Jack Kennedy

Rock Canyon HS, Highlands Ranch, CO 80124

Jack.kennedy @ dcsdk12.org

Editorials: Changing the world…

Be provocative and lively, or readers will move on.

Courage is a rare thing—it is not foolhardy and it is not intuitive.

It is considered, rational; based on evidence and experience.

‘’Don’t use “I” (or me or I think)

Avoid Verbosity (write to express more than impress)

Avoid You (don’t preach)

Persuasive Structure• Lead/Lede or Hook

• News peg or ‘Why should I care?’

• Logos of your position

• Concession(s)

• Counter-arguments / return to your position

• Call to action / Call for change

Editorials Can:

Discuss a problem and suggest a solution

Editorials Can:

Praise people and/or projects

Editorials Can:

Come out for or against a proposal

Editorials Can:

Comment (often humorously) on school

life

Editorials Can:

Be part of a crusade or campaign

You Can MakeA Difference!

Just don’t:

whine

cheerlead

pontificate

You Can MakeA Difference!

Just do:

Provoke

Inspire

Educate

You Can MakeA Difference!

Remember:

Training makes people more alike.

Education makes people more different.

LOW LEVEL CONCERNS

• A California paper advocated more sleep for students, worried that performance may be suffering due to lack of rest.

• A Michigan paper advocated differentiation between the guilty and innocent in an incident of “excessive moshing” during the school’s annual battle of the bands.

LOW LEVEL CONCERNS

• A California paper advocated more sleep for students, worried that performance may be suffering due to lack of rest.

• A Michigan paper advocated differentiation between the guilty and innocent in an incident of “excessive moshing” during the school’s annual battle of the bands.

LOW LEVEL CONCERNS

• A California paper contended that a recent crackdown on parking violations was unfair, as students had not been warned about changes in policy in the middle of the year.

LOW LEVEL CONCERNS

• A Montana paper complained of the excessive build-up of ice and slush around the school, and the dangers that accompany this.

• A Florida paper decried the physical condition of the school and the need to create a positive learning environment for all. Ultimately, it advocated simply picking up trash and not covering bathroom walls with graffiti.

MID LEVEL CONCERNS

• Iowa City is considering building a 3rd high school. The editorial advocated careful consideration being given to equality among the eventual three schools (worried the oldest school would be neglected, since growth is on the other side of town).

• A Cedar Rapids paper congratulated two rival high schools for joining in efforts to raise money for flood relief in the community.

MID LEVEL CONCERNS• An Ohio paper disagreed with the governor’s plan to

extend the school year by 20 days, change to the ACT as the exit test for graduation. Arguments included financial problems, lack of focus on failures of an out-dated curriculum, and lack of air-conditioned buildings in some areas.

• An Illinois paper argued that recent discussion about the school being in a “bubble” in terms of the overall diversity of the community was a non-issue. The paper suggested that perhaps the “bubble” should be broken to spread the relatively enlightened attitudes of the school to a larger world.

MID LEVEL CONCERNS

• A Florida paper congratulated its PSTA for establishing a student-led used clothing store, along the lines of Plato’s Closet.

• An Illinois high school counseled students to take early course selection (for the next academic year) seriously, since careful choices will benefit them in the long run.

HIGH LEVEL CONCERNS

• A Virginia paper suggested eight specific ways for the school district to cut its budget in response to the economic downturn.

• A California paper warned about too much school oversight of student web site postings (despite there being a law that allows at least some of that).

HIGH LEVEL CONCERNS

• An Ohio paper argued that relaxing Internet filters will make for better student research and that students are mature enough to know what is appropriate.

• A Kansas paper was disappointed by how eager the community boosters were to raise $300,000 for added athletic facilities, while faculty will be cut in the next school year.

CRIES IN THE WILDERNESS

• The need for train service between Iowa City and Chicago (prompted by students returning from Europe on a foreign language trip who had noted the ease of rail use there).

• A Des Moines paper argued for students to resist outside influence as to body types, dieting, etc. – essentially to get over our obsession with weight.

CRIES IN THE WILDERNESS

• A North Carolina paper advocated more support for the homeless of North Carolina, including the need for a permanent homeless shelter in the Outer Banks.

• The same paper doubted the efficacy of a “prom bus” in making attendees safer, but appreciated the school’s concern for students. It advocated continued efforts to get kids to make good choices, rather than add more rules and procedures.

CRIES IN THE WILDERNESS

• A Missouri paper contends that students who are feeling disconnected from the school and community need to step up and take ownership. Students just need to make an effort to get involved in one of the many opportunities offered.

• A California paper counseled the need for more compromise in Congress, particularly over the stimulus package.

CRIES IN THE WILDERNESS

• A Colorado paper argued that some basic polite behavior in classrooms and hallways would improve the school climate.

ROOM FOR DEBATE?• More and more papers are running NO staff

editorials.

• If you run ONE staff editorial, the conversation should be more focused on the level of concern

• If you run MULTIPLE staff editorials, perhaps the best course is to provide different levels for readers (to avoid intellectual exhaustion).

HOW DID THE PAPER I ADVISE DO?

• News is becoming more unreliable as major newspapers close or cut back. (high, but likely a cry in the wilderness)

• We questioned why the presentation on the “Invisible Children” was limited to only a few hundred students, arguing that we need to help students break out of the exurban bubble. (high)

• Moaned about the latest snowstorm occurring during Spring Break, thus denying a chance to have a snow day (we have gone nearly two years without one). (low)

• Abstinence only sex education is illogical and ineffective and the district should change its approach (high, with an element of cry in the wilderness).

St. JudePatronage

Desperate situation, forgotten causes, hospital workers,

hospitals, impossible causes, lost causes

Lost causes are the only ones worth

fighting for. You should have some goals that are almost certainly unattainable, yet they are clearly worth struggling for. There will never be a time when

all deadlines are met. We will never have an errorless paper. We will never see a day when

people honestly love one another and enjoy true peace.

But aren’t these still worthwhile goals?

And your lost causes

are…?

In our remaining issues this year,

we will nudge our readers forward (at least a little

bit) by…