and I can’t testify to the tangible results
Senior Day comes for you, what do you of the camp, the preliminary results
want the staffers to be saying about bode well. The editors were open and
you? Once editors generated a short enthusiastic in their participation, and
list of answers to that question, I then they seemed to embrace the idea of be-
asked them to look at each answer and ing solid, engaged leaders. They left
decide what specific behaviors they feeling as though they were the mas-
would need to engage in to earn those ters of their publications and had the
comments from staffers, and we shared tools to guide their staffers.
those answers with one another. For me, it helped the beginning of
Just so you know, I did this right the year feel more organized, and I
along with them, and I think that didn’t feel so frantic. I also gained a
helped them open up. One of the things level of trust in the editors that usually
I told them I would want at the end of doesn’t come until a little later in the
the year would be to hear staffers say year. And as for the incoming staffers,
that I always cared about their success they were not stuck with “bosses” who
in my class. What do I need to do to had no clue of how to lead.
August 2008 Texas Association of Journalism Educators 3

Convention to offer curriculum exchange Possible topics:

• Advertising
• Design
As the board planned for the TAJE fall conven- can be more encouraging than being able to ac- • Writing
tion at its July summer retreat, officers decided cess a lesson or a PowerPoint presentation in a • Photography
to add something new to the mix of contests, moment of need? • Sales/distribution
keynotes and sessions. However, participation Although I realize publication advisers are • Grading/
from TAJE members is required. swamped at the beginning of the school year, I organization
The Journalism Education Association for sev- challenge each of you to stop a moment to share • Leadership
eral years at its national conventions has included something that you do well. You don’t have to • Technology
a curriculum exchange for teachers. TAJE would create new stuff—just pull from materials you’ve • Tips
like to do the same for its October already done. • Tools
convention. State Director’s Report To participate, bring the file (s) • Classroom
At ILPC last spring, some Susan Duncan on a jump drive to the convention management
friends and I pooled our resourc- or e-mail them earlier to Dianne • Infographics
Longview Pine Tree HS
es to present a new adviser ses- Smith, our webmaster. We’ll make Possible
sion. Even though I have taught
TAJE State Director CDs to share with all those who exchange files:
for years and have amassed lots of curriculum, participate in the exchange. • Handouts
I found some of the materials the other teachers To reward you for your giving spirit, teachers • PowerPoints
included were things I didn’t have. I plan to adapt who participate in the exchange will have an extra • Lesson Plans
some of their ideas for my students this year. name in the drawing for door prizes at the TAJE • Rubrics
The longer I teach, the more I become convinced business meeting on Sunday. • Forms to students,
that one of our jobs as educators is to encourage So if something works for you, share it and parents, advertisers
those who don’t have as much experience. What brighten someone’s day. Sample letters

Regional representatives meet with board in July

Regional representatives met with mlee@mfisd.net take home souvenirs of their trip, and
the executive board at its annual retreat Region III groups will be given time on their
in July. Mikyela Tedder own for lunch. Several restaurants are
Any teacher who has questions for Lindale HS, P.O. Box 370 located within walking distance of the
the board can send them to his/her Lindale 75771 campus.
representative. Anyone who wants a 903.882.6138 (S) 903.534.5495 (H) For more information, or to register,
mentor or wishes to be a mentor should mlatedder@hotmail.com please call (210)733-2875 or email pbuch-
also contact his/her representative. Region IV horn@mail.accd.edu.
The representatives and their e-mail Pat Monroe Christine Keyser-Fanick
addresses are as follows: Burges HS John Paul Stevens HS
Region I 7800 Edgemere 600 N. Ellison Dr.
Saturday, Oct. 18 El Paso 79925 San Antonio 78251
UIL Superconference at WTAMU in 915.780.1100, ext. 6203 - School 210.397.6450 (S) 210.681.6819 (H)
Canyon in the morning until 1:00 915.822.2513 - Home ckeyserfanick@sbcglobal.net
1:15 Networking lunch at Feldman’s lexiannie@hotmail.com Region VI
sponsored by Jostens Region V Laura Negri
2:30-4:00 Tentative-Tour of new Saturday, Sept. 27 Alief Kerr HS
WTAMU broadcast and mass comm Region V members are invited to join 8150 Howell Sugarland Rd.
facilities San Antonio College for “Charting Your Houston 77083
Please RSVP Laura Smith by Course,” a day of workshops for high 281.983.8484, ext. 267- School
Wednesday, Oct. 15. school journalists and their advisers, 832.379.9924 - Home
Laura Smith Sept. 27, from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. on the laura.k.negri@aliefisd.net
Canyon HS, 1701 23rd St. San Antonio College campus. lauraeku@yahoo.com
Canyon 79015 806.677.2740 The itinerary will include sessions on Region VII
llsmith@canyonisd.net ethics, beginning reporting, advanced Janet Simpson
Region II reporting, writing, layout and design, Calallen HS
Mary Beth Lee and photography. Separate sessions are 4001 Wildcat Dr.
SH Rider HS, 4611 Cypress also offered for advisers. Corpus Christi 78410
Wichita Falls 76310 Cost of the workshop is $10 each, 361.242.5649 (S) 361.877.7387 (H)
940.720.3019 (S) 940-232-1589 (H) including teachers. Each student will jsimpson@calallen.k12.tx.us
4 Texas Association of Journalism Educators August 2008
Studio Art gives photography students chance at AP credit
Brenda Slatton
San Antonio Lee HS
TAJE Asst. Convention Director
As the school year begins is a good
time to think about offering your pho-
tography students AP credit. Through
AP Studio Art exams, your students
will have the opportunity to earn cred-
it or advanced standing at most of the
nation’s colleges and universities.
Not certified in AP? You don’t have
to be.
Three of my students created AP
Studio Art portfolios last year. One
newspaper staff member and two pho-
to students completed theirs. I will see
their scores when I get back to school.
It is easier if you have an AP art
teacher on your campus who will ex-
plain the process to you and sponsor
your students, but students don’t have
to be in an AP course, nor does one
even have to be offered at their school
for them to get AP credit.
Which students should you pick?
I chose students who do more than
just photojournalism. They can make
a flower or a rock look good. Remem-
ber, artists will be judging these. And
to many artists, blurry photos are won-
derful.
According to the AP Web site
(http://www.collegeboard.com/stu-
dent/testing/ap/sub_studioart.html-
Studio Art), “The only requirements
are a strong curiosity about the subject
you plan to study and the willingness
to work hard. “
The fee for each exam is $84. There
are some fee reductions given. Details
are available on the AP Web site. Stu-
dents will also need to plan to spend
some on the required portfolio. My
students turned in five mounted prints
and 24 slides last year. Word is, for 2009
the students will be allowed to do digi-
tal copies on a CD instead of slides.
Although a lot of attention is given
to the AP Exams in the spring, students
should begin in the fall or even begin
before their senior year, since they will
need a large body of work to choose
from. Their work can be produced in
or all be flowers, but they could also be
much more in-depth. My understand-
AP GRADE QUALIFICATION ing is they need to show how their
5 Extremely well-qualified skills improved. My students used
quality photos from last year and then
4 Well-qualified moved into this year’s work.
3 Qualified In the third section, Breadth, stu-
dents will turn in 12 photos that “dem-
2 Possibly qualified
onstrate a serious grounding in visual
1 No recommendation principles and material techniques. As
AP Exam grades of 5 are equivalent a whole, the student’s work in this sec-
tion should demonstrate exploration,
to A grades in the corresponding college inventiveness, and the expressive ma-
course. nipulation of form, as well as knowl-
edge of compositional organization.”
AP Exam grades of 4 are equivalent to The students have to turn in writ-
grades of A-, B+, and B in college. ten responses with their work. They
AP Exam grades of 3 are equivalent to will need to show understanding of
the elements and principles of design.
grades of B-, C+, and C in college. A useful document called the Course
Description is on the AP Web site. This
goes into detail on all areas of the port-
class or on the students’ own time and folio.
may cover the last few years’ work. Was this easy? It surprisingly was.
AP Studio Art is based on a portfolio Of course, we were in the middle of
that students turn in for evaluation on preparing the last newspaper, finishing
exam day in May. our lit mag and selling yearbooks, so I
The portfolio has had little time to
critique and help
three sections. It is easier if you have an AP choose their best
The Quality
section consists art teacher on your campus shots. The stu-
of five prints at a dents did most of
maximum size of who will explain the process to it themselves, and
18x24. These are they did beauti-
mounted. There you and sponsor your students, fully.
is not a mini- My students
mum size, so my
but students don’t have to be asked everyone
they respected to
students printed in an AP course, nor does one take a look at their
what they could
photos, and we
afford. They are even have to be offered at their had a lot of help
asked to “select
the works that school for them to get AP credit. from the AP art
best exhibit a syn- teacher on cam-
thesis of form, pus. She guided
technique, and me and answered
content.” I took that to mean their best my 2,000 questions, inspected the stu-
five. dents work and told me what I did
The Concentration section consists wrong.
of 12 photos where they demonstrate We journalism teachers need to
a “depth of investigation and process sometimes remember that we are not
of discovery.” This section should be the only teachers on campus who go
photos that share a similar theme. For above and beyond because they believe
example, they could all include hands in students and their futures.
August 2008 Texas Association of Journalism Educators 5

In Brief
Price $40)
Add it to your cart and pay for it.
It will probably ship the next day. It
is full of relevant terminology that will
Dates
Members to elect
help you succeed.
If you taught desktop publishing to note
prior to the 2003-2004 school year you
new officers are grandfathered in and you remain JEA./NSPA Convention
eligible to teach the courses you previ- St. Louis
Officer elections will be held in Feb-
ously taught, subject to school district Nov. 13-16
ruary.
requirements.
Members will vote for president-elect,
To sign up for an exam to be certi-
secretary, treasurer and state director.
fied, go to the SBEC website, www. ATPI Convention
Anyone interested in running for of-
sbec.state.tx.us
fice should contact TAJE president-elect Austin
Sheryl Floyd at sherylflo@aol.com. Feb. 13-15
UIL to host student
Study guide activity conferences SIPA Convention
available for UIL will host four Student Activities
Columbia, SC
March 6-8
tech certification Conferences to introduce students and
advisers to UIL contests.
If you want to offer Desktop Pub- The conferences will begin at 9 a.m.
lishing in your journalism program and end by 1:30 p.m. with no lunch CSPA Convention
to satisfy the Technology Applica- break. Registration is not required, and New York City
tions Graduation Credit requirement, attendance is free. March 18-20
you are required to be certified by the The dates and locations are as fol-
State Board for Educator Certification lows:
(SBEC) in Technology Applications ILPC Convention
unless you were certified in when the Sept. 20 Austin
new certification requirements went Tyler Junior College April 18-19
into effect. Tyler
However, the certification exam in-
cludes many other topics besides desk- Oct. 4
University of Texas JEA/NSPA Convention
top publishing, such as spreadsheet, Phoenix
word processing, database manage- at Austin
April 16-19
ment, web hosting, multimedia and
video production. You can go to the Oct. 18
www.texes.ets.org site to download West Texas
some online preparation materials that State University their students will enter contests then
specify the competencies required. Canyon send the names later. This is fine as long
Most of us do not have extensive as the names arrive by the deadline.
experience in all of these areas. But it Nov. 1 If student names are not turned in
is still possible to do well on the exam Texas A&M University on time, students will not be allowed
by studying the TExES Review Study Corpus Christi to compete.
Guide for Technology Applications Name changes for contests can be
8-12 ( Price $40). It is available from Students must be made at registration, but if a name has
the TEA Region 4 store and you can not been entered before the conven-
order it online at the Region 4 website, registered for tion, students will not be allowed to
https://www.region4store.com/esc/ compete.
Shop contests by deadline This rule is for the benefit of everyone.
When you get to the website, follow If advisers try to enter names during
these steps: Students must be pre-registered to registration, the process gets backed up
Choose Online Catalog compete in convention contests. and confusing. Getting names changed
Choose Educational Technology Advisers will receive a confirmation before contests is challenging enough
Choose TExES Review Study Guide e-mail when entries arrive. without trying to enter contestants from
for Technology Applications 8-12 ( Many times advisers will mark that scratch.