Bringing a Worldview to Rural Students with Current Events:
How one rural school successfully connected student learning in the classroom with the world outside of school.
THE CHALLENGE
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After being asked to teach a journalism class this school year, Melanie Lawhorn, English Teacher at East Jackson Comprehensive High School, knew that her students not only needed access to news, but they also needed to expand their worldview outside of the rural community in which they lived.
- Bringing awareness of the world to students in a rural community who have limited access to news outside of school
- Developing curriculum for a new journalism elective course and school newspaper
THE RESULTS
Lawhorn implemented The Juice as a bell-ringer in her year-long journalism elective. Over the course of the year, she noticed:
- Increased Awareness of The World: Students developed an increased awareness of what is happening in the world outside their rural community.
- Desire for Further Research: Students used the articles in The Juice as inspiration for their own writing by seeking out additional research and information on a topic.
